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can the termination of natural gas where the bill is disputed be constituted as a violation of the fourteenth ammendment's right to due process.
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): Illinois Already Tried: Informal complaint to ICC. Formal complaint is pending.
Terminated by who?
Nicor terminated service at my residence after transferring a bill of $3000 from a rental property in which the bill accrued.
No, the right to due process only applies against governmental entities. Nicor is a subsidiary of another corporation and thus the requirement for due process doesn't apply to them.If you would like any additional information or have more questions please don’t hesitate to ask but please do so my clicking on the Reply to Expert tab.We work for Positive Ratings, please click on one of the top three ratings or one of the Smile Faces, as this would be appreciated. We have recently implemented a new rating and feedback system. Please be aware that you are rating my courtesy and service as a professional, and not necessarily whether you like the information that you are receiving. Please bear in mind I can’t control what the law is and whether it helps you, I can only tell you what it says, and I assume you want truthful information.PLEASE DO NOT use the rating system to ask for more information or in an attempt to tell the website that you didn’t like the substance of the answer as it gives a NEGATIVE rating to me personally if your rating is one of the lower two.
Nicor was bought by ALG, a nationwide fuel provider. They are regulated by the government. A recent case in Indiana suggested that termination of water services during a billing dispute constituted a violation of due process.
I am aware of the ownership of Nicor by ALG, but they are a private company.I haven't read the Indiana case but I have heard of it and it is 1) on appeal, 2) the only state where I have heard of that happening, and 3) I thought, but am not sure, that it was something more than them being regulated by the government. I think they were either a municipal water supplier or operating under a government contract. They had some specific tie to the government other than just being regulated by them.Using the argument that regulation by the government requires due process would mean that credit card companies couldn't shut off credit, cell phone carriers couldn't turn off your cell phone if you didn't pay your bill, airlines couldn't cancel your ticket if your check bounced, etc.If you would like any additional information or have more questions please don’t hesitate to ask but please do so my clicking on the Reply to Expert tab.We work for Positive Ratings, please click on one of the top three ratings or one of the Smile Faces, as this would be appreciated. We have recently implemented a new rating and feedback system. Please be aware that you are rating my courtesy and service as a professional, and not necessarily whether you like the information that you are receiving. Please bear in mind I can’t control what the law is and whether it helps you, I can only tell you what it says, and I assume you want truthful information.PLEASE DO NOT use the rating system to ask for more information or in an attempt to tell the website that you didn’t like the substance of the answer as it gives a NEGATIVE rating to me personally if your rating is one of the lower two.
I am sorry that I did not see this tab. It appears I asked you a new question. I spoke with the attorney who wrote the article and he said he cannot represent Illinois client. Please let me know what is fair price for you to review this brief article and tell me where I am misunderstanding " due process".
thanks,
ellen
http://www.metrolouisvillelaw.com/due-process-required-for-municipal-utility-disconnections.html
No problem and no extra charge. I looked at it and it is just as I remembered, it was a municipal water supply so it was owned and/or operated by a governmental entity. The other cases in there also refer to "public utility" companies as opposed to private utility companies. It goes back to my first statement that due process rights only apply against the government. It's not a matter of them being regulated by the government they are actually a part of the government.If you would like any additional information or have more questions please don’t hesitate to ask but please do so my clicking on the Reply to Expert tab.We work for Positive Ratings, please click on one of the top three ratings or one of the Smile Faces, as this would be appreciated. We have recently implemented a new rating and feedback system. Please be aware that you are rating my courtesy and service as a professional, and not necessarily whether you like the information that you are receiving. Please bear in mind I can’t control what the law is and whether it helps you, I can only tell you what it says, and I assume you want truthful information.PLEASE DO NOT use the rating system to ask for more information or in an attempt to tell the website that you didn’t like the substance of the answer as it gives a NEGATIVE rating to me personally if your rating is one of the lower two.
I am sorry but I do not understand why water is treated differently than gas or electrice, etc.
Your argument suggests that without the power to terminate service without payment is like a credit card not being able to terminate account for non-payment. My life is not dependent on having a credit card.
What right does a customer have to prevent a monopolistic utitily from simply terminating a necessary commodity "at will".
I appreciate your attention and time.
I understand the confusion but it is not a matter of what they are delivering but rather who is delivering it. In the case you are looking at in the article the water is being furnished by a city, in your own personal case the gas is being delivered by a corporation. If you read the case carefully it refers to "entitlements" and no one has any "entitlement" against a private corporation.You may have a contractual claim against them shutting off the gas and you may be able to go to court and get an Injunction but what you do not have is a due process claim for the reason that they are not a governmental entity and denial of due process claims can only be made against a governmental entity.If you would like any additional information or have more questions please don’t hesitate to ask but please do so my clicking on the Reply to Expert tab.We work for Positive Ratings, please click on one of the top three ratings or one of the Smile Faces, as this would be appreciated. We have recently implemented a new rating and feedback system. Please be aware that you are rating my courtesy and service as a professional, and not necessarily whether you like the information that you are receiving. Please bear in mind I can’t control what the law is and whether it helps you, I can only tell you what it says, and I assume you want truthful information.PLEASE DO NOT use the rating system to ask for more information or in an attempt to tell the website that you didn’t like the substance of the answer as it gives a NEGATIVE rating to me personally if your rating is one of the lower two.
If you like, I will submit this with an increased price.
Yes, I pay my water bill to my village. I pay my NICOR bill to NICOR. Because they provided gas to a rental property which I did not request or have knowledge of, they figured they could transfer the accrued bill to my home account for purposes of collection.
I was coerced into entering a contract to pay for this service in order to keep my home account on.
They wield a big club. I repeatedly communicated to them that this was a civil dispute and should be decided in a court.
What incentive did they have since they can and did, terminate service at will?
What recourse do I have? It might appear that my agreement to put out $1k and commit to further payments willl look like an admission of responsibility.
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You can sue under a breach of contact even though you pay. On the check that you pay with just write "Paid under protest and with no admission as to liability" on the front and on the back. Then sue them to recover the money. I have seen this happen on a number of occasions with other utility companies but they usually back off when you sue them because they don't have anything obligating you to pay the other account. They know that most people won't do anything and so they come out ahead most of the time.In addition, you can hire a lawyer to represent you and sue for the attorney's fees as well or you can sue in Small Claims court and represent yourself.You can add a BONUS after the ACCEPT if you feel it is worth it, no need to resubmit the question.If you would like any additional information or have more questions please don’t hesitate to ask but please do so my clicking on the Reply to Expert tab.We work for Positive Ratings, please click on one of the top three ratings or one of the Smile Faces, as this would be appreciated. We have recently implemented a new rating and feedback system. Please be aware that you are rating my courtesy and service as a professional, and not necessarily whether you like the information that you are receiving. Please bear in mind I can’t control what the law is and whether it helps you, I can only tell you what it says, and I assume you want truthful information.PLEASE DO NOT use the rating system to ask for more information or in an attempt to tell the website that you didn’t like the substance of the answer as it gives a NEGATIVE rating to me personally if your rating is one of the lower two.
Experience: Began practicing law in 1992