Seco
 

Effective January 2023 Seco is rounding up our bills and donating the change to a charity they chose.
The only way to stop this is to tell them to unsubscribe you and refund your change.

Seco has had the Foundation for Pennies program for a long time. I have been having my bill rounded up to the dollar since day one. Small way to help. Strange that they are changing it from a voluntary opt in/out program though. I see I still have the option via their apt to opt out.

I'm sure there is something in our membership agreement that allows them to do this, but it's a pretty shoddy business practice.

It looks like the announcement has been in the newsletter since August (I went back to check). There were instructions on how to opt-out though it wasn't clear, at least to me, that everyone would automatically be put into the program.

I was pretty put off when I saw I had been automatically enrolled and I spent the time to find the opt-out button. I decided to stay in the program - it seemed like it was for a good cause and I can afford the $11.88 per year maximum.

I agree. The opt-in program was fine, but changing it to an opt-out program is shoddy.

:bigbow:

Very similar to Amazon’s (Ring) Sidewalk feature. It is enabled by default. I’m suppose they figure most people wouldn’t want to participate.

Full program explanation….
SECO Energy Foundation – Pennies from Heaven Transition – SECO Energy

Can we deduct this as a charitable contribution?

Yes, all $9 of it.

(that's a rounding error on a normal tax return)

With a little effort your answer is in the link.

Compared to Jan 2022, kWh went down but bill increased- they can use that rate increase to donate if they wish if they are so benevolent- doubt they will

Why do you doubt?

It's not about the few dollars but about the principal that they can arbitrarily take your money and give it to their choosing.
Especially without a letter with instructions to opt-out. Not everyone uses a computer to manage their account.

Again, it's not the money it's the principle and arrogance of SECO.

What if all companies started doing this? It sets a bad precedent.

It seems they did make the announcement and provide the steps to opt-out - even for those without a computer.

The Point
 

The point everyone is trying to make, I believe, is that SECO just did this, assuming they could decide for all customers. I doubt anyone would complain otherwise. It's about SECO making that decision for us!

It's just plain wrong.

While I really don't give a tinker's damn about the program, they really should have made it an "opt in" program, rather than making people "opt out"...

According to SECO, the average donation per customer is 6 dollars per year, and they have about 200,000 customers. So, if no customers opt out, they would collect about $1.2 million dollars per year.

Here is what they will be using your round up money for:

The SECO Energy Foundation’s goal is to generate more funds for projects that align with SECO members’ needs and the company’s strategic initiatives. This alignment will include increased bill payment assistance for your fellow members, as well as projects focusing on energy-efficiency, education/STEM, environmental, veterans’ initiatives and public safety.


You can opt out by emailing them using
customerservice@secoenergy.com
By phone 352 793 3801

I would doubt it, we are giving the money to SECO, and SECOP is making the donation, they get the deduction, IMHO.

Congratulations! You just won the prize of interjecting politics into a seemingly non-political post the fastest. I'm sorry you are going through a tough time and yes, misery DOES love company but why are trying to rile everyone up on this post?

More companies will move to opt out rather than opt in......if the goal is to raise monies for charities then the goal should be to get more people in and put the burden on opting out on those that consider 10 bucks a year a big deal. We received the notice last year with instructions on how to opt out so we had plenty of time to decide. We all, deep down, know that for those that don't manage by computer, smartphones or other digital means will continue to be left behind. You might feel good about your position, but your frustrations will continue to grow.

From the provided link……

The current Pennies from Heaven program is transitioning to the SECO Energy Foundation in January 2023. Contributions will be tax-deductible and allow the Foundation (as a nonprofit entity) to apply for grants from other local, state and federal sources. Grants may include investments in first responder equipment, energy-efficiency grants for low-income communities and senior/youth centers.

It seem some posters find it easier to just post false information rather than looking to find what are the facts.:shrug:

"My frustrations"???

I read that, but, to me, it wasn't clear who would get the tax deduction. The foundation is a 501c3 non-profit, but it sounded like SECO Energy would be making the donations to the foundation, a separate organization. So, SECO Energy could either take the tax deduction themselves or transfer it to the electricity customers who actually donated the money.

However, the only way the contribution is now deductible is that the donation goes to the Foundation. If the deduction went to SECO Energy directy, technically SECO is corporation, and donations aren't deductible.

accounting guy

Good grief. Login to your account and unenroll. So much drama over nothing.

But, where does the customer fit in? Are you saying that the money taken from the customers is just a non-deductible gift to the SECO corporation and the corporation gets the full benefit for the tax deductible donation when they give it to the foundation? Just asking.

For those who may have a chance at a new career………..progressive commercial auditions are this weekend.:1rotfl::1rotfl:

SECO should know that Best Practice dictates that this be opt-in, rather than opt-out. Yes, it may be easy to opt-out, but I shouldn’t have to take that extra step to do so. Same goes for opting in for emails from retailers if you order something online. That’s my main gripe.

I would prefer that they would identify the Specific organizations that will get our money. Rather than a generalization …. “Projects”. Could be forwarded to places I would not want to fund… any idea what these may be???

SECO has bee been notifying customers of this for months. Notice has been on bills, the newsletter etc.

People need to learn to read.

$ 11.88 per year isn't the issue. It's the way it was done. Like adding an extra charge to your restaurant bill if you use a credit card without informing you that it is being done

You were informed. You may have chosen to not read the newsletter or you may have forgotten but you were informed. (Posts 4, 16, 24, 36 and now 38)

I called & opted out they were very nice about it, now if it went to St Jude I would not have a problem. Like St Jude and the kids

It took me about 2 minutes to unenroll.

RG, notice that the link says, starting January 2023, the money goes directly to the foundation. That makes the donation deductible to the customer, and since its opt in / opt out, its voluntary, the foundation is a legit type.

Prior to this year, SECO collected the money from the customer and made the donation in their name, and technically SECO got the tax deduction. .

Its just a minor accounting technicality, not really worth worrying about since the individual amount in the tax calculation is anywhere from $1 to $2 difference in the tax owed, if it even makes a difference. ..

now for the human behavior point of view, its a way for corporate executives to "do good" in appearance.. . to feel good to help out people.

NOTE: in New England, the utility state "regulators" expect the utilities to make donations, and when i created a spending vendor master for all expense vendors, i see the utility making donations to "MA Chiefs of Police", "Red Cross", etc. .

Remember that electrical utilities are legitimate monopolies, and thus, are regulated to prevent pricing abuse, and part of the "expectations" from the regulators is that they give back to the communities. The state government is in the business of collecting money and distributing it back for public good. The gov regulators make that same expectation of utilities as well, looking at them as extensions of the government.


That's from inside a utility from some "financial
analysis" i used to see on a regular basis. . .

I don’t know how they can just automatically round up your bill without your permission. Then they say they’re going to contribute it to which ever organization they want. And at the end of the year they get the deduction for their tax write off. This is not right I understand it’s only pennies but they should have asked your permission. I wonder if they will ever round down your bill because they feel sorry for you.

Yes, they evidently notified us on our bill and /or via email. Don’t like the ‘this is automatic and you have to opt out’ kind of giving to charity plan. I can afford it, but choose to donate to my charities and not theirs. A little bit scammy in my opinion. I called and opted out and told the gal my feelings…not that it mattered to her. She was kind of snippy. All the more reason to opt out.