EDF asking for tenancy agreement?

moosticks

We moved on October 11th, took our agents two weeks to tell us who the suppliers were. Couldn't ever get through to EDF on the phone, so decided to stop wasting my time and email them on November 13th. They responded on November 23rd asking for account holder name, date of move, email, etc. I responded to this and didn't get a response until December 10th, where they say:

"I would like to inform you that currently we have different person residing at the property. So I would request you to kindly provide us the attached copy of the tenancy agreement between you and the landlord so that we process the request accordingly."

Really? Do I have to provide them with this? For starters, my tenancy agreement is filed away as I don't tend to need it. It's a pain to get to and my husband, whom would normally do this for me, is in the hospital at the moment. Not to mention the general hassle, when I've got enough going on as it is right now.

I can't imagine any one is actually paying our bill for us... We've not had any letters to the property from EDF though. Surely they'll be wanting payment at some point? Yet they're turning down my request to set up a direct debit?

Am I missing something?

Nada666

If you generously want to pay for the previous tenants' last few months of gas and electricity then do not provide a copy of the agreement. They will set you up with a new account with an opening balance well into arrears.

If you would prefer to pay only for what you use then the simplest thing is to enclose proof of when you took possession of the tenancy. It is not an unreasonable request. (If the previous tenants had paid their bills (or told them they were leaving) then no documentation would be required. The fact they are asking for some indicates the sum involved is non-trivial.)

Nada666

(If the document is packed away somewhere impossibly inaccessible you can ask your landlord for another copy - although if you are only dealing with agents they will probably charge you a ridiculous amount of money.)

brewerdave

Nada666 is dead right -however much hassle it is - get the tenancy agreement, copy it and get it off to EDF pronto - EDF don't bill for up to 9-12 months (in my recent experience )if not given meter reads ,so the previous tenants could have done a runner owing hundreds of ££s.