Can't terminate electrical service/get electrical out of my name?

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by Oldhag1

I don't know about where you live but every place where I have had utilities the laws require the utilitiy meters to be accessible to the utility company whether a resident is on premise at the time or not. In other words, they are not allowed to be behind locked areas. Besides, most people don't schedule for the utilities to be switched over until the day of or the day after move out. I know as landlord I have no interest in paying for the utilities until the tenant has turned over the unit.

I would not be surprised if the landlord is trying to avoid having the utilities switched over to them and from what it sounds like the utility company has had this specific problem with them before. The suggestion to contact the ombudsman of the utility company (if they have one) or the utility commission is a good one.

At one time I managed a couple of historic brick buildings that were live/work space.

These are zero lot line structures and the electric meters were inside the space...

Each month the tenants were required to use utility provided devices that mimic the meter and set the dials to what the meter read and leave in window...

It really did work well... once a year there was a prove up where the utility scheduled a time, night of day, to come and physically read the meter.

Should a tenant forget the utility would bill based on ESTIMATED usage which seemed to to be slightly padded.

Of course the utility could always turn off service at the pole with no need to physically enter the property.

One of my friends was a meter reader for a time... he carried a company issued telescope to read some meters... the utility would also provide a 90 degree meter base that would turn a alley meter 90 degrees so it could be read from the street without going into the fenced alley...

Several self help measures come to mind as does camping out at the utility office taking names as you go...

[JanND]

Originally Posted by whaler12

Hi,

My lease ended two weeks ago. I wrote the LL a 30 day notice, returned keys, etc. and picked a date to cancel service. The lease had everything included minus electricity.

I'm unable to terminate the electrical service. I scheduled a termination date for Nov. 3. The utility company called me and told me that the locks had changed ? and that they can't access the meter. This was not a problem when I needed to switch electrical over to my name initially a year ago.

There's a notice during the initial cancellation that states if the company is unable to access the meter, they will continue to bill me.

Customer Service told me to contact the LL who the company is familiar with, and to check back with them to make sure he has contacted them so they can gain access to the meter. He has yet to do so. I keep pestering them.

Any idea what I should/can do? This is MA. No new tenants have moved in to my old apartment yet

Any help is appreciated

All they have to access is the meter. Is the meter behind a locked gate or something?

You wrote your post on the 16th.....Did you vacate on the 2nd? It would have been easier for you to get the utilities turned off while you still had your keys and could be present. Your LL changed gate locks over night, so they couldn't access the meter on the 3rd?

How is the electric company going to bill anyone if they can't get to the meter? Their excuses make no sense. I'd get on the phone with someone at the electric company that can do something a supervisor. Be persistent.

I've had electric and gas turned off from States away without any issue, just a phone call. The issue is when they turn gas on in the future.
Pay close attention to what you are entitled to if this LL fails to return your deposit.....since he is playing the avoidance game. Go after those triple damages.(scroll down to section about LL returning deposits first link)
Hopefully something in the other links will help regarding utilities. I'd definitely take him to court for utilities.
http://rentlaw.com/dep/massdeposit.htm
http://www.mass.gov/courts/case-lega.../landlord.html
http://massachusettsevictionlaw.org/Utilities.html
https://www.landlordology.com/massac...d-tenant-laws/