The British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal (BCRT) has ruled that a luxury strata building in Vancouver was within its rights to shut off a tenant’s electric vehicle (EV) charger over unpaid bills.
Milad Rostamkhani claimed the Shangri-La at 1111 Alberni St., overcharged him $1,911 for the installation of his EV charging station. Despite being overcharged, Rostamkhani said he paid the bill, and provided a carbon copy of the cheque as proof. The strata had no record of the payment being made.
When the strata discovered the missing money, they shut off power to his EV charger, forcing Rostamkhani to allegedly pay hundreds of dollars for gas.
Rostamkhani was asking for his debt to be cleared, a refund to cover the overpayment, as well as $200 per month for his gas costs.
In their decision, the BCRT said the cheque was not proof of payment, but rather than he had written a cheque at some point for $1,911.
“It does not mean the cheque was delivered, cashed, or cleared the bank,” the decision reads.
With the unpaid debt, the CRTC said the strata was justified in shutting off the power, and did not order the strata to turn it back or refund or pay him any money.
A full copy of the decision can be found below.
ST-2021-007484_final_decision_May_3__2022
