Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia
Utilities Liability after moving out
My one-year lease expired on 8/12/02 and my roommates and I all moved out on or before that date. Since the utilities were in my name, I called to have them disconnected but one of the utility providers has no record of my ever calling, and left the service in my name while the next resident was living there. This continued through March of 2003, when I finally found out about it and called to resolve the situation. By this time I was left with an $800 gas bill.
The gas company told me all they needed to take care of the situation was to have the aparmtent complex call and let them know my move-out date, or a copy of my lease.
I have tried numerous, numerous times to have the apartment complex take care of this, and they keep telling me they have, but the gas companystill wants me to pay. I have talked to the manager, the regional manager, and even the boss of the regional manager. They always tell me they will take care of it but never do.
Do I have any recourse over this matter? Am I responsible for another person's utility usage just because the gas company has no record of my calling?
Thank you for your assistance.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Utilities Liability after moving out
One of your problems, apparently, is that you've been trying to resolve this matter via telephone,
which usually involves relying on the promises of others to do certain things which they don't much care to involve themselves with.
This means that you yourself must now personally take action by going to your former landlord with a statement already prepared as to your move-out date from the designated unit at the designated address with a place for a notary's signature and seal.
You then obtain the required signature from your landlord or landlord's authorized representative(making several copies for your self)attesting to the above information and then you must personally take this notarized document to the utility provider's main office in the area and
ask to speak with the person who is most likely to have information regarding your dilemma. You then must present this person with the original document regarding your move-out date and have them sign one of your duplicate originals or copies wherein they specifically acknowledge that they have received the document which they have requested from you and that you will be presented no more with this $800 gas bill, on account #, whatever it is.
Quite a bit of work, right? Which is why you haven't had any action by anyone thus far.
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