Why we will not submit a local utility application

Every so often someone asks us to submit the water, gas, trash, or regulated electric application for them. The answer is no. Those providers have to speak with the account holder. We locate them and send the contact information and the way to enroll. We do not fill out those forms in your place.

That refusal does not describe the rest of the move. Electricity in a deregulated market, internet, TV and cable, satellite, phone, home security, insurance, home warranty, and movers are set up on the call with you. You hear the options and agree. Those orders are placed while you are on the line. "Just sign me up" is the wrong request for the city water department and the ordinary request for the internet plan.

What submitting a local application would do

The provider would still treat you as the customer, if they accepted the order at all. Many will not accept it from anyone but you. A deposit, a start date, and an ID check belong in that conversation between you and them. If we sent your information anyway, you might be bound to a start date you did not hear, or the order might be rejected the morning you arrive. Neither outcome is a service.

There is a second problem. A local utility asking for a Social Security number should hear it from you, on their line or their site. Do not email that number to us so we can "finish water." We do not want it for that purpose, and they will not take the account from us.

What we will do instead, for those four

Tell you which gas, water, trash, and regulated electric providers serve the address
Send the phone number or the enrollment page that belongs to them
Describe what they usually ask for, so the call is shorter
Correct the research if they say the premise is wrong

You then contact them and establish the account. Do it the day the notes arrive, while their offices are open.

What we will set up on the call

Bring the same conversation back to the services that are ours to complete with you. If you want internet, say which kind of use matters: work calls, streaming, or both. If the electric market is deregulated, say whether you care more about a fixed rate or a short term. If you want security, insurance, a home warranty, or a mover, say so before we hang up. Those get set up then. Waiting to "do them later yourself" is optional. Leaving the local utilities for later is how the water office closes.

Phrases that mean the wrong job

"Can you just use my information for the city." "My agent said you would open the electric account," in a regulated city. "I'll sign a release for trash." Those get a no. "Can we set up the internet while I have you" gets a yes, on that call, with you choosing the plan. Partners who forward the first kind of request will hear the same answer we give you. There is no back channel where an agent's email authorizes a municipal enrollment.

Common questions

Will you review my water confirmation after I enroll?

We do not receive a copy from the city. If you want to read us the start date and it does not match the notes, we will tell you. You call them to correct it.

Is there any local utility you will order if I am in a hurry?

No. A next-day move is a reason to call us immediately so the other services can be set up and the local information can go out the same hour. It is not a reason we can speak to the water district as you.

What should I do the day I decide?

Make the call with us. Leave with the services we set up confirmed, and with the local notes in your inbox. Then call those local providers yourself. The questions to ask them are in this article.