Utility Deposits

[UpsideDownMI]

How do you setup utility deposits after you file? Do you have to contact each utility that you included or will they contact you for the deposit? I filed a week ago and need to get moving on my gas/electric/water utilities.

[klandsb]

Well, I work for a gas company in PA. I can only go by the way we do it. Once u file your account w/be finaled and a new account started up for you. The sec dep w/be requested by the company. I can only speak for ours but you can mke the pmt in 3 mthly installments w/the first one due immediatly and the others added onto your bill.
Not sure if this helps you or not.
As I see it let them contact u. They have been made aware of the situation thru the bankruptcy proceedings and its up to them to set up your new accounts , unless of course your utilities are shut off which is a different scenario.

[walkthaplank]

Don't worry.... they'll let you know

The typical situation in my state (I don't know about your state, but I can't imagine it is any different) is to close your old account, write off that debt, establish a new account complete with deposit and mail you a new statement.

[UpsideDownMI]

Thanks for the response.

Can my utility companies that I included in bk shut off my utilities without providing notice to me?

[walkthaplank]

Thanks for the response.

Can my utility companies that I included in bk shut off my utilities without providing notice to me?

I would check with your states regulatory agency. I'm assuming your in Michigan, so this http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc should be them.

Public utilities are generally considered necessary for survival, so no they can't just shut off your service without notice just because you went BK on them. They have a procedure they need to follow as proscribed by the regulatory agency.

[AngelinaCat]

For whatever it's worth, here is our story:

Before we filed BK, we were running very late on our payments to the local electric company. Florida Power and Light (FPL). To the point that they finally made us pay them a deposit of more than $790.00 in order to keep our lights on--this after more than 40 years of perfect payments, etc. What a change a year or two can make.

BTW paying this deposit really put a huge *hurt* on us, because we had to pay it as a lump sum. Question: if they weren't happy with the weekly payments we were making, how did they think we were going to pay this lump??? It make no sense. But somehow we did it.

After that was done, we filed BK and included our payments to FPL and the deposit in our paperwork.

When we were ruled an Asset Case, this $791.00 deposit was included as an asset. How did that happen? I wish someone would explain it.

When we were offered the chance to buy back our assets from the BK estate, this deposit was included, although discounted to $500.00. Now to buy our stuff back, we had to include this deposit in the agreement and payment.

WHY? Paying this thing in the first place hurt tremendously. So we got to pay for it again??? WHY??

New posters, please don't say ask the attorney, all the old-timers know that our attorney was as useful as a tit on boar. I'm just ranting.

I will say that after all was said and done, and we were discharged, we got a notice from FPL that we had been extended a credit of about 1K. So maybe it all worked out in the end.

Sorry for the long rant, but perhaps this will help someone else.

Good luck to all.

[klandsb]

No u have to recieve a notice that they are shutting it off and actually you will recieve phone calls then a notice posted on your residence. With winter season approaching us fast time is running out for us to shut off anyone

[Ann]

If you are on time with all of your utilities do you still have to list them on the matrix?

[Regrets]

If you are on time with all of your utilities do you still have to list them on the matrix?

Yes, this is a new one to me. Can I just keep all my accounts for utilities as they are if I am on time with them?

[walkthaplank]

I wouldn't include them if you don't want to discharge the debt. Utilities aren't creditors, they are pay as you go necessities.

[UpsideDownMI]

I only listed the utilities that I was behind on.

[Annie4]

I started contacting them the day after we filed.

But it was for the wrong reasons, lol. I was trying to explain to them that they weren't supposed to be added, so ignore it...but of course they couldn't.

Our utilities were added as sort of an accident (accident on my part, not the clerks, she knew exactly what she was doing) and turned out to be a HUGE blessing! Not only did it buy us time, but it saved alot of money in the end. Our cell phone co. didn't even require a deposit afterwards, and not even one of our utilities were interrupted in this process.

It keeps getting better for us each month. We got a much better fresh start than I ever expected.