Hi all,
I would like to ask a question regarding utility bills.
I’m still kinda new in Japan and deciced to move from a sharehouse to an apartment. I am currently on my 2nd month on my new apartment but I haven’t received any utility bills yet. My Japanese coworker helped me in opening account for those utilities and the payment method is through a kombini which the and supposedly I should be receiving mails for it. But until now, I haven’t received any billing mail or information yet.
Is there a way to get in touch with customer service for company like Tepco? I tried calling their number the the automated operator is on Japanese language.
Thanks.
5 comments
Call the same number. Unfortunately I don’t think there is an English menu so maybe get your co worker or a friend who can understand japanese to help you.
You could be getting bills soon. The bills may be charging you for the month two months ago. Let’s say you get it in December, you’re paying for October’s. Also, some bills might be combined months. Water is generally two months of usage. Gas can be either monthly or bimonthly depending on how much you use.
Sometimes when you move into a new place the post office won’t deliver mail to you until you confirm your name at the address. Look out for a little postcard asking you to send it back with confirmation of your name and address, once you do that the mail will start pouring in.
TEPCO has [English inquiry page](https://www4.tepco.co.jp/en/other/contact/customer-e.html). For other services, you have to tell us exactly which company you are using or we can’t answer like TEPCO.
Some good advice on here already, so let me throw something else that might save you the trip to the conbini. You can pay your utility bills via your credit card, so you can rack up points or miles. Also, talk to your apartment’s mgmt. company and see if they partner with a credit card company to pay your rent. Last place I rented was through Starts and they had a visa that I would pay my rent through and rack up some points, so every 3-4 months or so I would get 10,000 yen off my monthly rent. Not huge but better than nothing.