Today I had an appointment with the proprietario (owner) of my old apartment. He sent me an email yesterday with a breakdown of the utenze (utilities) that I have to pay. I hadn't seen a single bolletta (bill) since I arrived in that apartment last December.
When I received his email, I was surprised to see the amount was about 900 Euros. He created a spreadsheet with a breakdown of everything. I immediately emailed him back to ask for copies of the bollette. I generally trust people, but you can't be too sure. Besides, the bollette didn't start adding up since the day I arrived, and they didn't take note of any of the contatori (meters) when I moved in.
We looked at the contatori together, even though the gas one we didn't find at all, to see what I still owe for the bollette that haven't arrived yet. It didn't make much sense, since the utility companies do some odd calculations, so I told him that I prefer to wait for the bollette to arrive.
When I asked him, "Allora, devo darti i soldi subito per le bollette? (So, I have to give you the money immediately for the bills?)", he smirked and nodded his head. I had to explain that I don't carry that kind of money around and I have no libretto degli assegni (checkbook). "Ti devo fare un bonifico. (I have to wire you money.), I told him. "Sė, questa settimana per favore. (Yes, this week please.)"
I did tell him that he was supposed to give me the bollette every two months when he received them, but he didn't react. He basically told me that I used the utenze and now I have to pay them.
I'm just happy that I didn't stay in that apartment for the entire year because I would've had to pay an even larger sum all at once.
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