Shared house and paying the bills

Mankysteve

Currently the bills at the property I live in are in my name. I've lived in the house for two years after a house mate who never paid the bills. And a bill I couldn't afford to pay at the end of the term I had the meters switched to pre payment to pay off the debt which I did fairly quickly.

Now that house mate is gone and new people have moved in I want to switch supplier and go back to normally bills. But this time I want to make sure everyone's names are on the bills how would one go about this. I've already spoken to a couple of energy suppliers willing to swap the meters free of charge just need advice on the responsibility side,

startech

Just call the utility companies and tell them who to add to the account. They may ask to speak to the people who are going to be added to the bill, so call when they are around.

Just be mindful that even if others are on the bill, it won't stop the suppliers potentially chasing you for any arrears should any of the others fail to pay (look up joint and several liability).

debtfreein4years

i would stick to prepayment meters until you have got the measure of the people that you are going to be living with. as you really dont want to get stuck in the same situation again.

also what happens if you do get billing meters put in but then say 6 months down the line someone looses their job, what will you do then if they cant afford to pay their share of a bill and run up a bill with staying at home during the day whilst everyone one else is out working?

i think prepayment meters are your friend at the moment!

spiro

Putting everyones name does not help as other threads will show you. If others leave the company will chase the person(s) they can get hold of with the least hassle. Stick to a ppm but move to a supplier that offers the best rate for customers with this type of meter.

dannymccann

debtfreein4years wrote: »

i would stick to prepayment meters until you have got the measure of the people that you are going to be living with. as you really dont want to get stuck in the same situation again.

also what happens if you do get billing meters put in but then say 6 months down the line someone looses their job, what will you do then if they cant afford to pay their share of a bill and run up a bill with staying at home during the day whilst everyone one else is out working?

i think prepayment meters are your friend at the moment!

I dont like prepay meters at the best of times but this advice would seem to be best to me