How to Shut Off Utilities when Moving

Moving can be stressful and annoying in the best of times but one thing that should not be forgotten is the turning off or transferring of utilities. If this is not done you could easily find yourself in a new home with no running water or lights.

A week or two before the move, you need to call all of the utility companies to let them know about the move. If you are moving out of state then you need to have called the utility companies in that state and let them know to turn on the utilities. If you are moving to another residence in the same state then you have to find out what utilities are under what companies in your new area. It is easy to move a block away and still find out that your electricity bill is being handled by another company.

Before making phones call, first get the account numbers of all of your utilities because in most cases the customer service rep will ask for them. Let the company know that you are moving and need to either shut off or transfer the service to your new home.

If all or some of your utilities are being handled by another company, have those other companies turn on the utilities in your new home the morning of the move. If the utilities are being handled by the same company, speak with them to find out how everything works. You may be able to have them turn on the utilities in the new home in the afternoon and turn off the utilities in the old home later the same day or even the next morning.

Make very sure that the company has the write date and time if possible to shut off the utility that you requested because some companies have turned off their utility very early leaving some people in the dark or without a phone or cable. Accidents happen but be aware that with the electricity especially, the company has to send someone out to turn it back on and it can take hours before someone does come back to your home.

The companies that you need to call are your cable provider, the local telephone company, your gas company, electricity company, and the water company. If you are no longer using the service of an old provider, make sure to request your deposit and also leave your new address so that they can forward payment from your that deposit.