not paying utility bills - looking for solution

[ExtraSlow]

OK, a friend has an issue with his utility bills.

It looks like this guy’s previous roommate was paying the utilities for him, and when they moved out about a year ago, they cancelled with Direct Energy for electricity and gas. So for the last year, this guy hasn’t been paying anyone for electricity or gas, and yet both of them still work at his house. He gets an Enmax bill for water and sewer, and they aren’t on that. He called Direct Energy and they say he has no account or debts with them.
The way I see it, he’s going to get screwed some day when somebody figures out what’s been happening, and he’s likely to get a huge bill for the past years worth of gas and electricity.
He intends to pay for this in the future, but he’s worried about trying to “open” an account in case they come after him for the past year, which he can’t currently afford. However, the longer this goes on for, the larger the potential liability.

Anyone know if there is some kind of statute of limitations on how far back he could be billed for? Any suggestions on how to resolve this and remove the uncertainty from his finances? He’s trying to get out of debt, so having this hang over him is pretty distasteful.

[ercchry]

if he opened an account with a different provider would they really care/know if someone else is providing him with free power up to that point?

[RickDaTuner]

Alberta Law, stipulates that a bill/debt can only legally be collected upon two years after it was issued. after that he is not responsible.

Really though if he is making an attempted to contact them and own up to the bill, yet they are denying him. then he has nothing to worry about. just have him document every attempt.

[mr2mike]

Originally posted by RickDaTuner
just have him document every attempt.

The key right there. Get it in writing!!

[Dilmah]

Who owns the property?
Who's name was/is on the bill?

Something tells me the landlord is paying the bill, or the old roommate is paying through automatic bank withdrawls and doesn't know it is happening.

Things like this happen, my ex was contributing to an RRSP for me for over two years before she figured it, I ended up getting around 2K before it was stopped...

[ExtraSlow]

It's not a rented place, this guy owns it, and his name is on the title, but he's not paying.

[Everlast]

This is in Calgary I assume?
They'll do a land title search and stick the bills in his name.

He'll end up paying everything he owes at once plus an extra $20 for making them search him up.

[Dilmah]

Agree, if it's not being paid right now then the home owner will most likely get the bill.

[Cos]

.

[Doozer]

The same thing happened to a coworker of mine. She bought a place, and never got billed for gas.

She eventually called them and basically persuaded them to bill her for the months she hadn't paid, but they seemed reluctant to.

She heard somewhere that in Alberta it's against the law to turn off the gas (due to the winter weather, and the possibility of freezing someone to death), so that probably is part of the cause of the problem, but I'm not sure if that exempts him from paying.

[Cos]

.

[Ven]

Originally posted by Everlast
This is in Calgary I assume?
They'll do a land title search and stick the bills in his name.

He'll end up paying everything he owes at once plus an extra $20 for making them search him up.

This. He will have to pay. Doesn't matter how much time has passed, or what your arguments are. He will pay. Fortunately they're usually good at payment arrangements if you're not a dick. People who are dicks and scammers go straight to legal and things go down hill fast.

[Jim Rome99]

He won't have to pay, don't worry about it. You people really over estimate how much these companies have there sh-t together.

[90_Shelby]

Originally posted by Cos


Atco made it their policy after that older guy died after he didnt get his bills.

The place I'm currently living in had a lock put on the gas valve in the off position due to the previous tenant not paying their bills.

It wasn't until winter showed up that we discovered this (electric hot water heater) and the gas company had to come out and remove the lock. So yes, your gas will be shut off eventually if you don't pay your bills.

[Ven]

Originally posted by Jim Rome99
He won't have to pay, don't worry about it. You people really over estimate how much these companies have there sh-t together.

My wife works for one of the utility companies. Her specialization is turning the screws on people that underestimate how much the company has its shit together. He will pay. But she tells me she'll give any Beyonders interest free payment arrangement terms

[Cos]

.

[quazimoto]

Your right Directly Scamming Energy has so much power they can't even perform credit checks on new clients to waive a moronic deposit. The only way the company would ever notice this is if your home was using an unusual amount of electricity to flag it in the system.

Contractually you never asked them to provide you with energy services and they are doing it on their own accord. They simply can't ask you to pay for something that you never asked to be provided with.

[Cos]

.

[quazimoto]

Except that directly energy is the default provider for quite a few homes in alberta which trust me is absolutely horrible. There are also a number of homes in and around calgary where Fortis own and operates the lines and meters for electrical.

It's all seriously one big gong show. We are having issues right now with our meter being drastically higher than it should be and we are honestly getting no where. Imagine a new home consuming nearly 2000 kwh of electricity a month and the provider doesn't seem to think it's unusual even when another home that is identical only consumes 800kwh. We are fighting to have them replace the meter at the moment.

I still don't understand why direct energy was ever allowed to do business in our province when at the time they had numerous multi million dollar class action law suits filed against them in a variety of different locations in the world. I mean would that not be a very good sign of a company people in Alberta wouldn't want here lol

[Cos]

.