Expert: Jason Barnette, Esq. - 3/19/2010

Question
When I first moved in to a new condo I was told that NES, Metro Water and My Trash Collection were the only companies that I needed to have turned over to my name. I did so and then two years after that I recieved a notice from a natural gas company saying that i owed them $800.00 but the name on the bill was then name of our builder. I called and explained to the gas company that yes I had lived there but that I had never recived a bill from then and the service was not in my name. They said that the bill would be taken care of by the builder but that I needed to set up a new account with them so I did. After setting up the account they continued sending our bills to a different address and it took about ten calls to get them to send a bill to the right address. When they did at last send a bill they showed they were charging me from sept 16th 2009 when my account shows I set up my service on Dec 22 2009. They also refuse to send me bills for the months of Dec, Jan and Feb. Instead they continue to send me a bill with one lump sum on it. And the bill shows useage from the month of Sept 2009 through Feb 2010. I had no account with them till dec 22 2009 and all invoices before dec 22 2009 are not in my name. What is my legal recouse in the state of TN?

Answer
Louis:

I would first contact the Tennessee Department of Consumer Affairs.  In addition, I would also write to said gas company that you're lodging a billing dispute pursuant to the Fair Credit Billing Act (although that really only applies to revolving accounts, not utilities but, they probably wouldn't know) and are requesting a formal accounting.

If the two above suggestions fail, I would advise you to consider retaining a skilled Tennessee consumer protection lawyer to represent you.  They are certainly in violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act and a letter from an attorney would probably get the results you desire.

Jason Barnette
Barnette Law Offices, LLC
1800 Hayes Street: Suite 122
Nashville, TN 37203
615-585-2245
http://www.barnettelawoffices.com
info@barnettelawoffices.com