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Loss of Personal Property Due to Electrical Outage

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nassini

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?

Texas

Hi, I am new here so be kind : )

Centerpoint services the power lines where I live. On a Saturday morning (Friday according to their records) I was up at 2:30am and the power went out 4 consecutive times. I had music playing and after the last time my subwoofer on 5.1 speakers started humming. The following Monday I put a load of clothes to wash and when I woke up I found that the power went out and my clothes were soaking wet. Apparently the power outage messed up my washing machine, because the drain and spin cycle doesn't work at all now. I called Centerpoint the next day to complain and was told that I could file a claim. So I called the number I was given and filed a claim, I asked the women I was speaking to what I should do in the meantime. She said I could go buy replacements but be sure to keep the receipts and I should hear something with the next 5-10 business days.

I got a letter stating that "the electricity in my area operated" and according to some tariff that is like law they are not responsible for my equipment messing up and I should have proper protection on all my electrical equipment. I called the Sr Claims agent and left voicemails with all the details twice over a week period. Today I took a chance and called again she answered said that its not covered and they won't pay for damaged equipment because they only put out a best effort to give reliable service. I told her what the other women told me about getting a replacement and she said that it was only a recommendation that they won't stop anyone from getting replacement equipment and that doesn't mean they will necessarily pay for the replacements, hence keeping the receipts. I am now out $600 and for my bad speakers and washing machine, is it possible that I can recover this money in small claims court? I am sure that has happened before anyone have experience? I don't want to spend the money filing for small claims if its a guaranteed loser, which is what the Sr Claims Agent led me to believe.

Thanks for any responses. If any more information is needed I can provide I will be happy to do so.
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Sure - just find out what caused the power outage and sue the person responsible (Hint: It's almost definitely not the power company).

What you need to do is get a good surge protector for your equipment.
 

nassini

Junior Member
thanks for the responses.

the first time it went out was due to a wire shorting. the second outage was due to a capacitor bank exploding. its not practical to put surge protectors on everything in the house, i have one for my computers and tvs, but a surge protector on a washing machine thats absurd to me.

if i claim under my home owner's insurance would my premium go up?
 

Delawhere?

Junior Member
You can get a whole-house surge suppressor that installs on your main electrical panel that will protect everything electrical in your home. Square D (and others) make these and they also have suppressors included for your telephone and CATV/SAT cables/lines too. The cost of these are around $200 and can be easily installed by any DIY'er comfortable with working around electric panels, or just hire an electrician to do it for you. It might even get you a small discount on your homeowners insurance, depending on what company you have.

Either way, you can file with your homeowners insurance, but be careful as this is a relatively small claim amount and insurance companies now compile reports and payout claims, which will impact your insurance costs/premiums in the future. I'd save making a claim against either the electric or insurance company for a major claim/incident. I had a neighbor whose home got struck by lightning and it back-fed the utility lines and affected mine and 4 other houses. Each home had over $10,000 in damages and the utility company ended up paying around 80% (insurance paid the balance less deductible) since the utility was found to have improper grounding on their distribution system thus, they were responsible to a major extent.
 

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