(no subject)

[alexeye]

a little more info about our electricity problem.

the boy and i have missed three days of work so far. com ed is almost outside of their "72 hours/3 business days" to re-establish service. we're both very afraid that they won't come today, but we can't seem to find any recourse if they go outside of this time window. the customer service reps won't tell me what happens after 72 hours/3 days. i tried calling city information, and all they did was connect me with com ed. the next step, i guess, is calling my alderman.

so, for anyone who might have an idea of what to do . . .

1) should our landlord be responsible, in some way, for the time we've been living there without power? he had a month and a half to re-establish the connection before our lease began, and he didn't get it done.
2) should com ed owe us SOMETHING if they go outside their established window?
3) who could i possibly talk to about this if the problem continues?

i've been assured every day since thursday that our order was assigend and a service man would be at my house. on friday evening, someone from com ed called ME to tell me someone was on their way. they weren't. there have been numerous other complications - i've probably talked to 20 people at com ed. i wasn't even told about the 72/3 thing until SATURDAY.

Comments

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

I found an article on the Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO) - hot line at 773-292-4988. Sound like they give a lot of advice to tenants on their rights.

you've probably already seen this: http://www.tenants-rights.org/english/Heat_and_Other_Essential_Services.pdf
Not very useful for electricity, but some of the numbers listed on it might be useful?

[alexeye.livejournal.com]

thanks so much - i actually hadn't seen that handout. i'm going to call MTO today.

[mizrobot]

Electricity is considered an "essential service" so you should have some recourse, such as being able to pro-rate your rent and deduct the days that you lived without it. I'm sure Chicago has a tenants' rights association so I would look them up and see if they can offer any advice.

[alexeye.livejournal.com]

that's what we were thinking, about the pro-rating. i believe the place is technically uninhabitable without electricity.