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Landlords and bills for time I wasn't living in my apartment
Thanatos
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I moved into my current apartment on July 1st. However, my roommate and I paid for an extra 2 weeks rent in order to get the apartment, from June 15th-July 1st. Today, I got an electric bill in the mail forwarded from the property manager for $27.25 (a little less than 400 kilowatt hours), saying that since we moved in on the 15th, it was our responsibility. Given that we hadn't actually moved here until the 15th, and 400 kilowatt hours seems a bit much for an apartment that wasn't being lived in, do we have a responsibility to pay it?
I'm guessing "yes," but it seems kinda nuts that someone used 400 kwh of our power over 15 days without our permission (most likely the property manager left something plugged in or something), and we have to pay for it.
I'm guessing "yes," but it seems kinda nuts that someone used 400 kwh of our power over 15 days without our permission (most likely the property manager left something plugged in or something), and we have to pay for it.
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Now, if it was just a fridge and nothing else, then that does seem a bit high... but I know I've had the same thing happen (paying rent for a time before moving in) and I've always been hit with that kind of fees for power/garbage/etc etc
*edit
Yeah, I guess that's true if you're in a larger complex, though even then my gf was pretty much forced to set up the stuff long before she physically moved in... I've mostly been in single apartments, so it's been more through the landlord for me
A refrigerator should be burning 20-30 kwh per month. So, assuming they left that plugged in, that explains 10-15 kwh of it. Our heat was off when we got here. Each apartment is on its own meter.
So, where the hell did that extra 390ish kwh come from?
Given that my average kWh per day in June was about 8, and the Summer Residential Energy rate is $0.0376 per kWh, you can safely assume that the two week charge on your bill amounts to about two bucks.
You may get screwed anyway depending on how nice your landlord is, but I can't imagine what they could've done to use that much power even if they were being dishonest... I mean, there aren't that many reasons he would want to steal your power (especially if the bill is from the power company, and he's not going to touch the money anyway), and unless it's a neighbor who went through the trouble of stealing your line, it would be very strange.
A copy of one, anyhow.
Does it have a dedicated hot water heater? 5kw a day, apparently.
I know you got the letter from the landlord, but then he was probably assuming you'd just pay it without question. You'll probably get stuck with the bill anyway but he does owe you an explanation.
However, that assumes the place is being lived in, and that still doesn't explain all of the bill. Though, I'll feel less bad about paying it, now.
Well, we've accounted for what, about 255Kw so far?
I'd say you'll have to call SCL (206.684.3000). Someone there can tell you what is happening--it's my guess that either the previous tenant had an outstanding balance, so the landlord told SCL that you moved in on the 15th so that he could avoid being held responsible (per this thing), or they fucked up and tied the meter-readings to whomever the current tenant is.
Either way, it seems pretty incredulous to have that many hours in a vacant apartment attached to your name for a billing period during which you weren't even a resident.
And yeah, I talked to SCL already. It isn't an outstanding balance, because the balance was paid up through the 18th, which is when the guy from the electric company came and did a reading.
Or
FOUR
Ha
Undred
Hundred
Maybe the property manager had it painted or something and they were running air compressors or fans or something. Maybe somebody left all the lights and fans on (especially if there's Potlights in the kitchen or something) for a few days?
Unfortunately, for the amount of the bill, I don't think it's really worth it to try and fight anyway. I mean, we've figured that at least half of the bill is legitamately your problem, so you're at worst getting cheated out of like 15 bucks. I lost that much last year from not checking to see if the change I got from twenties was counterfit.
Definitely, assuming you weren't holding a rave there every night.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
I think I might have a dedicated water heater, but I'm not sure. According to that link, though, my computer eats up twice as much power as the average water heater does.
I'm stumped. The only thing I could offer would be tales and anecdotes about this city's highly inefficient bill-collection system, and other weird shit that friends, family and myself have gone through with SCL.
They did change managers, so it's understandable, but given what other people have told me about the landlords, I was expecting a fight. :P
Thanks, all.
Most PSUs are between 60% and 80% efficient. They're rated at upwards of 500W. If you're gaming using a dual video card rig and a 70% efficient 500W PSU, then your KWh is going to be a great and fantastic deal higher than one 60-Watt lightbulb. It won't really be 500/0.7 but I'm willing to bet you it'll be consistently upwards of 350 Watts with regular spikes over 400 a lot of the time. So figure around 400/0.7 to get a rough consumption, divide by the number of minutes in use, multiply by 60 to get your KWh.
PCs not in use and simply on probably use as much as a 60 Watt lightbulb, because you're basically powering the fans, keeping voltage alive across the volatile memory and really that's it.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH