Help please-unpaid bills flatmate refusing to pay

Evenstarr

My daughter has just finished at university for the year and has final bills for both electricity and telephone outstanding.
Her now ex-flatmate is refusing to pay her halves of these two bills and says my daughter cannot do anything about it as her (the ex-flatmates) name is not on the bills.
Is there anything my daughter can do or should we just help her out this time and insist she gets bills in joint names with future flatmates?

Cardew

Even if you have bills in joint names, you are both 'jointly and severally' liable. In other words they can come to any one of you for the full amount.

Get your daughter to pay the full bill and then take her flatmate to the Small Claims court. They will almost certainly make an award against the flatmate and award expenses.

undaunted

Does ex flat mate have a new flat mate? Will do you little good but I'd warn them if so. Other than that you can only legally follow Cardews advice

Farway

Of course the old flat mate, being a student, probably has zero assets or money, so a whilst a claim may well succeed, blood & stones springs to mind

However a CCJ on the ex flat mates credit record should at least bring some small reward, and perhaps teach them a valuable lesson for life

undaunted

Farway wrote: »

Of course the old flat mate, being a student, probably has zero assets or money, so a whilst a claim may well succeed, blood & stones springs to mind

However a CCJ on the ex flat mates credit record should at least bring some small reward, and perhaps teach them a valuable lesson for life

Is that blood & stones as in about as much chance of getting blood out of a stone or blood & strones as in a baseball bat or stoning as a means of enforcement?

I agree on the CCJ / satisfaction - similar motive in my telling the new flat mate as well as for their own benefit to be honest

Evenstarr

Thanks for all the advice, but I'm just wondering how will my daughter prove her case in the small claims court if she has no actual proof of payment from her ex-flatmate?

Cardew

Evenstarr wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, but I'm just wondering how will my daughter prove her case in the small claims court if she has no actual proof of payment from her ex-flatmate?

Even though it is a very relaxed procedure, the Small Claims Court is still a Court of Law. So if it goes to court, the flatmate would have to commit perjury if he/she states that they have paid your daughter for their share.

The Judge would take a view if your daughter gave conflicting evidence, but would probably not find for the plaintiff and dismiss the case.

However it would take a pretty hard nosed young person to stand up in court and lie. In all probability they would pay up.

However you will probably be crossed off their Xmas card list;)

macman

Evenstarr wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, but I'm just wondering how will my daughter prove her case in the small claims court if she has no actual proof of payment from her ex-flatmate?

Well, if she has in the meantime paid the full bills (which she really has no alternative but to do, as she is jointly and severally liable) then she will have that as evidence that she has paid the whole bill.
If she does not pay the bills soon, then she will find her own credit record trashed.

McKneff

Cant help but agree with the small claims post.

Also, its a life lesson for your daughter, always get everyones name on a bill.
I know they would be jointly and severally responsible but it would be usefull to have if something like
this came up in the future.

Good luck OP

Were the bills very much?

DVardysShadow

Evenstarr wrote: »

My daughter has just finished at university for the year and has final bills for both electricity and telephone outstanding.
Her now ex-flatmate is refusing to pay her halves of these two bills and says my daughter cannot do anything about it as her (the ex-flatmates) name is not on the bills.
Is there anything my daughter can do or should we just help her out this time and insist she gets bills in joint names with future flatmates?

Can't help thinking. A nice short polite letter from you to the ex flatmate saying that if she will not pay up within 14 days, you will pay up to protect your daughter's credit record and that if you do this, you will be taking the matter to court to recover the money.

And then do it. Of course, she may not have the assets, but if nothing else, there is the damage to credit rating. It might not be successful in helping your daughter, but it would go quite a way in stamping out this sort of nonsense.

Mankysteve

Farway wrote: »

Of course the old flat mate, being a student, probably has zero assets or money, so a whilst a claim may well succeed, blood & stones springs to mind

However a CCJ on the ex flat mates credit record should at least bring some small reward, and perhaps teach them a valuable lesson for life

Don't know she probably at least has a Pc/laptop. A collection of books, phone, ipod.