Every electricity company in the Philippines will have their own fee structure when it comes to opening an account. Some require a set deposit to help recoup any potential losses from people who fail to pay their bill. Please ask what the high rate is for. If they are asking you to pay the delinquent account of the owner who had a meter on the property prior to you, then they are not allowed to do so.

But if the fees are for installation, and paying a deposit, then perhaps it is legitimate. It just seems very high, as I know P10K is more than the monthly salary of many Filipino households, and not many new customers could afford electricity connections with such a high rate.

I hope this helps.

Yes, it appears efforts to tackle delinquency goes too far in many cases.

In the electricity connection case, there is a law that prohibits this tactic by the utilities. Nick was kind enough to provide the link to the Magna Carta for Electricity Consumers that is overseen by the Electricity Regulatory Commission of the Philippines.

In the case of unpaid taxes and property transfer, most lawyers know the proper proceedings for making sure the property transfer goes according to the deal stuck between buyer and sell, and that includes who pays any outstanding taxes. The moral of the story for property transactions is to have an advocate draw up the agreement properly and you should have no headaches when it comes to execution of land transfer.

Thanks for sharing, I agree with you and how frustrating these issues can be.

Sincerely,
Michael

I’ve been lucky enough to live in a number of different countries. I have found that everywhere you live, there are good things and bad things. Some places offer more of one type of living experience, while others offer a different type of living experience. Some places are easier to live in than others. But then again, some people adapt better than others. I also believe a person learns more about where they are from when they leave rather than when they only live within their own country. It is only by living somewhere else that one gains perspective on what your country does well, and what it doesn’t do well at.

I hope you get the opportunity to live someplace else — it doesn’t matter if that is for a long stay, or for a short one. I think the experience of living in different countries and in different cultural settings really makes ones’ life ‘richer’, and I don’t mean that in a monetary sense.

Thanks for sharing!

I doubt it is legal here either, but I guess they figure there’s no harm in trying. The worst that could most likely happen for them is a slap on the wrist as they say, and a refund to the customer, if they are caught up in it – should someone be unwise enough to pay. I only run into this as real estate is one of my businesses. I don’t see it with all the utilities, mostly just the smaller ones. Glad to hear that you finally got your meter and wire.

I suspect things are a real mess with the high rates of foreclosure in many parts of the US. I bet the utilities aren’t prepared or have enough staff to keep track of all the delinquent accounts and transfers. Here in the Philippines, you’d be surprised to know how insistent the utility was that I had to pay, and that it was their policy! I think in my care the utility was dangerously close to getting into trouble with the Energy Regulatory Commission here in the Philippines. The minute I asked for the officer to put their policy in writing, the entire office changed their tune entirely. Thankfully, Nick sent the link from the ERC where it states this practice is not permissible in the Philippines. As you say, the wire and meter is another story altogether. On a side-note, since this post was written, we did receive our meter and wire.

Cheers!