Why didn't you read my mind?!?

[Aya]

I have been lurking for a few days and absolutely love this site!

BG: I work for a small utility company in a small town. Most of the customers are great, but I deal with my fair share of SC's and just plain clueless people.


Last fall I fielded this call:

My lovely SC called up demanding to know why we had sent him a bill because his account was closed. After prying a name, account and address out of the guy I told him that his account was still open.

After a little more digging and teeth pulling he finally admitted that he hadn't thought to call us over a month before to tell us that he was moving and that someone else was moving in right away. I guess he was mad that I don't have some sort of 6th sense that should have told me he was packing up and wanted us to shut off his service!

I told him he still owed the bill and (as you can probably guess) that went over like a lead balloon. He wasn't living there or using the utility so he shouldn't have to pay!!1eleventy!!!

Not my problem! I recommended he discuss the bill with the guy who bought the property from him (who was using our service under the first guy's account) and then to have that guy call me to set up the account in his own name. The new guy wasn't happy about having to pay his own membership deposit to get our service!


I got this same type of call from not one dumb customer but two. They were a couple of months apart and not related, but they still managed to come up with the exact same amount of fail.

[RealUnimportant]

Hello & welcome! Cool story, I'm sure you've got some more to share

[emax4]

I'd have thrown it back in his face and listen to his solution to him moving to a new place, only to find that the previous tenant hadn't paid their electric bill either.

[Raveni]

Oh gosh. I get calls like that every day this time of year.

SC - Why didn't I get my payment coupons?
Me - Our records show that they were mailed to *address* and returned to us by the post office
SC - I don't live there anymore! Why didn't you send them to *new address*?
Me - Our records don't show a change of address requested. In fact, the property appraiser still shows your official mailing address for taxes as *address*. Do you know about when you notified us, so that I can check again?
SC - You mean, I have to notify you when I move?
Me - If you want to get your bills, pay them, and not get charged late fees, yes...


My condolences to your brain in having to field those calls and...
to

[XCashier]

SC - You mean, I have to notify you when I move?

"Yeeeeessss..." Dude, I don't know you personally, I'm not in your inner circle, how the hell would I know if you've moved or not unless you TELL ME?!

If these people bothered to use their brains, their heads might explode.

[earl colby pottinger]

When this type of case shows up on Judge Judy or People's Court, the person who moved usually still has to pay for the month after they moved if they do not do a change of address.

Mostly because the new tenants (especially renters) will not know anything until they DON`T receive a monthly bill.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I was in a similar situation many years ago. I moved out of a house and closed out the electricity account, which meant they turned off the electricity. The guy that owned the house got mad because I did not have them transfer it back to his name, and he had to get it turned back on himself. Well, had someone, like him, asked me to put it back in his name I would have, but how was I to know to do that when no one asked me? The guy was a general asshat anyway.

[Aya]

A lot of customers don't understand that as a utility I have to have it in writing and signed that they want to turn on or off their service. So many people argue with me when I ask them to come in and fill out a form that takes, literally, less than 2 minutes.

[MoonCat]

The utilities here will not take anyone's name off the account unless the person named requests it. A new owner or tenant can't do it. When I bought my house, I had to call the gas and electric companies to tell them to set me up as the new account holder.

How on earth can people be stupid enough to not know they have to tell you they moved???

Oh, yeah....

[starsinthesky]

I used to work for a power company as did my husband. My job was to contact people with closed accounts that owed balances. I got more than a few that said that they had moved and to call the person that lives there now. Not understanding that legally we couldn't go after someone that isn't on the bill. Fun times....

[Eisa]

Wow, fail.

I'm so proud of my aunt now, she DID somehow manage to tell the electric company and cable one that yes, she's moving...

[manybellsdown]

On the other side, the last time I moved, I called the electric company and gave them a shutoff date ... and they never did it. And they told me there was no record of my request.

I didn't find out until 2 months later when a bill finally got forwarded. The new tenants had run up $700 in two months. Even in summer with the a/c running mine never got that high. I don't remember how we worked it out, but there was a 3-way conversation between myself, the landlord, and the power company and I didn't have to pay anything. I wasn't trying to be sucky, I was just baffled that they kept claiming I'd never asked for a shutoff.

[AccountingDrone]

On the other side, the last time I moved, I called the electric company and gave them a shutoff date ... and they never did it. And they told me there was no record of my request.

I didn't find out until 2 months later when a bill finally got forwarded. The new tenants had run up $700 in two months. Even in summer with the a/c running mine never got that high. I don't remember how we worked it out, but there was a 3-way conversation between myself, the landlord, and the power company and I didn't have to pay anything. I wasn't trying to be sucky, I was just baffled that they kept claiming I'd never asked for a shutoff.

I always did it by letter and a week after sending calling in to confirm they received it, and it was on schedule.