Tenants using utilities in my name, racked up a very large bill

Submitted by Anxious-Winter4039 t3_yeiw0n in personalfinance

Hi all,

For some context I had lived in a rented house (in NY) for a year. After that year and my lease was up I moved out and into a new place.

Recently I received a $4.7k bill from the utility company. I tried calling and sent multiple letters to the utility company telling them that I was not living there during that time period and attached a copy of the lease for the place I was staying during that time. The utility company did nothing to look into it and sent it to collections which is now hurting my credit score. I also got in touch with the management company of the property and they completely shut me out.

So basically the tenants that were living in the house the year after I moved out had racked up a massive utility bill in my name.

I'm honestly not sure what action I can take from here, it doesn't feel right to pay this debt that isn't mine.

2

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lilfunky1 t1_itybhhl wrote

You didn't close your account at the old house?

16

Anxious-Winter4039 OP t1_itycgo4 wrote

Should have included this - I had transferred the account to my roommate as I was going abroad for awhile, left it to him to close the account.. not ideal.

−13

_fire_away t1_itycuf4 wrote

What do you mean by transfer? Like called up the utility company and have the account transferred to their name and yours removed? Or did you just give them access to the account under your name?

Regardless, the account should have been closed, and your roommate could have open a new one. This can all be done within the same business day.

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Anxious-Winter4039 OP t1_ityd43g wrote

I had called and had the utilities transferred to his name, he made the payments on the account for the rest of the lease.

Hindsight 20/20 - agreed, he should have opened a new account

0

_fire_away t1_itydfb6 wrote

I see. How are you still liable if the account was transferred to the roommate and your name came off the account?

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Anxious-Winter4039 OP t1_itydn0z wrote

Not sure, only reasonable explanation I can think of is my SSN still being attached to the account in some way

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_fire_away t1_itye5lb wrote

Bummer. Only other thing I can think of is if you received some sort of confirmation of the transfer.

As for the collections, you can ask them to validate the debt. They must give proof that your debt is valid and belongs to you. The proof may give insight on the state of the utility account, like if its just your name and SSN or if it also includes your roommate. If the collection’s can’t provide valid proof, then they can’t legally collect. You can tell them to kick rocks. From there, you can contact the credit agencies to remove the invalid collection mark on the report.

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itsdan159 t1_itz4y20 wrote

Did you address this with the utility company? They aren’t going to adjudicate the terms of your lease, but they should have a record of the name on the account being changed.

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RockAndRollerGuy t1_itz57kn wrote

and did you ever follow up with your roommate to ensure it was closed/transferred?

I think I know where the mix-up occurred

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emptyhellebore t1_ityb99y wrote

It doesn’t matter if you were living there or not, it is your responsibility to cancel all of your utilities when you move out.

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InteriorAttack t1_itybige wrote

> I tried calling and sent multiple letters to the utility company telling them that I was not living there during that time period and attached a copy of the lease for the place I was staying during that time

that's doesn't matter if your name was on the utility bill. sorry.

> So basically the tenants that were living in the house the year after I moved out had racked up a massive utility bill in my name.

you should have taken your name off the bill when you moved out. if they are in your name they are your responsibility

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Anxious-Winter4039 OP t1_itycycf wrote

Fair point but if they are my responsibility then the tenants would be liable for theft, no?

Wrongfully took, did not belong to them, did not have consent, deprived owner

−10

itsdan159 t1_itz53og wrote

You’re not going to get criminal charges against them. since you presumably had the same lease terms does the lease say tenants are responsible for opening utility accounts in their name?

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Economy_Seat_9414 t1_itycxhx wrote

Have you tried reaching to the new tenants? Could be an honest mistake, maybe you could get them to pay. I remember when I was younger I moved to a new place. For some reason I thought gas was included in the rent. For a few months I used it without any issue so I never realized it actually wasn't. One day the manager came with a huge bill that I needed to pay. I explained and apologized, called the gas company to put it in my name and paid the manager back. I mean, you could give it a try.. Otherwise it seems like you are stuck with the bill

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Anxious-Winter4039 OP t1_ityd96s wrote

That was my first thought, mgt company refused to give me their contact info

1

Economy_Seat_9414 t1_itylovx wrote

That sucks.. For 4k and a ruined credit score I would probably just go ahead and knock on their door tbh. Or keep trying with the utility company like someone else said. Good luck, hope you find a way of fixing it.

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No_Tension_280 t1_ityhad4 wrote

Did the new tenants lease say that they needed to have the elect in their name? There is someone on charge of utilities. Like a regulatory agency. Hammer the utility harder. What does it mean that you transferred the account to the roommate. Like he was responsible, or just paying in your absence. I think they can write it off, you just have to be persistent. Get letter from landlord that you weren't living there then. Could you get the names of the tenants from other utility records? Ask your congressman for assistance?

3