Am I liable for this debt?

JoeBloggs80

Back in 2006 I lived in a shared house with some other people. One of them (lets call him Mr B Smith) had the gas bill in his name. Not his full name just his inital and then surname. When he moved out, no-one bothered to change his name off the bill, and we just kept on paying the gas bill by cheque for the next few months. Then we all moved out, I called British Gas, said I was Mr B Smith and asked for a final bill. The bill was sent to my current flat and was paid in full. I'm almost certain it was fully paid as I needed to show proof of this to the landlord to get my deposit back

Nearly 3 years on, Mr B Smith started getting letters to my flat. As I was curious I opened them. It was an outstanding gas bill for around 600 quid from the time at previous house. Perhaps I should have called up and remonstrated but I'd since thrown out all the old bills from that house and didn't want to through the hassle of explaining that I wasn't actually Mr Smith I,perhaps stupidly, just ignored them. In the past few months - the debt has been handed over to a collection agency and they're now sending progressively nasty letters threatening bailiffs, blacklisting, extra fees, etc.

So am I liable at all for this debt? I'd like to call them up to explain but am worried that by previosuly impersonating Mr B Smith I could get in trouble and the debt passed on to me, as I was there in the house at the time.

I've sent the last couple of letters back saying 'Person not at this address' but they keep being sent, presumably through some sort of automated system. If I ignore them or just keep sending them back could that hold me responsible in anyway legally?

Any advice would be appreciated.

GeorgeUK

If it was for billing error that the gas company made, they are only allowed to go back 1 year to reclaim the money. Do you know when they first tried to collect for the unpaid bill?

JoeBloggs80

The first notice I recieved was in november 2008. 2 full years after we had left the previous address.

Does that mean I should call up and state the debt as void?

GeorgeUK

You may need to check if the company is a member of the Energy Retail Association, but this is the relevent information from consumerfocus with regards backbilling.


You may also want to double check this with nationaldebtline just to confirm that they agree that you are not liable. They may be able to assist with the contents of any letter too.

JoeBloggs80

Ok Thanks. I will check those out.

What about the issue of having a different name on the bill? Will calling up admitting to previously impersonating my ex-flatmate result in me being held liable for the debt - as presumably at this moment I am not as it is his name despite being my address?

lxpeanut

I don't think you need to admit anything. As far as they are concerned Mr Smith asked for the bill to be sent to that address. Whether he ever lived there or why he would do that is irrelevant. But if you feel like explaining just tell the truth that you were dealing with paying the final bill so Mr Smith asked for the bill to be sent to your address. It doesn't matter that it was you that actually asked them.

I don't see how they would be able to hold you liable in any way as the debt is not in your name. But I would still follow GeorgeUk's advice and get it settled properly.

JoeBloggs80

Yes you're right I should.

Is it best to call up British Gas about this - or the collection agency it has been passed on to? Its in the hands of the collection agency at the moment but I have a feeling they will just be interested in the debt and not the how or why of it.

Can British Gas retract the debt from the agency at this point if I settle it with them?

GeorgeUK

I would contact the nationaldebtline first to make sure they agree with your argument, but also get a copy of your credit file (free at experian if you cancel within 30 days) and see if they have put a default on your credit file. Hopefully they haven't done this to whoever's name you used.

If NDL agree that the debt should not stand or is not enforcable, then i would contact BG direct as it should never have been sent to a DCA, so why should you need to deal with them.

JoeBloggs80

OK. Sounds like its best to give NDL a call.

My ex-flatmate had a terrible credit history himself, he was still running from a years old 10k loan back then.

Thanks for your help.

JoeBloggs80

Hi all - update on this one.

I called BG to try and dispute the payment, but they say as I am not the person whos name the account is in they cannot give me any information about it.

Is there anyway I get around this and act on my old flatmates behalf?

GeorgeUK

What did NDL say about them persuing an old utility debt?