I have about $30 worth of bills that I'm not sure I should have to pay. I thought I would see what you guys think.
I moved out of my apartment complex April 4. I paid rent for the whole month of April, since my lease wasn't up until April 30. I called electric and gas and told them to turn me off on April 5. Now the complex has sent me the bills for the rest of the month. Of course, I didn't use any of this electric or gas. I'm sure the workmen cleaning used electricity and gas, and when they showed the apartment off to people they used electricity and gas.
So who should foot the bill for April 6-April 30?
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
First check your lease - mine specifies I have to keep electricity connected for 3 days after my lease expires. If yours says something like that, then you're flat out of luck.
If it doesn't, it's a dicey situation. Did you pay the electric company directly or the apartment complex when you lived there?
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Definitely not you. You had it stopped. Someone must have either turned it back on illegally, or else called and requested the power company to turn it back on. In neither case are you liable.
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
Well, since it is an apartment complex, I don't think they turned it "off" like I told them to. I think they just put it back in the name of the complex.
Yeah, I paid the bills directly to the companies before that.
[ May 06, 2005, 08:52 PM: Message edited by: Theca ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
If you have a final bill from the electric company, make them make the next move. Although if they're withholding it from the security deposit, you'll have to go after them if you think it's worth it.
I'd call them and ask them why they're charging you for it. See if they back down immediately. If they mention a lease clause, confirm it on your copy. If it's not there, tell them and ask for a letter confirming you don't owe them anything.
[ May 06, 2005, 08:54 PM: Message edited by: Dagonee ]
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
The electric company here does not physically disconnect when a tenant moves out of an apartment. They simply take that tenant's name off the billing. Their rationale is that the landlord and any repair crews are going to need that service to do their work between tenants.
Posted by Tstorm (Member # 1871) on :
<-- Lives in an apartment complex, but pays bills directly to the electric company.
I'm interested in how this turns out.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
It occurred to me that the apartment complex may have forwarded the bill automatically to you. I'm sure they have a policy to do so if someone disconnects their power while they are there. If that happens, the person responsible for forwarding may just check your lease termination date on a computer and forward a bill. They wouldn't necessarily know that you left.
If there's not a clause in the lease, it's worth treating this as just a simple clerical error. Assuming you can prove when you turned in your keys, you can just explain that they must have overlooked it. This might keep them from getting defensive.
Dagonee
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
First pay them: by check with a written statement on its back claiming improper billing. Then dispute it. In small claims court should that become necessary "for honor's sake", ie to not feel cheated. Loss of $30 through uncorrected improper billing ain't nothin' compared to the hassle of correcting an even proven-to-be-false report of late-payment/non-payment to the credit agencies.
[ May 07, 2005, 06:07 PM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Um. While that is a valid point, if you pay them, they may refuse to investigate further, and "consider the matter dropped" ( ). That's what happened to us with an insurance dispute.
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
Well. Considering that I'm still being investigated by a prosecutor's office for identity theft, my primary goal is to keep my records pristine and my relationship with my former landlord/s needs to stay good (they may be asked at some point to provide additional documentation that I didn't move there until March 2003). So I'll make a polite phone call to the office Monday or Tuesday, just so I can feel I have made an attempt to resolve this, then I'll pay the bills if they don't cave in immediately.
That is the safer course.
[ May 07, 2005, 05:45 PM: Message edited by: Theca ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Good luck. I'd agree it's probably not worth pursuing. Just make sure they identify a particular agreement, not just nebulous policy. Ask them to fax it to you - politely, but firmly. They should understand you don't just want to send them money without confirmation that you actually owe it.
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
). That's what happened to us with an insurance dispute.