Magistrates court hearing for warrant to entry for electricity debt

Ulfar

Whether it is the LA or LL that haven't been paying isn't your concern. The La work on behalf of the LL they are his agent, if they haven't been paying the electricity then it is still the landlord's problem.

If you have been getting mail for him at your address then I would imagine he hasn't got permission to let from his mortgage company, something you may want to consider if he is in financial difficulty.

paddyrg

If you go onto meter, I would simply withold the amount you spend topping up the meter (keep receipts!), advice Student C to do likewise, and batty lady can do as she pleases - you'll be out soon enough anyway

NeverAgain_2

...Is it possible to call the court and ask for the verdict?...

Yes, and because it's a public hearing, they should tell you.

The problem you may have is getting a member of the court staff who wrongly thinks they can't tell you.

Court staff are told to be wary of telephone fishing expeditions, so focus your question along the lines of: "Had I been in the public gallery, what would I have heard?"

missile

You are moving out in 7 weeks. Even if the LL looses the court case, it will take much longer than three weeks to arrange bailiffs or that a prepayment meter. It is not your problem so forget about it. Make sure you get a reference for your next LL.

tbs624

OP - call the local Council and ask for the private sector housing team/officer. You will need to be persistent as their lines tend to be busy. They can help with this.

Zorz_2

missile wrote: »

You are moving out in 7 weeks.

Well, that's the thing. I'd prefer to stay I bit longer, and move out in my own terms after finding something more suitable and reasonably priced. Instead, I feel pressed to divert time and effort from my job into this (finding new accommodation). However, I took some time to start looking for real estate ads.

Anyway, I tried to call the Housing services of the Council but I got no answer. Will try again tomorrow, at some different numbers I've found too. I had an interesting discussion with loony lady today. She kept insisting that letters to "The Occupier" are not for us, and she took the aforementioned letter to forward it to the LA. But I guess she softened a little, she didn't say this time that I shouldn't open them, and in fact that I can keep a copy for myself if I like. Hurray! :rotfl:

I tried to go along with her waters, in order to elicit more details about this, and she told me that this has been going on for years (presumably, that's why she didn't look worried on Saturday), yet somehow she didn't seem to believe that the warrant will get awarded, or if so that it will have repercussions to us. Whatever.

She did lie (again :mad:) about a thing I allegedly did. Nothing bad per se (what I supposedly did), so I didn't pursue this any further, but it cements the opinion I have formed on her, that she has serious behavioral issues (but more veiled, not so blatantly obvious) and cannot really take whatever she says at face value.

Ulfar

I would be very surprised if the court don't award a warrant, unless she pays up prior to court hearing.

Occupier letters are exactly that for the occupier, so yes she is definitely loony but that is called care in the community.

Zorz_2

Update:

Zorz wrote: »

As I see it at the moment, there are 3 potential causes:

1. It's just a mistake

At the moment, it seems that this is the case. The LA told me that the huge bill was a result of a wrong meter reading and that the scheduled court hearing is cancelled.

Ulfar

I would confirm this with the court. Don't trust the LA they are working for the LL, I would assume that the utility company have taken their own reading before getting to the court stage.

DVardysShadow

Ulfar wrote: »

I would confirm this with the court. Don't trust the LA they are working for the LL, I would assume that the utility company have taken their own reading before getting to the court stage.

+1

The LA may be playing by the book. If the LL says it is sorted, then the LA has very little option but to represent what they are told.