nPower debt from ex-boyfriend.

grahamc2003

chanz4 wrote: »

If she can provide his tennancy and the landlord confirms, they will change it.

I'm not sure what that means, but it seems clear to me that the accoiunt holder - not necessarily the person who used the electricity - who is responsible to pay the bills to the supplier. There may be a responsibility for the electricity user to pay the account holder - that depends on what was said or written or otherwise agreed.

If the friend takes the scumbag to court, it's statistically likely he won't turn up, and she'd win simply by stating what has been stated in the op. If he has nothing, then she wouldn't get anything except satisfaction. Although on the news today, the government is thinking of making it easier to make fines (and possibly court judgemnts) more easily and generously attachable to benefits, which may help. But in reality, even if she wants to spend more cash suing him, and even more sending in the bailiffs, it looks like a write-off.

MrWillyWonka

Thanks again for replies.

The account holders were both my friend and her exBF, just that payment at the time was being made using my friend's debit card. She wishes that she withdrew her name from the account rather than just the payment method.

She thinks suing isn't the best route and grahamc2003, I read that too about benefits deduction but surely that would be for police/council/benefit related fines rather than personal disputes.

Question now is what's the best course of action, try and find the new address of the exBF and write to nPower explaining the situation or wait until nPower contacts my friend?

grahamc2003

MrWillyWonka wrote: »

Thanks again for replies.

The account holders were both my friend and her exBF, just that payment at the time was being made using my friend's debit card. She wishes that she withdrew her name from the account rather than just the payment method.

She thinks suing isn't the best route and grahamc2003, I read that too about benefits deduction but surely that would be for police/council/benefit related fines rather than personal disputes.

Question now is what's the best course of action, try and find the new address of the exBF and write to nPower explaining the situation or wait until nPower contacts my friend?

Even though you've now changed your mind who the account holder is (before you said it was your friend, and now you're saying it was your friend plus the boyfriend), You don't seem to have taken on board what almost everyone on this thread has said, which is that the account holder is responsible for the bills - the direct debit from your friends account is mainly a red herring imv.

So now it looks like both your friend and the bf are responsibly for the bills. I'm not a lawyer, but I think almost certainly, the supplier can persue either or both the joint account holders for the bills. Guess who they'll go for?

I think your friends best bet is to try for sympathy from the supplier, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The key point is that it appears to me that your friend IS responsible for the bills, however fair/unfair that appears.

It's not really unfair anyhow. I would imagine that the supplier assessed the risk of the supply, and the risk of debt recovery if things went wrong, to the flat based on your friends credit history due her card being used for payment. If your friend didn't allow that, then they may well not have supplied with a credit account, and possibly installed a prepayement meter to limit their risk.

chanz4

It does change things a little, whos name was on the tennancy and can it be produced? If so provide npower with a copy of it, but something tells me its revenge on the ex...

MrWillyWonka

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Even though you've now changed your mind who the account holder is (before you said it was your friend, and now you're saying it was your friend plus the boyfriend), You don't seem to have taken on board what almost everyone on this thread has said, which is that the account holder is responsible for the bills - the direct debit from your friends account is mainly a red herring imv.

I didn't change my mind, it's just I probably should have made it more clear that they are both listed as account holder. In addition I have already stated in a previous post that she accepts that she is liable to pay the £500 (and she said will if she has to) but it's not something she can afford that easily.

chanz4 wrote: »

It does change things a little, whos name was on the tennancy and can it be produced? If so provide npower with a copy of it, but something tells me its revenge on the ex...

I don't think it's revenge because it's money that she feels she shouldn't be owing nPower. The name on the tenancy is just the exBF but the two account holders of the electricity account is both my friend and her exBF.

I will tell her to write to nPower and I think she should be able to obtain proof she was not living in the flat and perhaps try the sympathy route along with trying to find the exBF new address.

chanz4

Sympathy wont cut it, if she has made payments or even called up it will be logged and thats enough proof for them that she lived there along with the name on the account.

MrWillyWonka

chanz4 wrote: »

Sympathy wont cut it, if she has made payments or even called up it will be logged and thats enough proof for them that she lived there along with the name on the account.

Is it really proof though, it's just proof of account holder but not proof residency. However I guess it's irrelevant as she is an account holder and it's been said here that she signed an agreement which makes her responsible for payment.

Sympathy and explanation route would be the only option, if that fails then payment it is.