So I moved out of my last place in July. Had all my utilities disconnected.

I get a letter yesterday from City of Raleigh water & sewer for 200 some odd dollars for the last 6 months of service.

Mind you, this is the FIRST and only letter I've recieved. I have my last bill from when I moved out and had it turned off showing my account free and clear. I know it was physically cut off, because I was there when the guy did it and was painting the house for weeks after it was disconnected.

Now, how in the hell should I handle this? Obviously I'm not going to pay it, but I could see how the current tenant would probably be pretty pissed to know he's got to plunk down 200+ bucks on water and sewer. I'm pretty mad, this is the first utilities snafu I've ever had to deal with.

1/8/2007 4:17:52 PM

Where'd you live?

We just had our water cut off because we were not getting any bills and assumed that it was included in the rent. Had to go downtown and plop down 270 to get it back.

1/8/2007 4:19:26 PM

Call them and explain your situation. If they don't agree, then go down there and show them your evidence. I've had shit like this happen to me with electricity and gas bills and the companies were willing to wipe away the charges once they realized their mistake.

1/8/2007 4:21:04 PM

i thought we paid that shit off

1/8/2007 4:21:31 PM

^we did, I had it cut off after you left. No fucking clue how I get an overdue notice 6 months later.

1/8/2007 4:25:53 PM

Somebody might live there and never paid for the service, so you are the last one they have living there. I'm sure they will take care of it if you have proof.

1/8/2007 4:31:54 PM

Yup, they're just going to whoever they think will pay. They're like the fucking mafia.

1/8/2007 4:37:39 PM

I had the exact same thing happen to me when i received a bill for 150 dollars two months after moving out. i called and a lady passed me to her superior and he argued with me over and over that the previous bill they sent me was an estimate and that the actual reading was this one and it was correct. luckily i had my bills on me and said how it stated estimates would be marked with an e and there was no such thing here, and that i asked for it to be cut off may 15th and that i was told that had been done. He agreed that what i was saying made sense and said i wouldn't have to pay the bill....


two months later another bill comes in with the exact same charges. I called up the guy-- i still had his info-- and asked him about it. He told me that the new residents said the water use wasn't theirs and that it had to be ours since they didnt move in until a week or so prior. there was a lot of logic involved on my end but it was really a lot like that verizon thing on youtube where they can't comprehend what the guy is talking about. long story short, i told him i wasn't going to pay and that they need to be more efficient at turning off water if they dont want this thing to happen. after that i never heard from them again.

1/8/2007 5:19:04 PM

When I called to hook up water to my new apartment back in August, they somehow managed to reactivate an account I had 2 years before. When I found out, I called and they swore up and down they would fix it immediately. Well, they corrected my service address but they kept the old billing address. I finally went downtown to talk to an actual person and he fixed it. But when I asked for a receipt of the transaction, they guy said he couldn't give me one and assured me it was fixed. He did take care of it, but at the time I was pretty pissed that the guy refused to give me a hard copy of my account information.

1/8/2007 5:51:26 PM

Hate to say it, but in-person will resolve this a lot faster than over the phone if you can afford to miss work/school for an hour or two one day. Last bill and a general idea of when you called to have the service disconnected (cell phone company may have electronic statement that far back) would be helpful.

I don't feel the least bit sorry for the current tenant ... they should know better that if water isn't included in the rent and you don't see a bill for it, you need to find out where it is.

1/8/2007 8:12:18 PM

the electric company up here in boone sent me a bill for over $1000 at the last place i lived, when our normal monthly bill was ~$90. turns out the meter reader had screwed up and was charging us for the domino's we lived above

1/9/2007 1:15:14 AM