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HELP!!! Should I be required to pay my gas bill? (Long)
I live in a condo that has both gas and electric heat. he electric heat is zoned by room the gas is for the whole house. Last Feb I decided to shut off my gas account and only use the elec heat. This would allow me to have better control over where the heat is being used.
I recieved a not so lovely house guest last week from the gas company. He said I was using gas in my home and would have to pay for it. He told me an ungodly amount and I shut the door on him and called the gas company.
Long story short when my house got to a certain temp the gas heat switched on. I purposely shut off the gas a year ago so this wouldn't happen. Apparently, according to the gas rep I spoke to today, the gas was never shut off. So it automatically switched on when the house temp got too low. I have been paying an arm and a leg for my elec heat but felt better that I was only using what I needed. Now I find out that I have been "using" the gas heat without my consent.
In my eyes it is the Gas Co fault for not shutting off in 2008 as requested. If my heating system automatically goes to gas at a certain temp and there is no gas being offered then it is what I asked for since I have no account with the gas company. But since the company failed to actually turn off the service last year as requested it did turn on during the cold months of Dec and Jan.
The company acknowleges that it should have been shut off in feb of 2008. But it wasn't and now they want to charge me for usage for the past few months.
Uhg - I know this is long but what would you do...? It is a hefty sum for something I never wanted but inadvertantly used...
Re: HELP!!! Should I be required to pay my gas bill? (Long)
I would call the gas company and ask to speak to a manager. If he can't help you ask for his manager...so forth and so on. Keep asking until you get someone who has the power to make a decision about this issue and actually reverse the charges.
I wonder if it all balances out in the end? Your electric heating probably didn't have to kick in as much because the gas heating was on (unless I am totally not getting how your heating system works). So you probably paid less for the electric heat then you would have if the gas wasn't kicking in.
Do you have anything in writing that shows that they were to turn it off? Did anyone come to your house to shut it off? Was there anyway for you to shut it off on your end (turning off a piece of equipment)? Do you have a bill that says "account closed" or anything like that?
Had they sent any bills since Feb 2008?
If they sent bills and you didn't open them, you need to pay the fee. If they didn't send bills, you might be able to argue in court that you don't owe the whole amount.
I read it as she didn't get any bills since Feb08 because the gas heat only comes on when it is really cold. So in Dec08 and Jan09. It is odd that they would send someone to the house that quickly after a bill not being paid (december bill would have only arrived last month).
i would check through any old bills and read everything on them. also read through your condo paperwork (which is huge im sure) and see if the rules and regs say you cannot turn off your own gas by choice.?
if this is a condo policy that you must have gas, then i would eat the bill and move on. maybe you can make a payment plan with the company instead of paying it in bulk.
?
I was going to say the same thing.
Ok - I'll try and answer all the questions...
There was no account here so they couldn't send any bills
Every condo has it's own meter and shut off device
I spoke to the highest person I could find (it took Forever)
They acknowledge it should have been shut off in Feb 2008
They have no record of it actually being shut off
They at one point accused me of breaking the lock on the tank to put the gas on - but quickly retracted it since there was no record of tampering
Yes the reason it was suddenly registering in Dec and Jan was because that's when the gas heat kicked on.
I think that's it... The manager that I spoke to said she is putting it in for review. Just wanted to get my ducks in a row before they come back with an answe.
Thanks for your help and responses.
I think you have grounds to contest this.
However, if they do try to put this on your credit report (I don't know if unpaid utilities can go on your credit report...so this could be irrelevant) be ready to put a note on your report explaining that you are fighting it for this reason.
You don't want this dragging down your score while you fight it out and have potential creditors thinking that you don't pay your bills.
I don't really have much to add, except I think there are grounds to contest it as well.
Mostly I wanted to say, papillon puppy? Those ears! They're so hilarious at that age.
This whole situation is bizarre. I agree that your electricity bill was probably less because the gas was being used. Did you ever go and check to see if the pilot light was off? Are you sure none of your other appliances use gas (stove, dryer, water heater)?
I would try and look for proof saying you request the gas to be cut off. However I also think you should have done more to verify that it was indeed off.