Shared Bills problem

MercilessKiller

No guarantors and no joint contract. We all had single contracts.

If I paid my part and left the receipt of payment of an equal share and took my name off the bill, i'm not doing anything wrong surely?

Ianna

Check your contract. Many landlords will get the money off any tenant and don't care which: if it says this on the contract an/or you have joint leases you may be in trouble. Also I've found that student landlords often take the line that they'll just take the money off the students because they don't know their rights and it's easy to do rather than go the route of asking the guarantors which is a trickier process. What's the landlord said about this £1400 debt? And how are you getting on with your ex-flatmate?

As I understand it if it's not in your name then you're not liable - for example if you weren't named on the phone bill then as far as the phone company is concerned you're not liable because to them you don't really exist. However if you're all on the bill then you can all be liable and they don't really care who they get the cash off. Best thing to do is call up the company and check with them. I'd suggest ringing up anonymously first and seeing what they say so that there's nothing logged on the account - you might regret saying things with hindsight. Make sure you note who you spoke to and the date and time. If you get the response you're hoping for then ask them to write you a letter or email you so that you've got it in writing. If you don't get the response you were hoping for then ring up again because often you'll get a different response (some call centres really, really suck and don't know what they're doing!)

Also regarding moving out, I'd suggest taking time captioned photos/video footage of the residency when you leave because often landlords claim for damage that isn't there. Not nice but I've known it happen to a few students so cover your back - photos won't stand up in a court of law but they're enough to make dodgy landlords decide not to bother.

MercilessKiller

hey Ianna. Thanks for a detailed reply!

I know i'm not liable for the £1400 as we have single contracts which detail how much we pay for rent and that we're not liable for anyone elses rent. I wll ring up gas/elec and get my name taken off the bills and ask for written confirmation in doing so.

Regarding moving out I'm getting more and more worried about this. When we moved in the house was an unbelievable state. The landlord was away at the time but the people that had meant to have left hadn't, and left an absolute tip in the house crawling with ants etc.....

I rang the landlord and demanded we were moved out asap as it was impossible to live there. He told me he'd get it cleaned but said it wouldnt be for about a week!!!! Due to this me and a mate bought cleaning stuff and did it ourselves. The landlord happily paid it all back.

After cleaning I found that the main bedroom had no bed and chair as promised. I bought a bed and a chair and didnt make a fuss.

I really hope I get this damage deposit back though. How does one usually get it back? In cash? cheque? etc

Also should I just ring up and ask him how? Thanks

Blacksheep1979

ok, taking your name off the bill won't change the fact that you are, partly at least, liable for that bill still. Say yours was the only name on it - changing it at the end of the tennancy wouldn't negate the fact that your name had been there and you were the supposed account holder.

As for the deposit, some landlords are really decent and just give it back, but alot are a pain and don't. If he refuses ask for an itemised breakdown of what the deposit has been used to cover and ask for VAT receipts of all work done. If he refuses or can't provide accurate realistic accoutns of what the money has been used for and won't give the money back then its an easy case in the small claims court.

Voyager2002

MercilessKiller wrote: »

Elec bill came as £300!! Couldnt believe it. One of the guys has refused to pay towards it saying he "cant afford it" 2 days after buying a car. He's now left the house forever and owes the landlord £1400 and said "I'll tell him I'm leaving the country if he says anything" :S

Another one is just an absolute ar*e and its impossible to get any money out of him no matter how much I ask.

I leave the place next month. Am I within my rights to leave a cheque for a perfectly equal share of the bill, take my name OFF the bill, and a letter to the landlord explaining the troubles with the housemates and that the cheque covers my share of bills.

I would suggest that you contact the landlord immediately, let him/her know about the problems with bills and share any information you have about the whereabouts of the person who has run off owing so much money.

MercilessKiller

I know the address of where the person has gone to... I should give that to the landlord?

tripled

So he's tried to dump your daughter in the sh*t, I would give the forwarding address without a doubt. And when your daughter moves out and close the accounts with the utility co, give his address as the forwarding address too so he gets all the court letters

I've always had the bills in my name in shared houses and never had a problem, primarily because I got a payment book for the water so it was paid every month instead of in lumps, and always made it clear if anyone didn't pay the bill I would have the services cut off immediately. It helpled that the people I lived with were pretty sound as well mind.

Whilst there is little you can do about the person who has left except take him to the small claims court, your dughter should give an ultimatum to the reamining tenants who haven't paid that if they don't cough up by the end of the week she is getting the meters removed. And she shouldn't hesitate in following through with the threat.

MercilessKiller

Just to let you know tripled in case theres confusion, the OP and I have similar but different situation. I'm actually involved in a situation (whereby I know the forawrding address of the person) whereas the OP has a daughter in the situation

Wow this is stressing me out beyond belief :(:(

Blacksheep1979

Def do everything to keep the landlord on side - give him the address and parental address if different and you have it

mitten_2

Sometimes it isn't fair though. When i lived with three other girls they were all in the house 24/7. They all had 40 minute showers every day and used the washing machine every single day and the tumble dryer even when it was sunny outside. They had lights on all around the house, the heating on full and tvs left on all over the place. It really irritated me as i was economical and we got massive bills that i struggled to pay a 1/4 of. I spent 6 weeks on a uni placement and they still expected me to pay the bills for when i was not even living there at all.