Help! Utilities broke into my buy-to-let...

chanz4

Fully agree with lemontart as this is how it stands, don't waste money on solicitor as its as straight forward as providing a tenancy. Also then opening an account in your name for the void period.

Remember credit is not a right

Cardew

Agree with the above two posts, and it shouldn't be a problem to get rid of the debt.

However your problem is still how to remove the pre-pay meters. As stated earlier professional people will not want such meters. It might mean you/tenant putting down a hefty returnable deposit.

Wywth

Cardew wrote: »

The Utility companies have no idea if the occupant is an owner or tenant.

The problem is that there is a 'breed' of tenant who move from property to property leaving behind a trail of debts - rent, water, gas, Council Tax and there is little that can be done to stop them; they can play the system for months and then flit.

And there is a 'breed' of landlord that allow them

Wywth

Teslagirl wrote: »

The thing is, if you're trying to attract professionals, those people just won't tolerate card meters, which are seen as downmarket.

The house was obviously empty when they broke in and it had just been decorated. You would think this would have given them pause for thought. With not much research they could have discovered the legal owner (me) and my address (two doors away).

This woman had been evicted owning me £2500 and all the court costs. A simple check would have shown she had been evicted after a court order.

It's the lack of care which annoys me. It seems to me that EDF made insufficient attempts to uncover the true situation. So having been taken for a ride by the tenant, EDF are doing their best to make it worse.

Ironically I couldn't touch the house during the year-long eviction process, even though I legally owned it. But EDF can just break in on the basis of very little research. The power they have relative to that of the landlord is staggering.

Very annoyed now... Anyone know of a good property solicitor?

Incidentally, I only have the one buy-to-let; in effect it is my pension. I am not a rich landlord.

If you'd successfully evicted the last tenants (and there was no immediate tenant to replace them) you should have contacted the supplier on eviction day, provided a meter reading, and put the supply into your name.

If you had done that, all this could have been avoided.

macman

Agreed: if the errant ex-tenant hadn't paid their rent, then it's hardly surprising that they hadn't paid their utility bills either.
Expect to find the same thing with the water utility, council tax, phone company etc.
EDF didn't 'break in'. They obtained a legal right to force entry.
You could have traced the suppliers by the normal means used when bills are not available.

ic

Teslagirl wrote: »

The problem was that I didn't know who the utility companies were as she had arranged her own,

Ring the local distributors and ask them.

Gas: 0870 608 1524

Electric:

Scotland North 0845 0262 554
Scotland South 0845 270 9101
North East England 0845 601 3268
North West England 0870 751 0093
Eastern England 0870 196 3082
Southern England 0845 0262 554
South West England 0845 601 2989
South East England 0845 601 5467
London 0845 601 5467
Yorkshire 0845 330 0889
Merseyside and North Wales 0845 270 9101
South Wales 01752 502 299
West Midlands 0845 603 0618
East Midlands 0845 603 0618

and as I'm not allowed to open her mail in law, I had no way to find out who they were.

What nonsense, so this person has taken you to hell and back, then done a runner - like they care about their post that they've abandoned? I always open post that turns up addressed to my property - its interesting, and I can't be arsed going through the rigmarole of writing "not known at address, return to sender" then taking it to the post box - why should I? Nobody ever says thanks.

Beckyy

On a side note my BTL has a prepayment meter fitted, and it didnt put off the (professional) tenant at all. They're a few pence more per kWh but it's hardly enough to put somebody off a house if they like it IMO.

chanz4

The last tenant wasn't very good, so whats the grade?

lstar337

Beckyy wrote: »

On a side note my BTL has a prepayment meter fitted, and it didnt put off the (professional) tenant at all. They're a few pence more per kWh but it's hardly enough to put somebody off a house if they like it IMO.

Actually, since they are just standard tariff, you don't really get charged any more, you just don't have access to discounts you might get on another tariff.

PP doesn't really put me off. Most people think of the hassle of running back and forth from PayPoint stores, but you can just as easily put enough on to cover a whole month if you wish, or even 6 months.

Kernel_Sanders

Wywth wrote: »

And there is a 'breed' of landlord that allow them

LAs and housing associations?
I do hope you're not referring to the OP!