Council debt from previous owners

gb12345

27col wrote: »

Why should you have to prove that you were not the creditor. Surely it is up to the other party to prove that you were the creditor. In any case the house cannot have a debt attached to it. Surely, only a person can have a debt.

You shouldn't have to - but if you've got bailiffs hammering on your door then it is a lot easier to show them a tenancy agreement or deeds transfer and some ID to prove that you are not the person they are after than to have to put up with them continually hasselling you.

They will have 'proof' that the person who they are after lived at the address (in this probably DVLA records) and so will assume that you could be the debtor trying to pull a fast one by pretending they no longer live there. Until someone proves to them that the person they are after is no longer there then what are they supposed to do?

Lomast

I had something similar happen to me a few years back with a house i was renting.

When the Baliffs/debt collectors showed up i did as gb suggested and showed them my passport and the tenancy agreement and they accepted that with no issue, made a note of it and left.
They did phone me a few days later to ask if i had any contact details for the previous occupier but i said i didnt and that was the last i heard