Utility question

[amjo30]

My petition was filed March 20th but since the entire petition was not filed the notices has not been mailed out. Well, the electric company is still going to disconnect me. I included my past due bill within my bankruptcy plan. Can the electric company still disconnect me eventhough I have a copy of the notice of bankruptcy filing? Would this be considered violating the automatic stay?

[walkthaplank]

I don't know where you are, but I am sure this is universal, in California a utility must honor the general stay. What they generally do is close your account and open a new account as Joe *DP* Blow or Joe *BK* Blow. They cannot charge you any kind of service establishment or connection charge, but they will undoubtedly require a security deposit. If you had one previously, that deposit gets credited to your closed BK account. Most systems will not show the DP or BK on the bill, just in their records.

I work for a utility and did customer service over the phones for several years.

Did you call your utility and speak to the BK department? Give them your case number and you should be ok.

[amjo30]

yes, i called and was told several things. I was told they will not take the information over the phone. Next I was told, they only accept paperwork from the attorney. Eventhough, I have a copy of the filings. Lastly, I was told the information can't be faxed. The company is Gulf Power. They also would not give me their bankruptcy department's address. Today I was told bankruptcy does not stop any disconnects. any suggestions?

[lrprn]

All the utility needs is your bk case number. They are just being arrogant, and they are violating your automatic stay to boot.

If you filed with an attorney, then call him/her immediately so they can deal with the utility directly on your behalf.

[justbroke]

Don't forget. Even though the Utility will basically include your prior account in the Bankruptcy, the new account will almost definitely require a sizable deposit.

Generally, deposits are twice your average monthly usage (over the last 6-12 months).

Just provide them with the case number, and date of filing.

[amjo30]

I am going in tomorrow and will also tell my attorney. They are really giving me a hard time and refuse to take the information by phone.

[walkthaplank]

Did you push your way up the food chain? Go as far as you can. If you cannot get the person on the phone to help you with your situation, go to supervisor, and on and on until you do.

Also, how close are you to being disconnected? If they do disconnect you, they will be required to restore your service immediately. Whether or not they accept your BK info and honor the general stay, file a complaint with the Florida Public Service Commission. This stuff needs to be tracked and believe it or not, will often carry more weight than your attorney threatening them. They answer to the PSC, all of their rate cases have complaints taken into account.

[amjo30]

Thanks for the info. I didn't know what to do next. I am going into the office tomorrow. My service is scheduled for disconnection after March 30th, which is Monday.

[bam531]

Our trustee told us that any utilities ( lights,phone, water etc) that we are currenly using cannot be included in bankruptcy. Which can be a bad thing if you are behind on these! Will the light company allow you to pay a little exra each month to catch your account up?

[StartingOver08]

Our trustee told us that any utilities ( lights,phone, water etc) that we are currenly using cannot be included in bankruptcy. Which can be a bad thing if you are behind on these! ..

We can include utilities here. I chose not to because of the extra deposits required, but our utilities have separate bk depts too. Maybe bam's district is different, but in our area you certainly can include the past due utility payments in your petition and have the debt discharged. Also the utility has to provide service to you, they can not cut you off during the BK. Call the BK dept of your power company now.

[amjo30]

I just came back from the light company. The representative had already started a new account for me as of today. I AM SO THANKFUL. This process has really been tough beause I was behind on everything. Hopefully, it'll get easier. wish me luck. This forum has been very helpful and informative. I am glad I found it.

[EricaCallaha]

I am so relieved to hear you are going to have electricity. It will get easier. I promise. It just takes a little time to get everything on the right path.

Good luck.

[liz417]

I just came back from the light company. The representative had already started a new account for me as of today. I AM SO THANKFUL. This process has really been tough beause I was behind on everything. Hopefully, it'll get easier. wish me luck. This forum has been very helpful and informative. I am glad I found it.

It will get easier, hang in there