Housemates Shared Gas/Electric Bill - Who is right?

leggydan

I have a problem with a final bill from my previous house and i'm really distressed as the other person involved is one of my oldest friends. Here is the story in a nutshell:

• I moved into a 3 bedroom terraced house with my friend on 3rd October 2008
• My friend decided to stay at her boyfriend's house every night since then and only came back to shower and do some washing (most days)
• In March she stopped coming back at all unless required (she probably slept in the house a total of 10 times)
• I moved out of the house on 28 June 2009
• We paid our gas/electric bill through direct debit (in her name as house is rented from her Dad) at £40 per month to Scottish Power
• Our final bill now states that we owe £429 on top of what we have already paid
• As a frugal energy user I'm sure that this isn't because i have used the gas/electric excessively in her absence
• My housemate thinks i should pay the whole bill as she feels her half is covered in the monthly £40 and that i have used the gas/elec excessively
• I feel we should pay half each (or me pay a little more but not sure what) as the bill would have been more or less the same had she actually lived there and it wasn't my choice for her to not live there

I would never have moved into the house in the first place had i known she would never be there and certainly not if i was going to get left paying to heat a 3 bedroomed house by myself.

I now need to work out who should pay what and was wondering if anyone here had any advice for me. I am waiting for copies of the meter readings from when i moved in and when i moved out, i was hoping i would be able to compare this with other people's bills who have 2 people living in a 3 bed house so i can work out what we should pay and then i will pay any excess. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as i have no idea how to resolve this.

Thank you

KimYeovil

IF NO OTHER PRIOR AGREEMENT WAS MADE (as there clearly does not seem to be) you should each pay half. QED.

ifonlyitwaseasier

half each, both "living" there (even if she was absent i bet she left stuff plugged in in her room)

Vestra

Was £40 a month to cover gas and electric? There is no way that would be enough.

You should pay half of the final bill and she should pay half, doesn't matter what she did and did not use unless there was a prior arrangement.

Cardew

Perhaps your friend also thinks you should pay for a greater proportion of the rent, water charges, council tax, telephone etc????

Agree with above, unless a prior agreement a 50:50 split.

Gerrard_8_lfc

Simple pay half of it as part of the agreement and tell SP to invoice daddy.

good for her acting like that to a "friend"

greyster

this is a common issue, especially in studentland.

It must be split 50/50 unless otherwise agreed.

Your friend may have a fair point that most the energy is used by you but he agreed to live with you and share all bills. In my eyes he is not living up to his agreement with you. He is not in a position to negotiate.

And FYI a £40 DD wasnt enough... i wouldnt see that charge by your energy provider as excessive for a house that size. Your friend should see that as standard usuage and not you going mental with the heating inhis absense.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

as the account is in your friends name, it is she whom SP will chase up for payment, give her half, oh and make sure that the final account was based on an actual reading and not an estimate.

advantix

Only the person named on the account will be chased for the final balance as this is who the agreement was with. Any query or disagreement between you and your "friend" is seen as a third party dispute which SP (or any other provider) will not get involved in.

leggydan

Thank you so much for all of the responses and advice, i really appreciate your opinions as i genuinely want the matter solving correctly even if it is me who turns out to be out of pocket. The fact that we were paying so little each month now makes it look as though i have used an average household's units plus an excess of £429 but in fact we were paying too little to cover the average usage in the first place hence the new bill.

My idea to resolve this now is to get a new (correct quote) to see what we should have been paying each month to cover the average usage and then anything above this would be gas/elec i have used in excess of this meaning i would pay this difference. Does anyone know what an average 3 bed house would use in units? The house had 3 bedrooms (one was the attic) and a kitchen/diner, lounge and bathroom if this helps.

Thanks again for your help :-)

keith1950

Hi. average useage is approx. 3500 kwh of electricity and 20500 kwh of gas.