Tenant may of forged my name?

Question

To have to power cut on in a tenants name they must get a paper singed by me(landlord) and them(tenant) and carry it to the power company in town to have the power cut on in the home and billed to them.

I saw the power on and called the power company, they said they received my paper with my signature on it.  The power is on in someone else name. May be the tenants father, uncle, friend doesn't matter.  What bothers me is someone forged my name.

How should i proceed?  Rent is due this week, so should I see if he pays the rent and go along like nothing is wrong?  Or should I mention it now or before I get paid?  I have never had this happen.  Need pockets wisdom.

Bill P. · Answer

@William Pickett

It may have been because the other party had better credit than your tenant, or; the tenant has outstanding bills at the power company, or; someone else is going to be living there as well. other people paying for utilities happens occasionally when a friend is planning to live there as well. Or it could have been a favor from his parents to schedule the utilities on. Don't guess at the reason why, go find out the true story.

William Pickett · Answer

The name that the power is on is not the same as the tenant that I leased it too.  I'm not sure of the relationship that they have.  So I am not sure if the tenant knows someone forged my name or not. It does make me feel uneasy.  I just rented the place to this guy and had good feelings up until now. He paid first months rent and deposit.  Now this month is due this weekend.  But I feel as you do as to if they can do this what else could they do.

Bill P. · Answer

@William Pickett

There is definitely a lapse of reason that allowed someone to forge your name. But the next step is to find out why it happened. Obviously, you were going to sign for your tenants so having the paper signed isn't the question; it's how it got signed. Find out the story to see if they attempted to contact you but couldn't find you. See if they have a reasonable excuse before you simply evict them. If you can live with the story and explain that you never want them to do that again, then just move on since you will have paying tenants. If you don't like their reasoning or they are squatters, get rid of them immediately. The decision is yours as it will only affect your wallet.

Tyrus Shivers · Answer

@William Pickett

For me personally if someone forged my name I would terminate the lease and find someone else. If they do this what will they do in the future? Did they even try to contact you to sign the form? Did you sign the form at one point and do not remember? I do not know what situation your are in or how long it took you to fill the property, but I could not continue on a relationship with the tenant.