help with edf energy please

lynne1985

sorry its going to be a bit long winded but bear with me basically today i recieved a debt letter from buchanan clark and wells on behalf of edf energy the amount due is £2384.36 from 25/08/2006-25/06/2010 i moved out the property end of june 2008 and stupidly left the final bill etc up to the landlord to deal with he kept the deposit to cover this and refunded the excess once all the bills had (apparently) been paid as far as i was aware that was everything dealt with then today i recieved this debt letter, i have contacted edf and they are saying i need to contact the landlord and get him to provide the date i moved out and the metre readings, i cant use my tenancy agreement for the property i am in because i could have many properties and this is the only proof i have that i no longer live at the old address. The problem is the only phone number i have for the landlord is no longer in use and i have no other information about the landlord all i have is an email stating when i was moving out the property and they wont accept that either i really dont know what to do now im sick with worry, can anyone advise what the next course of action should be? as i would really like to get this sorted as soon as possible thanks:(

macman

Did you not at least take a final reading on the day you moved out?

Premier_2

You are responsible for paying the utility bills, especially if they are/were in your name.

Your deposit for the rental should have been protected in an authorised deposit protection scheme. The landlord would have had to detail any deductions made from that deposit.
If he detailed the original bill and didn't pay it, then charge the landlord for the amount owed. The supplier will not want to get involved in what is to them a third party dispute.

It could be the landlord paid the original bill as agreed, but this debt is caused by an amended final bill. Without having taken a final reading and ensured it was noted and agreed on the outgoing inventory/statement of condition, you are a little stuck now if the supplier has reason to bill to a later meter reading than they originally did.

mattcanary

I think Lynne move din to her previous address before the tenancy deposit law was introduced

Premier_2

mattcanary wrote: »

I think Lynne move din to her previous address before the tenancy deposit law was introduced

Whoops, yes you are correct.

I misread the dates, seeing June 2008 and 2010. But June 2008 was when the OP moved out and presumably moved in 2006 or earlier, prior to the introduction of such legislation.

Still I would have expected any resonable LL to have provided full details of any deductions made from any deposit.

Edit: what the OP needs to get is full deatils of what is claimed is owed and the dates those amounts were originally demanded.
If the OP moved out in June 2008 (and has the required evidence to prove that), then she should not be liable for any amounts used after that date (although failure to have advised the supplier at the time may leave her liable). The supplier also should have billed her within 12 months, else the 12 month back billing rule may apply.

swagman

The best advice Lynne is to go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau, taking with you all relevant documents. They will help you liaise with EDF and their debt collectors and, if necessary, help set up a repayment plan that you can manage. They can also help in disputes with landlords about deposits and other issues.
Check location and opening times of the nearest burueau here: http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

lynne1985

hi i took meter readings the day i moved out the property but stupidly i didnt contact the gas or electricity as the landlord said they would do it and now i dont have these readings edf have readings from may 2008 and another in september 2008 so they said they will work out a median between the two to work out what i actually owe but they cant do this until i give them proof of when i moved out this being direct contact with the landlord which i do not have. i didnt recieve any bills after i moved out either even though i had mail redirected for 6 months, the electricity was with another company i have contacted them today and they have confirmed that the account was paid and closed down at the end of june 2008 so who knows why the gas account wasn't closed down obviously whoever moved in changed the electricity to their account but didnt change the gas over and i am now being billed for their gas use between june 2008 and june 2010 thanks everyone for their help should have mentioned the debt has been passed on to buchanan clarks and wells i havent recieved any bills from edf but have contacted them when i recieved this letter as bcw were not very helpful at all

electricityemployee

Hi,

depends if you are residential or business. If you are a business (may also apply to if you are residential), go and see a solicitor and get them to write you a letter that confirms your tenancy dates. This is accepted by EDF as it is classed as legal documentation. As they have an actual reading for you for two dates in 2008, they can work out a fairly accurate change of tenancy reading. It is unfortunately up to you to sort out the issue as it has quite rightly been noted that it is a 'third party' dispute that the energy company is not legally able to get involved in. Trust me on this! (see my username for a hint).

BCW (Buchannan, Clark & Wells) are a popular agency in use at EDF. They are however only a debt collection agency so only deal with payment/payment plans. You are advised to call them if you want to set up a payment plan, but you can still contact EDF as your account is still with them. Even the debt. Your debt is not actually passed to the agency and so it will not affect your credit rating if this is what is adding to your worry. BCW are just used as it would be impossible for the energy company to chase every one of it's closed accounts. Do call them and keep them up to date, they are able to put a hold on the chasing by BCW if you contact the right department. If it is a business, call their debt department on 0800 853455 (this is a direct number-no options to choose from but they will ONLY deal with business accounts), otherwise call the residential customer services line who will put you through to the right department on 0800 096 9696.

Don't worry, all is not lost! As I said earlier, if you can get a letter from a solicitor that will state that you left the property on that date in 2008, they will accept it as proof. Your other option is to check your original lease and see if it has an end date/a time period that your lease covers as they will accept that as well.

I hope this helps.

Premier_2

electricityemployee wrote: »

...go and see a solicitor and get them to write you a letter that confirms your tenancy dates. This is accepted by EDF as it is classed as legal documentation. ...

Hi electricityemployee, and welcome to MSE :hello:

Good advice, except that a solicitor would usually charge quite a high fee (say £20-£50) to write such a letter and would only do so if they themselves were provided with proof of the tenancy dates.

As this is a moneysaving site, if the OP could supply that proof, they could provide it directly to EDF who I am sure will accept it also, thereby saving the cost of a solicitors letter!

lynne1985

hi thanks for the advice its a resedential address i have moved three times since i lived at the property all rented accomodation and unfortunatley i dont have any tenancy agreements other than for the property i am currently in and that starts july 2009 which only covers 11 months of the debt, im just a big worrier when it comes to debt i had a rough few years round about the time i left the property in question and have just managed to get myself back on my feet financially this has been a huge shock especially when i thought it was closed and finished with saying that i dont mind arranging to pay anything i do owe i just need to find some proof of leaving the address in 2008 to enable me to get the correct bill for the period i was there bit its proving difficult as i dont have contact information for the landlord anymore other than the number that is no longer working, i have an address i could try writing to this in hope that he still lives there but that doesnt guarantee that he will actually reply

swagman

lynne1985 wrote: »

... the debt has been passed on to buchanan clarks and wells i havent recieved any bills from edf but have contacted them when i recieved this letter as bcw were not very helpful at all

BCW will probably have bought the debt from EDF for a low sum, so to get profit on the deal they have to extract money from you! Such companies tend not to be interested in being helpful. The worst of them will make persistent phone calls at unsocial hours, threaten court action and bailiffs visits.

Some of these actions can be illegal. It is not usually much use telephoning, because you have no record of what was said. This is where Citizens Advice can help by drafting letters using correct terminology and telling you what your rights are.