How to handle a dispute with a Utility company that landlord never sign up for?

[Daniel Ng]

My friend has a rental property. On the lease the tenants are suppose to pay for the utilities.

The Gas company sent him a termination notice stating that the Gas meter was tampered with, and he has to paid $300. He didn't notice the "bill", so it is now going through a Collection company. He did not open an account with the Gas company, so we don't know how the account was open with his information.

The rental property is manage through a property management company. The Management company took over the property once it was brought, since we use their Real Estate Agent. He has not had any contact with the tenants.

[Jordan Myer]

Quote from @Daniel Ng:

My friend has a rental property. On the lease the tenants are suppose to pay for the utilities.

The Gas company sent him a termination notice stating that the Gas meter was tampered with, and he has to paid $300. He didn't notice the "bill", so it is now going through a Collection company. He did not open an account with the Gas company, so we don't know how the account was open with his information.

The rental property is manage through a property management company. The Management company took over the property once it was brought, since we use their Real Estate Agent. He has not had any contact with the tenants.

 One of the first steps when moving in a new tenant is making sure they transfer utilities into their name. We require (as do most PM companies) that utilities are set up in the owners name when the property is vacant (so that vendors can use electricity while doing work, etc) I'm guessing the PM company put the gas in his name