I declared bankruptcy but still getting billed?
I filed Chapter 7 in Feb 08 and in May 08 my case was cleared (I got the chapter 7) I surrendered my house- however there is one other person on the deed that WASNT on the mortgage… I asked that my name be removed from the water bill as I am no longer in possession yet I received a water bill NOW- (Talked with lawyers in Novemeber 08 to get my name removed so it was the co-deed persons responsibility and NOT mine-) The lawyer said they would look into it and get my name off the bill- now its only in MINE and its 7- Legally- do I have to pay since its NOT in my possession?
Its been almost a year… the bills before were in BOTH of our names going to the house that I used to own… Now its only in my name- I am confused, pissed off and annoyed.
I havent been billed; its been going to the other person on the deed not me- now its going to me
October 31st, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Legally if the company wasn’t on your bankruptcy then yes you are liable. However I think you have an interesting point that if you produce the bankruptcy paperwork to the water company they may have to reconsider what or if you owe. The burden lies on them not you. If that doesn’t work the media loves these stories especially in these economic times. Big company messing with people doesn’t look good for them they will probably drop it to save them from the bad publicity.
October 31st, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I too have been through a bankruptcy (although I’m far from an expert). Since the water bill was not part of the bankruptcy, as far as the company knows, you were the one responsible for the bill. So yes, you are the one responsible for the bill at this point and time. I’m not sure why its taken a year for this all to come to light though. I’m also not sure why you didn’t check with your lawyers on a regular basis until you were sure that the situation with the water bill was resolved. A "we’ll look into it" is not a definite answer and they should have checked back with you to give you an update. You would have gotten some kind of notification letting you know that your account had been canceled or changed or whatever.
Now, you’ll have to dispute the bill. It may be as simple as sending them a copy of your bankruptcy and show that you weren’t even at that house. They may simply hunt down the person that was living there and bill them instead. Or it may be more challenging and you’ll need to contact your lawyer.
Its just the same as when you move from a house, but forget to cancel your water/electric account. I did this once and was responsible for paying 2 months worth of utility bills since it was my fault for not informing the companies that I was no longer a residence of that address. I’m not sure why you couldn’t have done the same rather than going through the lawyers. Either way, its highly likely you’re going to have to fork over the money. Sorry.
I hope you get this resolved quickly.