Utilities during bankruptcy

[mzbridget]

I can't find the specific answer to my question so posting as new thread. If you have links in the forum that answers this, please provide them.

I filed today and my utilities are up-to-date except my water which I included in BK. Do I continue to pay my utilities while BK is open or is this the period of time where I just don't pay and they get wiped out. It would be great not to pay and save that money but I don't want to get myself in a pickle. I had horrible credit when I opened these accounts and I wasn't charged a deposit.

[dischargedbk]

I believe are rules that during BK that your utilities can not be cut off, but I am almost certain that you need to continue to pay post BK. I would consult with any attorney on that to be sure. In my case, I elected to keep my utilities current as if I had included in BK, they would have required me to setup a new account and that would have required a deposit. It was dumb for me to include, as the amount I was delinquent was less than the fee to setup the new account and deposit totaled. I am talking about my electric bill here as my water was part of my rent and no issue there. I did reject my apartment lease in my BK and that wiped out the lease and associated charges (water, etc). I walked away, rented a much nicer place and no recourse from the landlord I left. They were basically SOL.

[mzbridget]

Got it. My water is more than the deposit they require so I'll keep all others current. Thanks for the reply!

[LadyInTheRed]

Yes, definitely pay your post-petition utility bills.

[AngelinaCat]

We continued to pay our electricity, cable, and the land-line telephone. Those were our only utilities. We live in the country with our own well and septic.