<p>I’ve dealt with this problem with my renters. I can and do understand how, at your age, this would make you nervous. It would my kids too.</p>
<p>I don’t get involved with these disputes and don’t blame the realtor for backing away, although he shouldn’t have given out your email.</p>
<p>If the old owners didn’t contact the gas company, that’s their problem. It’s $80 and their fault. They should suck it up and pay. I am sorry they are giving you this grief for such a small amount…I know it’s consumed a lot of your emotional energy and time.</p>
<p>Ditto the posts about making sure your name is on the account or is on as an authorized user.</p>
<p>Just wanted to add to the list of people apalled that the the realtor gave out your email address. This is not ethical.</p>
<p>The realtor should not ever do that.</p>
<p>As for the rest, you’ve gotten good advice. I remember when we bought our first place. I’m glad you can come here and get a little bit of wise counsel. I wish I would have had a place like this back then.</p>
<p>We had a gas company issue. We sold our house. We discontinued service. Then, several months later, got notice that we were going to be billed again. WHAT?! Seems the gas company had the new owners listed as tenants, and when they didn’t pay their bills, the gas would go back to the landlord? I’m sure the new owners would have loved that. Had I not noticed and paid, would’ve been my problem to straighten out with the gas company.</p>
<p>Don’t do anything. Let the former occupants deal with the gas company.</p>
<p>After my divorce, I bought a house and (obviously) the electric bill was in my name. It had been in my name at the old house too. My ex husband hadn’t gotten around to putting his name on the one at the old house. The second month in my house, I realized I hadn’t gotten an electric bill. I called the company about it to find out what was up because I didn’t want to get hit with a huge bill or shut off notice or something. They told me they combined the two bills and sent it all to the old house and it was paid. LOL My ex-husband was just paying it without paying attention. I told him about the error (because I’m nice that way) and paid him for my share of that bill but told him I’d let it stay that way if he didn’t get his own name put on the account at the old house and he could keep paying my electric bill. He got it done fast.</p>
<p>I have been on both sides of this, having bought and sold many a house. I would not deal with them, and if they contact you again, I would tell them that you are uncomfortable dealing with them and do not want them to harass you again. Tell them that you are contacting the gas company to ask them to put it in your name as of the date of move in, and hopefully they will get a refund. This sending them checks business…weird, the realtor should not have allowed them to get ahold of you. He or she should have done their job and relayed the information.</p>
<p>But what you should do, is contact the gas company and tell them the problem. Tell them the date that you moved in, and ask if they can adjust your account so you are charged from that date…and that the seller can be refunded for whatever they are owed. I have forgotten to cancel service for awhile before (in fact, this reminds me to take care of a rental on Monday), but I just sucked up the cost, knowing that I screwed up. I would NEVER ask the buyers, even tenants, for more money for my error. As a buyer, I would call the gas company and ask them to backdate it from the time of move-in.</p>
<p>Lengthy explanations about what bill was sent when verses the closing date. How you had access to the property or you didnt give the meter read access or whatever the nonsense is. Refer them to the gas company all you want, you’ll have at least two more go around with these people where its “Yes, the gas company rep said…”</p>
<p>Plus now you are introducing the hassle of overruling your boy friend on a bill he already agree to pay. </p>
<p>There is no way that this back and forth and letters and calls to the gas company is worth it. Just pay the $80 and move on. You’d be getting about $4/hr on your time. </p>
<p>And dont forget these people know where you live. If you think they are unreasonable to start with they may try to get their pound of flesh regardless.</p>
The error is on their/the gas company’s part. NOT the OP’s part. And again, the realtor should have NEVER given out her contact info, if they did. If they did not, do NOT deal directly ewith the seller. Tell the realtor to talk to their realtor. No matter if the deal is done, IMO. YOu can be sweet and apologetic, but tell them your relationship is with the gas company, and if any adjustments are due, it will be ONLY through the cas company. Good luck!</p>
