Tuesday, April 28, 2009

File This Under Clusterfreak

The envelope was quite thin; it indicated a problem.
It wasn't addressed to me, but it came to my house, and it is my electricity now.
I opened it.
My power will be shut off in 48 hours, because the bills he told me he had been paying, he had not. There are over $800 in past due utilities.

I called my friend, sobbing, "I was just feeling like I had it all balanced! (sniff)"

"You'll do it - you will balance it all out - you will figure it out and you will be fine!"

"I meant just for today." (sniff sniff)




UPDATE: Thanks for the comments but no, the electric company considers themselves a little special and they actually CAN demand that HIS bill be paid off BEFORE they will put it in my name. Go figure.

18 comments:

furiousBall said...

ugh, sorry to hear this. i've having my own financial woes as well. i'm going to donate parts of myself to science

Anonymous said...

Sell something of his. Something he'll miss.

Childish? Yes. But so is lying about paying the bills!

Jake Dillon said...

Call the utility company immediately. Tell them the story or at least the parts that you can and want to. They can put you on a payment schedule.

If you are having money issues, they can reduce your charges.

Time to get on the phone and spin a yarn.

Then it is time to sell something of his. The bastard!

I can't find my blog said...

cluster-f. is right. Gah. I'm so sorry. What a cad.

Jenny Grace said...

Fuck.

FUCK.

Re-establish the utilities in your name, it's him that owes them.

Jenny Grace said...

You might be able to get out of paying any of the backed stuff, as that's in his name and his ass on the line. Set up a new account.

badgermama said...

Hey, if the bill is in his name, you might not need to pay it. Turn off the account in his name and open your own in your name. I don't think you're liable for his debts.

Anonymous said...

I said we'll get through it, operative word "we" and I mean it. It is going to be ok, I promised and I still promise. Call me when you can. Love you, the G-mom.

Denise said...

Call heap and the salvation army. Go to the nearest church in your area. Even if you are a non believer like me it is not hypocritical. Explain to them what happened, they have programs like this that can help you. Trust me i know. Please let me know. Do you still have the same number? Can I call you?
Hugs.Denise

RuthWells said...

Do you have a PayPal account we could each send a few bucks to?...

Gwen (A) said...

What a scary last couple of weeks you've experienced. You are a strong woman, do what is right for you and your children. To reiterate others, it is not your fault. You and your children deserve to be happy and safe. Wishing you better days ahead, love and gentle hugs from the East Coast,

a long lost friend who shares your name

nakedjen said...

oh fucking a. i can't believe this happened now and i'm not there to help cart things from the office to the pawn shop.

motherfucker.

i'm angry. so angry i'm ready to get back in the car, collect three MORE speeding tickets, and come help. some how.

gah.

i'm so sorry. i will share that when this happened to me with the house on highland court (with greg) i was able to have PG&E switch things to my name, but keep the previous DEBT in greg's name and send HIM collection notices for it. i did have to pay PG&E a one time good faith fee of $125 (i think??) because i had never had PG&E in my own name before.

but it was credited BACK to my first bill. not credited to the BACK CHARGES.

so...there is my story. i am willing to call them if you want. also the red church in town (the episcopal one?) will help you. i do know this for a fact.

Lunasea said...

Fucker. Some good ideas here, though - let us know what happens.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

When I was living in the Ronald McDonald House, I got one of those letters...dh in his mad dash to work daily, to the NICU after work, and back home to sleep, had somehow racked up $300 in electric bills at home! The power company gave me a whole list of options of folks to call so they could get their money. You're right, they're pretty selfish and want to be paid above all, but they should try and help you achieve that end. Good luck!

How are the kids dealing? Are they more-or-less OK?

Amy, queen of the world. said...

Not necessarily (sorry, un-lurking..[or is it de-lurking? whatever] to give you this piece of advice.) You call the company and you tell them that the person who had previously lived there moved out and you want the electricity turned on in your name. When they say that there's a big bill on the account, tell them that it's not yours and that you won't be held responsible to pay it. They CAN then file a report that will forgive the debt of you, but it's a report that they will be trying to collect the debt from him. And then they will put the bill in your name, probably with a fee to turn the electricity back on (they ARE bloodmongers, after all) and all will be a-okay! I know this because the idiots who lived in my house before we bought it had a ginormous electricity bill they didn't pay. Good luck to you!

ashley on fire said...

What a bastard!

Adorable Girlfriend said...

Gwen, my boyfriend is an attorney to be -- sits in July. He can charge or act as a lawyer, but he can give advice. I don't think this is correct what they are telling you, but I don't know. If you'd like me to investigate for you, I'd be happy to ask the BF to do so.

Please, feel free to e-mail me at adorablegirlriend@gmail.com. I cannot promise anything, but I know that people on the phone are 75% of the time totally wrong!

Hugs.