Eon wanting £982.22 from between Sept 06 - Sept 09!?

mrdogcat

Hi there I had a lovely phone call from Brian Carter Solicitors yesterday morning telling me that they are working on behalf of Eon for an outstanding Gas bill amounting to £982.22.

The worse thing about all this is the debt belongs to a house I once joint owned with an unfaithful ex girlfriend who already cost me a whole lot of money (house contents and the cost it took to remove me off the mortgage and transferring deeds etc)... you get the idea.

The bill is for dates: 24th Sept 2006 - 14th Sept 2009

I UNOFFICIALLY moved out (ie. wasn't taken off the mortgage yet etc.) in: June 2007

I LEGALLY moved out (ie. deeds were transferred over to her and her farther and I was taken off the mortgage) on the: 18th Jan 2008

I THINK I was the only name on the bill even though we were both living in the house. Through all the stress I had I must have totally forgot about removing my name from the bill.

I realise I am at least half responsible for the period between 24 Sept 2006 to 18 Jan 08 and I am willing to pay half of this is I really have to. What should I do? I'm being chased for debt in which I am less than half responsible for! :-(

I've been in no contact with my ex since I moved out, she is VERY hard work, money grabbing and nasty so would rather keep it that way (I understand this might be impossible though *shudder*).

Thanks so much for your help.

Farway

If it is your name on the bill, then it is you who will have to pay in full

Then, why not use the nice Brian Carter Solicitors to chase your ex for her half?

Of course this will cost you.

You could try Small claims court for it, so the no contact with ex could turn very nasty

I think you can only put it behind you, pay up, and move on

EON etc are not Guidance Counsellors etc, and will have zero interest in your personal arrangements at the time

You "may" just get lucky with your tale, but I would not bank on it

Cardew

Not sure the post above is correct.

Brian Carter Solicitors are presumably one of the dreaded Debt Collection Agencies(DCA) and they certainly will not be interested in the facts - they want the money from the easiest source.

Presumably your Ex gave them your new Phone number?

If you moved out 'legally' in Jan 2008 you are not responsible for any bills from that date - gas, electricity, water, council Tax etc. If the gas bill has come your way, what is to stop the others coming if you acknowledge responsibility for gas?

I wouldn't pay on principle and take the matter to court if necessary.

climberup

I'd be inclined to write to them stating the facts and saying for what period you feel you are legally responsible. Ultimately you might find that if they see it's not a simple matter, i.e. you are not legally responsible for the whole bill, they may decide they would not get the whole amount from you if they took it to court. In that situation you might find they are open to an offer from you. From their point of view £x without hassle may be better than £x+ with hassle.

What do you think would be a reasonable amount for you to pay in the circumstances?

DarkConvict

Im sure its the occupants, then the account holder, then the house owner that is liable. But do check that out.

Its not uncommon for past tenants to be chased for bills and for these bills to be of times when they did not live there. If you moved out of the house can you prove it, i.e. by means of a new tenancy agreement/mortgage etc.

spiro

You say you "I UNOFFICIALLY moved out " in June 2007. At what pooint did you change things like you bank/credit card staement address?

If it is June'07 rather that Jan'08 then this will help show that you no longer lived there and therefore are potentially not liable for the bills.

Premier_2

At the moment, as your name was on the bill and you don't appear to have informed the supplier previously of what has happened, then you are responsible for the total bill.

I would suggest you speak with the supplier and explain everything. Of course you will need to provide proof of when you now say you moved out of the property.

If you provide the supplier with all the information, they should help you in establishing any part of the bill they are prepared to consider is no longer your responsibility.

From what I understand, this issue was caused by you having the account, not informing the supplier that you would like to close the account (since you were moving out of the property follwoing a relationship breakdown), and your ex still remained in the property happily using the energy in your name. (Why would someone you describe as money grabbing and nasty want to contact the supplier and set up an account in their own name making them responsible for the bills?)
As I said, it may be possible to unravel this now with the help of the supplier, but for future reference, if you contact the supplier at the time of any change you'll find it a lot easier to deal with real time.

mrdogcat

@spiro
I lived at the property for 9 months before I unofficially moved out so didn't change my bank account details (they just went to my mum and dads and wasn't one of my top priorities at the time). I think I'm going to have to pay up to when the transfer of equity was signed (Jan 08). Maybe my ex will have a change of heart and pay up fairly... doubt that will happen though.

@premier @DarkConvict
as mentioned above I can provide the transfer of equity. I know I should have cancelled my account at the time but I was so stressed out that I didn't even think about it and just figured we'd both be on it and she would sort it out. Stupid of me I know.

Premier_2

mrdogcat wrote: »

...
@premier @DarkConvict
as mentioned above I can provide the transfer of equity. I know I should have cancelled my account at the time but I was so stressed out that I didn't even think about it and just figured we'd both be on it and she would sort it out. Stupid of me I know.

Yes, offering to provide that kind of evidence to the supplier should hopefully mean they will only look to bill you up to that time

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi mrdogcat

This is a difficult one. I fully understand you had more on your mind than talking to us at the time of your problems.

However, if yours was the only name on the account, we will see you as solely responsible for all the gas used during the period in question.

I'd suggest you talk to our Credit Management people. They look at each case individually. If you are able to provide definite proof you were no longer in the property, they may be able to close the account earlier.

I must stress the 'may' bit, though. The problem is, as there is someone else involved (ie your ex), this is a third party dispute. Gas has been used and will need paying for.

If we are able to close the account earlier, we will still need payment for the remaining period.

This will mean billing your ex for this usage which, from what you say, I imagine she will object to.

I have to say, it is very doubtful if we will become involved in this type of situation and I don't want to give you false hope.

What we should be able to do, though, is set up a payment arrangement to spread this amount over a more manageable period. Ask about this when you talk to us.

Sorry I can't offer anything more positive mrdogcat but am concerned about falsely raising your expectations.

Malc

mrdogcat

@E.ON Company Representative: Malc
No problems with your bluntness Malc, I need to go through this with my eyes open. I rang E.on like you said, to which they said they'll send me all the bills I never received and for me to now speak to Brian Carter as they have now bought the debt. The guy over the phone said it's nothing to do with them anymore and wouldn't put me through to your Credit Management people or talk about setting up a payment plan. :-/

I FAXed the transfer of equity to Brian Carter so I'll have to wait to hear what they say...They did say yesterday they would present it to E.on but not sure if this is correct since E.on say they don't have anything to do with the debt now. The BC guy could have that bit wrong maybe? Either way am I right in thinking I have to now deal with Brian Carter from now on? :-(

I also haven't told BC my new address (they rang me at work) should I give them it? :-/

It's all very confusing!