Ex-landlord problem

Jewell_2

I hope I've posted this in the right section

Basically me and my partner were in a rental agreement that ended 19 April this year. We moved out of the flat on 27 March to move in to our new house but onviously we paid the rent right up until the 19 April as we were contracted to do so.

The day before we moved out (26 March) we contacted our electricty suppliers advised them we were moving out and transferred the account back in to the LL name (as instructed to do so). They calculated that we had a final amount owing of £180 which we paid. We then received the bill showing that this had been paid which included a paragraph saying that the bill was final but that the 26th March had been estimated (I assume that this was the period from us ringing them up, to them transferring the account in the LL name on the 27th).

At the end of May I had a phone call from the lettings agency saying that the LL had had an electricty bill and would I come in to discuss it. They gave me a scanned copy of a reminder letter saying that £68 was overdue. I was told I'd need to ring the electricty company to query it which I did so but wasn't given the time of day as the account wasn't in my name. On this letter were handwritten dates 27 March - 28 April. A period of which the flat was empty so no electricty was being used. Now admittedly we probably should have contacted the lettings agency again about it but we didn't which is probably a mistake on our part.

Fast forward 4 months and a default notice landed on my doormat saying that I have 28 days to pay the amount in full or it will be put on my credit record. We have had no other contact from the agency despite the fact that they have our address and both our mobile numbers. We didn't receive the original bill or any reminder letters subsequent to this, just the scanned copy. Don't get me wrong, if this is our bill then we will pay it, but I want proof that it is ours, not too much to ask surely!

We're going to set up a meeting with the lettings agency on Monday to discuss this and ask them to get us every single letter that the LL has received from the electricty company so that we can check the dates. We also want to know exactly what action the LL has taken to get it to this stage. To have a default set up so hastily is pretty disgusting imo and in the current climate when money is such an issue this could be pretty damaging to me.

Is there any course of action that we should follow with this and is there any sort of official body if you will that we could report the LL and maybe even the lettings agency to? There has barely been any communication with us apart from the initial phone call. Like I've said we'll quite happily pay it if it was accrued by us but I don't think anyone would pay up just because someone said they owed it :rolleyes:

We handed the keys back on 17 April when the agency did the final inventory. The only problem that we may have is that they could say we were living there even though were weren't. I know for a fact they were showing people round before the tenancy ended so they'll know it was completely empty but it's their word against ours.

Sorry to ramble, feels better to get it off my chest though and any advice will be seriouslt appreciated! :T

EDIT: Also forgot to add that the default notice is in my name despite the account being solely in my partners name.

clutton_2

who exactly has sent you this default notice ?

when you left and did the final inventory, didn't you take a final meter reading and give it to the utility company ?

some utility companies do charge standing charges per month - even if there is no usage

Jewell_2

It looks like it's been sent from the electricty company, it's advising us to contact someone called commercial credit services to make payment.

We didn't take a final meter reading when we did the inventory as we weren't aware that we had too, surely the estate agent should have pointed that out as she was doing all the checks on the inventory with me?

As for standing charges, thats fair enough. If we have to pay a standing charge up until the 17th April when the keys were handed back then we will pay it. I'm not paying for a whole month of electricity at a fee of £68 though. Would standing charges be as high as £68 a month though?

PasturesNew

Jewell wrote: »

Would standing charges be as high as £68 a month though?

No, probably 14-20p/day would be normal. So about £5.

Was there heating left on?
Immersion heater?
Fridge/freezer?

Jewell_2

We didn't use the heating the whole time we were there and all the electrical appliances were ours so we took them when we moved out. Couldn't tell you about the immersion heater tbh.

clutton_2

if the bill is in your name it is absolutely your responsibility to call the electric/gas companies and give them final readings - i see that you did that - but i dont understand them giving you a final cost and still saying it was an estimate ?

if you do not have a final meter reading - then you don't have any evidence of the final reading of your own consumption and the electric company are perfectly within their rights to charge you up to the first reading called in by either your landlord or the new tenants

is it possible your previous bills were estimated readings ?

BitterAndTwisted

It sounds to me like the new tenants have moved in and have given a meter reading and the landlord has declined to pay the bill because they are your charges and you can't prove they aren't if you didn't take a final meter reading upon exit. I suspect he bill which you paid believing it was a "Final Bill" was an estimated one and now the actual reading has left you with a balance.

tizhimi

Noooooooooooooo!

You didn't take final meter readings?! Nooooooooooooooooo!

Not sure if you can dodge this bullet - whether its your bill or not.

Jewell_2

We gave the electricty company the final reading the day before we moved out which was the 26th, on the 27th when we moved out the account was back in the LL name.

We had a final bill which we paid as soon as we got it and it states that it is accurate up to this point however the 26th March has been estimated. As I said, I assume this is estimated from the time we called them with the reading on the 26th to when the account was transferred back to the LL on the 27th.

Jewell_2

Just to clarify, we did take final readings and we did give them to the electricity company the day before we moved out. We had a final bill of £180 as they hadn't been charging us enough via direct debit which we paid immediately.

BitterAndTwisted

Hmmmm. I reckon there's a payment due but the electricity company have been getting the round-around between the new tenants and the landlord because no-one wants to pay it and now it's your turn. That can be the only explanation as to how this default notice is in your name when the original account was in your partner's. Make sure you take with you to the meeting the last couple of bills from when you were in the property and pay particular attention to the meter number, the previous and current meter readings to ensure they are sequential and the account number on the bill. This default notice should have the account number on it as well. I'd be interested to know whether it's new, different account. I suspect it will be