Shared house who is liable for utility bill?

singsong_2

My daughter shared a house with 4 others. All have moved on. My daughter has moved back home. A gas/electricity bill arrived at my home addressed to all the tenants. She contacted British Gas and paid her "share" of the bill. British Gas are now saying that as they are unable to contact the other tenants she is liable for the whole bill. She did not live at the property for the whole billing period (before and after) but they insist that they cannot split the bill even though the landlord has provided meter readings. I realise she may have been naive in her handling of this but I was wondering if anybody had any advice please.

Premier_2

Get her to pay the bill and sort out any disputes with her ex-housemates.

It's not BG's role to sort out domestic financial arrangements between house sharers.
Your daughter is/was jointly and severally liable for the bill the whole time her name was on the account. i.e. she can be pursued for the full amount.

KimYeovil

Unfortunately everyone on the bill is jointly and severally liable for the whole bill. The utility company just chases whoever is easiest.

It is important when in shared accommodation (with shared liability) to every month read your meters, estimate the cost, take an instalment from everyone, and deposit that amount in the supplier's account. And keep and check receipts every month in case who ever went to the post office popped into the pub instead.

E.ON_Company_Representative

Hi

This is definitely a third party issue and British Gas will continue to chase all of the names on the account until the bill is settled.

As they already have your address, you will the primary customer they keep contacting.

You could dispute this with British Gas but they will tell you it’s a third party dispute and continue to follow this up with you.

If your daughter didn’t reside at the property the whole period the bill covers, the tenancy agreement will need to be providing before they will amend the dates and send a new bill.

Unless you can get the billing amended inline with the correct tenancy period, I suggest settling the bill and contacting the other occupants for their share.

KimYeovil

Am I just being grumpy or are these parrots from E-on bloody irritating to anyone else? What is it with this persistent posting to threads repeating information and advice that has already been given?

Vestra

KimYeovil wrote: »

Am I just being grumpy or are these parrots from E-on bloody irritating to anyone else? What is it with this persistent posting to threads repeating information and advice that has already been given?

Totally agree, they just post the same thing onto an answered topic. What do they think they are gaining, oh look Eon post on forums let's all sign up now now!!

E.ON_Company_Representative

Hi

I respect your opinions but I just want to reassure you that we’re not here to sell and we’re not here to promote anything. All we aim to do is give people general advice on the energy industry, from people who actually work in the industry.

littlekov

I had this problem when I moved out of my shared house in the last year of uni. Basically they tried to pursue me for the full amount because I was the only one who answered any correspondence, I said I would pay my share of the bill and that would be final (so I paid one-fifth).
They had a go at trying to get me to pay the balance by passing it on to a debt collection agency, which I refused to deal with until the energy company had looked into my case, as they hadnt even bothered trying to contact 3 of the other 4 people who lived in the house.
Luckily I had kept a copy of our tenancy agreement, which had the full names of the other tenants. I passed this on to the energy company, along with their mobile numbers and was later informed that the matter was settled, as the other guys had paid up.
So basically I ratted them out, but there was no way I was going to pay the balance and then try and get the money off the other 4 myself, because I would never have got them to pay up, as we had all fallen out in the last term and no-one was speaking to each other!!!
Dont let the energy company bully you into paying the full amount, I know by law you are supposedly liable for the full whack, but there was no way I was going to be bullied into paying up just because the energy company were too lazy to chase up the other tenants.
They will only bother to persist with whoever actually responds to their letters, so dont be afraid to pass on the contact details of the other tenants, after all, its their debt too.

planetf1

As an aside ref E.ON. Personally I thought the posting was helpful specifically answering the question, in good faith and with a clear disclosure that the poster was an employee.

I think it's rather good they're participating here in the spirit of the community?

illuminate

Premier wrote: »

It's not BG's role to sort out domestic financial arrangements between house sharers.
Your daughter is/was jointly and severally liable for the bill the whole time her name was on the account. i.e. she can be pursued for the full amount.

Neither is it the OPs role to chase BG customers for money.

Pay your share, pass on all the details you have of the other tenants and sit tight. They will bully the !!!! out of you, as our E-On friends here warn, and appear to approve of.

Unless you are the only person named on the bill. That of course changes everything.

Why not have a chat with your Student Union Rep. I can't believe these circumstances are exactly unusual.

Fire_Fox

planetf1 wrote: »

As an aside ref E.ON. Personally I thought the posting was helpful specifically answering the question, in good faith and with a clear disclosure that the poster was an employee.

I think it's rather good they're participating here in the spirit of the community?

And I think it's a cynical marketing ploy.