The disconnect is people paying 99 bucks or even 500 bucks for a course expecting to talk to these people directly for hours on end.To many of these people it is all or a big portion of their money.Reality is if someone is making thousands per hour they can't take 99 bucks and then spend 10 hours with someone.

I Clean gutters and check that water hoses have been disconnected before freeze.

Friend got it with this at a vacation home.Forget the billing and fix the problem:First take better pictures of the meter and the connection for evidence.Get an electrical contractor to come out, disconnect the illegal connection and install a security box with a lock so there's no access to the power  connects.Write a letter, send it Certified to the neighbor with copies of the tampering that this is criminal fraud and theft and if it occurs again, they will be prosecuted - - clearly note a copy has been sent to the Utility Company.You might research the owner of the property and send a copy to them also (in case it might be rented).You didn't start this but need to control it.

One was a lawyer, her number was disconnected.

If they dont pay. the utility disconnects the service at the meter for that user only.As a landlord you are responsible of the HVAC and electrical infrastructure.

I cancelled my service once I caught on that the leads that seemed promising suddenly had their numbers disconnected and I would notice the same email addresses come through.

Where I live, electrical only needs to be brought up to code if the electricity has been disconnected for a certain length of time - I think it's one year, but it could be as low as 6 months.

I like the backwater valve part of the program but the "disconnect rain leaders" language is concerning.

My concern here is that pipes just don't "disconnect" on their own so they might be worried about what they'll see in the wall once opened?

You often want to be disconnected from just about anything emotional when making decisions of this sort.