Utility Bill problem

[jefferino]

The electric bill for my primary residence is current.

This month's bill however was astronomical. (usually about $60, now over $300 and will go higher)

It turns out that the unpaid utility bills from two rentals (rooming houses) were transferred onto my primary residence electric bill account.

The electric company said they are legally allowed to do this. Once an account is closed, they will look for an active account and throw the past due amounts there.

I didn't file CH7 yet but will submit the paperwork in a few days to my attorney.

How does it work with Utility bills? Will it all be included with the CH7 and then I would be forced to pay a huge deposit for service for my primary residence??

Anyone have any experience on just how much that deposit might be?

In total, unpaid electric bills will exceed $2000. In Wisconsin, by law the electric company cannot turn off service from November until April 15th.

[keepinitreal]

How does it work with Utility bills? Will it all be included with the CH7 and then I would be forced to pay a huge deposit for service for my primary residence??

Yes, that is probably what will happen. They've got a monopoly and there's not much we can do.

[Detroit]

I included my $1000 past due on my utility bill. About a week and a half after I filed, the electric company sent me a notice requiring a $330 deposit (my average bill over 12 months is nearly $200 [super high in the winter and very low in the summer]). I had 20 days to pay it, so I split it over two paychecks. After 12 months of on-time payments, I get my deposit back (technically, they apply it to future bills starting in month 13).

They zeroed out my previous account and now I start fresh with my "first" bill. Once that's paid (on time), I can request a payment plan, so I'm not messing up my new budget with $300 winter utility bills right off the bat.

[tcreegan]

Hi jefferino,

Wisconsin right? The utilities are regulated by the Public Service Commission see http://psc.wi.gov/

I think max deposit = 2 highest bills but the winter billing thing seems to confuse the issue

Nice touch: Residential deposits are returned with interest after 12 consecutive months of prompt payment

Tom in Colo

[Detroit]

I found that a "nice touch," too - my utility also pays interest (quarterly). Wonder if it will look like my savings account interest, which was 29 cents last time I looked.

Jeff, it's also nice of WI to not shut off during the winter. Just across the lake from you, we don't have that luxury. Last year in Bay City (MI), "WWII veteran freezes to death in own home." I can't post links yet, but that's the headline if anyone's interested in looking it up.

The man died of hypothermia indoors and the coroner said it would have been a painful death. The man's utility company was restricting his electrical use due to a $1000 past due account and "Schur’s neighbor... said Schur had a utility bill on his kitchen table with a large amount of money clipped to it, with the intention of paying that bill."

[jefferino]

I just called

What I decided to do is just pay the bare minimum to keep the service on. I discovered that there is no set start/end date as to when they decide to leave the service on for the winter. It is a totally random decision based on the cold weather, no earlier than November and no later than April 15th. Last year, it was late December.

I can't believe that I'm praying for cold weather!

The deposit is going to amount to be the two highest CONSECUTIVE months, though. And yes, the good thing is that with a year of on-time payments, I get the deposit back!

Thanks for the replies