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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,206,701 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by behindthescreen
I work for one too and yes they will. Maybe It Depends On The Area BUT here in Los Angeles it is called "disconnect by customer request"!
When a person moves and wants to cancel service, you call the office and tell the you wish to cancel. They will send a water guy to shut off service and get the read. You will only be billed till that date. That is how it's done.
My god the know it alls in the real estate forums, that's why i don't post here!
If the customer states that it will be vacant, yes, we would turn it off too (SF Bay Area) but even then the service rep would still knock on the door and observe whether it looked occupied and if so leave a notice.
It makes sense to avoid the cost of having to go back and turn it on again.
Hello, it has been a while since I updated the post. Since then I have made a copy of the final bill and send it to the new owner with a letter that gently asking to pay the bill. I have also called my agent again -- this time they called the new owner that they found from her agent, and according to them they spoke with her and she would send me a check to my address (I gave them my current address). This all happened between 7/6-7/10.
So for about two weeks I have waited -- and received nothing. I also checked my account on water department and saw that the final bill has not been paid.
Earlier this week, I called the agent again -- this time they give me her number. So now it is up to me to deal with this.
No I have not called her yet. I am still hoping that I hear from her. Anyway, I am not hopeful at this point but probably call her tomorrow.
--Wish I was in Colorado instead of Ohio. The state law is so generous to whoever lives there, I am not sure if I would have able to cancel the water acccount after the new owner had moved in. They would check the house is empty before shutting water down (like in CA?).
If they're going to (hopefully) send the check directly to you anyway OP, you should probably pay the bill. If the new owner does in fact send you the check, great, faith in humanity restored.
If they're going to (hopefully) send the check directly to you anyway OP, you should probably pay the bill. If the new owner does in fact send you the check, great, faith in humanity restored.
I agree. Pay the bill to get it settled or it may go to collections and form a blemish on your credit report.
Continue working on the new owners' sense of guilt and maybe they will pay. It's too bad it's not somebody like me. I'm honest, if it was me I would send you a check. But alas, it's not me, and anyway I would have contacted all the utilities and put them in my name upon close of escrow.
Pay the bill and continue working on the new owners until they either pay or you've reached the point where the bother isn't worth the amount involved.
I agree. Pay the bill to get it settled or it may go to collections and form a blemish on your credit report.
Continue working on the new owners' sense of guilt and maybe they will pay. It's too bad it's not somebody like me. I'm honest, if it was me I would send you a check. But alas, it's not me, and anyway I would have contacted all the utilities and put them in my name upon close of escrow.
Pay the bill and continue working on the new owners until they either pay or you've reached the point where the bother isn't worth the amount involved.
^^^ This.
FWIW, I have heard of scenarios in Texas where both the new owner and the previous owner were double-billed for the same service at the same address because the new owner set up a new account and the previous owner had not closed their account. So the utility company got paid twice.
In that instance...if the previous owner came back and asked me to pay their bill...I'd tell them to pound sand.
You can ask them to pay but I doubt they will. Would you pay if this happened? What will happen if they don't? You can cancel the water but they aren't really out anything as they can go start it in their own name. Sucks but lesson learned.
Uh, yes, if I were the new owner I'd pay for my usage.
As the seller, I would send them a note asking them to pay and inform them that I've removed my name from the account.
read back, OP posted an update just a couple of days ago.
Thanks! Don't know why I didn't see that. I was coming back from a trip and posting while whiling away time in the Delta Sky Lounge, LOL. Guess the time change had me groggier than I realized. Ooops!
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