<p>Auto-paying utilities isn’t always smart. A few years ago some Florida utility customers got auto-charged for electric for three years after they were dead…inside the house with the air conditioner still running!</p>
<p>Except for our mortgage and college tuition I have nothing else on autopay. I’ve heard too many stories of people cancelling but the money continuing to be deducted. It eventually gets resolved but it can be a big PITA.</p>
<p>Another vote for never do auto pay for anything. I always want to check out a bill before it is paid. Companies have more of an incentive to fix an error before it is paid.</p>
<p>Well. We lived in our home for more than a year before we discovered a similar problem: never received a sewer bill. I confirmed with the utility that we were not on record. DH googled the former owner (we had met her,) sent a letter offering to resolve this. The utility now knew we’d be swapping, let her know her wrongly charged billing and we reimbursed her. (They also went back and confirmed the year’s invoicing to us.) </p>
<p>Some of this here, I don’t get. If you used the gas, technically and ethically, you should have been charged and paid those bills. You can stand your ground over $80, tell the former owners it’s “their problem,” BUT you did use the gas, right? You didn’t swap to electric or simply not use any gas, right?</p>
<p>No, the realtor shoudn’t have given out your contact info. He/she should have offered to pass theirs along to you- or suggested they simply mail a letter to your address, which they know.</p>
<p>lookingforward, I don’t think that most people are advocating that Ema and BF not pay for the gas they used. We just think that they ought to pay the gas company, not the former owners. In my view, Ema and BF need to make sure that their bill is paid in order to insure gas supply and good credit. Sending money to the former owners does not ensure that the gas company is paid. </p>
<p>The fact that the former owners are being nasty about something that was their own fault is even more reason to simply refuse to deal with them from now on.</p>
<p>^^Agree with Consolation. Add onto the fact that they supposedly haven’t received TWO checks? Makes me think they are just saving them up until they get the next one, and then will cash all three at the same time.</p>
<p>We do almost everything on autopay, otherwise we would definitely slip on some of the bills, as we’re always coming and going. But the autopay is through our bank, not through each company, and we can stop a payment in a minute.</p>
<p>It wasn’t too much to do. It was a couple of quick letters. To protect oneself from jerky people sometimes one has to put things in writing and take control.</p>
<p>I am not saying pay now, but if indeed there was an overlap of gas service, pay the gas company, not old owners.
Who is to say gas company hasn’t refunded them yet anyway? </p>
<p>If old owners contact again, I would tell them I was in contactwithngas company and they need to contact as well. Period.</p>
<p>I agree. Deal with the gas company only! Ask them to send you a bill for the $80, and then they can refund the old owner. WHENEVER I have tried to be a “nice guy” and not go through the proper channels, it comes back to bite me in the rear end. Who knows, the gas company may tell you to forget about it.</p>
<p>I know it’s a big deal to you, but keep in mind it’s only $80. It’s not going to bankrupt the other people.</p>
<p>As I said before, this is strictly between the previous owners and the gas company. If you are going to contact anyone about this, only contact the gas company to verify and notify them of the discrepancy if it is for real. </p>
<p>Also, want to add that small claims court is not only not worth it from the amount involved, if it does happen and the ruling ends up in you favor, it’s relatively easy for those being judged against to evade it by moving across state lines or to ignore it if they already happen to live in another state. Happened to a friend who won a judgment against a former tenant of an apartment building who then skipped out across state lines. </p>
<p>Since the amount involved was much less than $5000, the Feds weren’t interested in getting involved and all the state/local authorities and the sheriffs said they could do was issue a state-wide notice so they can pick him up if he ever comes back into the state.</p>
<p>We pay all bills except for medical (I don’t pay what’s due until I get all paperwork from our insurance company) through autopay, and we always get the bills well before the amount is deducted from our account or charged to our credit card. If there were ever to be a problem, and there never has, there is plenty of time to contact the appropriate company and get things fixed.</p>