This business owner has been unknowingly footing her neighbor’s electric bill for half a decade. Now, it’s time for someone to pay up.
What happened?
In a viral video series with more than 200,000 views, business owner Lauren Gifford (@thegiffordfamily) was shocked to find that she’s been paying her business’ electric bill and her neighbor’s.
Gifford finally figured it out because they hadn’t been at the warehouse for the past two weeks yet still received a $500 electricity bill. “So it raised some red flags for us,” she says in one clip.
You’d assume the power company would help rectify the situation by reimbursing her, fixing what’s causing the issue, and mediating a solution between her and the neighbor whose bill she’s been accidentally paying.
But no.
“The power company doesn’t want to take care of it, and neither does my landlord,” Gifford says.
In the five-part video series, Gifford reveals that when she first moved her business into the building, she was told they’d have two power bills because they have a front office and a back warehouse with separate electricity meters.
Gifford and her husband spoke to their neighbor and quickly deciphered that it wasn’t the neighbors who were being sketchy but the landlord.
“They may be just oblivious to the fact that they’re either getting a smaller power bill than they’re supposed to or no power bill at all,” Gifford’s husband says.
To add to the complication, their building has been sold three times, and the neighboring warehouse space has been occupied by various tenants over the years.
Who’s gonna pay up?
“Eventually, we’re just gonna go after one or all of them, but we just have to figure out who’s actually at fault,” the couple says.
“‘Cause I don’t want to go after someone who’s not at fault. Like, I feel bad if the next-door tenant would get the brunt of this ’cause they didn’t know any different either,” Gifford’s husband says.
Gifford adds that she thinks they should go after the building owners because it’s not just a few hundred dollars that are at stake here.
“We’re talking about $20,000,” Gifford says.
But again, the current owners have only had the property for a year, so the question is: Would they assume responsibility for a mistake made two owners ago?
In the meantime, the Giffords did shut down one of their electricity bills, and the lights in their space didn’t go out, but they noticed that about half the lights were out on their next-door neighbor’s property.
That’s where the story ends for now, but the couple says they are taking legal action and consulting with lawyers, so you can keep an eye out for updates on their page.
How does this happen?
According to a tenant rights organization and an electric company, the Giffords’ issue is called “foreign load.”
If a person or business is paying for their neighbor’s bill, they can request a foreign load investigation. If their investigation confirms the electric bill isn’t properly split or charged, then they must transfer the account and any past-due balance to the landlord or owner.
It’s unclear how foreign loading happens, but it seems it could have come from a mistake installing the electricity meters, or a neighbor or landlord could have tampered with it.
And this isn’t the first time this has happened. Just last year, the Daily Dot reported on an apartment tenant who’s been paying her downstairs neighbor’s bill for three and a half years.
@thegiffordfamily Shiz just got real! We’re in touch with a couple local attorneys already but what are we missing?! We want to make sure we’re on the right track! #warehousenightmare #smallbusiness #vegaslawyers #onlineboutique #commercialrealestate #youcantmakethisup #attorneysoftiktok ♬ original sound – CC Bella Boutique
Commenter reactions
“5 years?! That refund check is going to look amazing,” a top comment read.
“Contact the Attorney General they will tell you the office to call to get it corrected. You can report the power company and your landlord,” a person suggested. (Though it’s unclear if this course of action will work.)
“How did your neighbor not know something was wrong. They were not getting any electric bill? Or the power company was double charging? Step 1 talk to neighbor (don’t accuse),” another added.
“Lawyer up!!” a commenter wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to the Giffords for comment via email and Instagram direct message.
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