Utility charges after end of tenancy - advice please!

meganprice

Hi there

If anyone has any advice on this I'd really appreciate it.

My partner moved out of a flat about two and a half years ago and is currently being pursued by Southern Electric to pay a large bill that was accrued after he moved out.

He called SE when he was moving out the pay off and close the account, but their records don't go back that far and the only record they have is of the landlord calling them last October, when the following tenant left.

The landlord is not responding to their enquiries and as my partner moved in with family to save money, he does not have any proof that they will accept that he was living elsewhere.

It's a massive bill that we really cannot afford at the moment, so any advice would be really helpful.

Thanks

jalexa

meganprice wrote: »

My partner moved out of a flat about two and a half years ago and is currently being pursued by Southern Electric to pay a large bill that was accrued after he moved out.

He called SE when he was moving out the pay off and close the account, but their records don't go back that far and the only record they have is of the landlord calling them last October, when the following tenant left.

First of all this is a classic one person's word against another's situation, and "the computer says no" is not easy to contest.

Lets examine some tactics to employ. In a situation like this I would make a £10 Subject Access Request for all the account holder's held records, but specifically copy bills, correspondence and customer service logs to the date Southern Electric claim was the account closure date. The "records don't go that far back" is nonsense.

I cannot anticipate what the SAR will reveal but I would expect some "payment evidence" to corroborate a claim of account closure. How was the payment made? And if "not closed" I would expect to see evidence of continued billing. What happened to the bills? What dates does Southern Electric claim the "large bill" covers?

In my experience there is every prospect that an organisation will shoot itself in the foot with it's SAR submission.

meganprice

Thanks @jalexa, that's really useful advice.

Wywth

meganprice wrote: »

Hi there

If anyone has any advice on this I'd really appreciate it.

My partner moved out of a flat about two and a half years ago and is currently being pursued by Southern Electric to pay a large bill that was accrued after he moved out.

He called SE when he was moving out the pay off and close the account, but their records don't go back that far and the only record they have is of the landlord calling them last October, when the following tenant left.

The landlord is not responding to their enquiries and as my partner moved in with family to save money, he does not have any proof that they will accept that he was living elsewhere.

It's a massive bill that we really cannot afford at the moment, so any advice would be really helpful.

Thanks

Your tenancy agreement, possibly in conjunction with your copy of the outgoing inventory/statement of condition, should confirm the date your tenancy ended (and hence from which point you should not really be responsible for any further charges)

Ideally that inventory/statement of condition also confirms the outgoing meter reading that you and the LL/agent both agreed to. A copy of that should enable the supplier to accurately bill you for what you consumed.

Yorkie1

Do you have bank statements going back to the time? Do they show a series of regular direct debits during your time in the property, followed by one final different payment a month or two later to close the account?

Terrylw1

Its unacceptable to state they only have records going back that far.

I'm guessing they changed systems then, hence it should be stored on some form of microfiche system,

Raise a complaint asking they prove this.

The landlord probably owes some of it inbetween tenancies, it could be a missing tenant or a problem with incorrect estimated readings.

So, get the bills first. Then prove the dates with the tenancy agreement. Then examine the reads, do they match ones you gave, have they been amended by such as the landlord, etc.

Its not possible to say more about the readings without more info though.

spiro

Companies have to keep financial records for 7 years so they should be able to provide bills that far back, heopfully the last one says 'final bill'.

Southern_Electric_company_representative

Hello meganprice,

I'm sorry you're having difficulties getting this sorted. Even allowing for the time that has elapsed, payment details and any meter readings for the property will still be on our systems. This information will allow us to look into this for you and help to find a resolution.

If you could please contact me at the email listed on our profile with the address details/account numbers concerned and your current address and telephone number I'd be more than happy to help.

Many thanks,

Simon.