Question

central utilities customer service policies & procedures

1. equal payment plan

some customers find it to their advantage to set up an equal payment plan (epp). the customer receives a regular monthly bill but pays only the estimated average monthly amount for the following 12 months of bills. the estimate is based on the customers previous 12 months of bills. any anticipated future rate increases within the epp period are taken into consideration in determining the monthly payment.
monthly epp payments begin with the may billing. customers must have a zero account balance after their april billing and can achieve this by either using any credit that was accumulated or by paying the difference over the average amount. any credit balance may be refunded or used to offset future billings, as the customer desires. a customer may remain on the epp until the customer moves from the address where the plan was used, notifies central utilities to terminate participation in the plan, or is delinquent more than two times during the preceding 12 months.
adapted from: emporia public peoples utility district, payment plans: equal pay.
as a billing clerk at central utilities, you have received the following email:
wed 4/27 10:16 am
good morning,
i am interested in the equal payment plan, but i have a question regarding the information i received about it. what does it mean for a customer to be delinquent?
thanks, eric hayes
you should tell mr. hayes that, as it is used in the notice shown, delinquent refers to being
a. guilty of misconduct.
b. irresponsible.
c. forgetful.
d. late making payments.
e. in default.

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze the term "delinquent" in the context

In the provided text, it is stated that "Central Utilities may terminate participation in the plan, or is delinquent more than two times during the preceding 12 months". This implies a situation related to payment - related issues.

Step2: Match with the options

Option D "late making payments" is consistent with the idea of being delinquent in the context of a payment - related plan (Equal Payment Plan). Options A "guilty of misconduct" is too broad and not specific to the payment context. Option B "irresponsible" is also too general. Option C "forgetful" does not directly relate to the payment - delinquency concept. Option E "in default" is similar to D but "late making payments" is more in line with the description of being delinquent (more than two times late payments in 12 months) in the given text.

Answer:

D. late making payments