Can someone other than account holder be chased for bill?

bye_bye_band_G

Help!
My daughter shared a house with three other girls as joint tenants, this has now finished and they have moved out.
One of the others took responsibility for gas/elec, they each paid her a monthly amount, she said she was paying this in to npower by Direct Debit each month, and the account was set up only in her name.
Now it has come to light that in fact she didn't pay any of their money in at all, and there is an outstanding bill of £750!
This is hers to pay, but I am absolutely sure she has no money and has spent all the money the girls paid her over the months.
I know npower will chase her first because she is the account holder.
BUT if they get no joy from her, can they legally then turn to the other joint tenants ie my daughter, and demand payment from her and her friends?
We hope that because the account was set up in her name only, then only she is legally liable for the debt, but does being a joint tenant mean that eventually npower can sue the rest of them?
We are very worried and any advice would be most welcome. Thanks.

glider3560

Short answer, yes they can.
They can demand payment for the ENTIRE bill from just one person who was tenant there at the time.

deary65

If your daughter's name is not on the contract, then no action can be brought against her. The fact that she was a joint tenant is irrelavent, if it were outstanding rent, that would be a different matter. Only a party to a contract can sue or be sued on the same.

bye_bye_band_G

Thanks both, but those are two completely different answers..........hmm..........still wondering!

glider3560

It was always my understanding that there is an implied contract between the utility company and all the tenants. I believe there are many posts on here about being people chased for bills that weren't in their name.

Joyful

If it goes to an outside agency they will trace anyone who lived at the property during that period and chase them. This has always been the case as Glider 3560 says. It would then be up to the other tennants to take the non paying one to the small claims court.

Cardew

Joyful wrote: »

If it goes to an outside agency they will trace anyone who lived at the property during that period and chase them. This has always been the case as Glider 3560 says. It would then be up to the other tennants to take the non paying one to the small claims court.

Is the OP sure that she paid no direct debits, or that the direct debits were not sufficient to cover the consumption? The latter case is the more normal scenario.

IMO if there is only one name on the account, that is the only person who is liable.

Could they come after my adult child who is currently living with us if we refused to pay our utility bill.? - I think not.

DCAs will chase whoever they can for the money; a mixture of bluff and threats is their Modus operandi. If they do come after anyone other than the account holder, just ignore all letters/calls etc.

You might get better advice from the debt free wannabe forum.

robredz

Surely as Cardew has said if their name is NOT on a contract, and they have signed nothing a DCA can call and badger all they want, but there would be no liability, apart from the DCA opening themselves up for a criminal charge of harassment if they fail to cease and desist

Mankysteve

I don't think the £750 is a entire years worth of energy usage and if its I want to know who the suppler is cos that's cheap. What happened here is that she been on a fixed direct debit and when they've done a meter read at the end of the year there been a short fall of £750. In fact ill have a wager of one of your English pounds on this is what happened. Education and uni really need to better educated their student on stuff like this. (I'am a Uni student) The utilities would have come chasing for their money a long time ago if there was no payments being made.

Joyful

It does not matter if there name was not on the utility contract if it is on a tenancy agreement.This is not the same as a friend or family member staying over.

Landlords will often pass over tenancy agreements with all names on them to prove the tenants and not them are responsible. This will be documented and if passed to outside agencies will be followed up.

robredz

The problem is though DCAs then often pursue the wrong people, and new tenants or householders who are nothing whatsoever to do with the alleged debtor, who moved on years ago.