Minnesota, U.S.A.
I am renting a house. I have been renting about 3 years now. Today I got a letter from the gas company saying they don't have anyone listed as living here, and they will disconnect the gas in 10 days if I don't call them.
First off I didn't realize I was suppose to be paying a gas company. I really don't know anything about furnaces I assumed it was electric, since I never got billed anything other than my electric bill / water & sewer etc.
I did not talk long with the person on the phone. The lady was being rude, literally yelling at me on the phone. I was confused. She started asking for my information and I hung up on her. I didn't want to start agreeing to things without getting some legal advice first.
What I want to know is am I legally obligated to pay the gas company for 3 years of gas even though I never had it connected. Apparently after the last tenant disconnected the gas company made a mistake and continued to give me gas without charging me. I never had any contract or agreement with them oral or written to pay for their services.
I am estimating the bill will be between $3000 and $5000 dollars. There is absolutely no way I can afford that. I don't know what to do. Our electric bill is already $150-$200 a month. If I had known I had to pay more on top of that I would have been looking for a different place to live a long time ago. Also I would probably not have used as much heat, since It would be costing me more. I don't think this is fair that they can charge me for 3 years of service like this.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. With the economy as it is I was already suffering. Now I feel just lost.
I am renting a house. I have been renting about 3 years now. Today I got a letter from the gas company saying they don't have anyone listed as living here, and they will disconnect the gas in 10 days if I don't call them.
First off I didn't realize I was suppose to be paying a gas company. I really don't know anything about furnaces I assumed it was electric, since I never got billed anything other than my electric bill / water & sewer etc.
I did not talk long with the person on the phone. The lady was being rude, literally yelling at me on the phone. I was confused. She started asking for my information and I hung up on her. I didn't want to start agreeing to things without getting some legal advice first.
What I want to know is am I legally obligated to pay the gas company for 3 years of gas even though I never had it connected. Apparently after the last tenant disconnected the gas company made a mistake and continued to give me gas without charging me. I never had any contract or agreement with them oral or written to pay for their services.
I am estimating the bill will be between $3000 and $5000 dollars. There is absolutely no way I can afford that. I don't know what to do. Our electric bill is already $150-$200 a month. If I had known I had to pay more on top of that I would have been looking for a different place to live a long time ago. Also I would probably not have used as much heat, since It would be costing me more. I don't think this is fair that they can charge me for 3 years of service like this.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. With the economy as it is I was already suffering. Now I feel just lost.
