What is the effect of being a representative on a British Gas account?

jgra1279

Hi all. I'm new to the forum and also new to world of being responsible for my own utilities so please go easy if I'm oblivious to something obvious

So I'm a student living in a shared house, I've dealt with the utilities for the house as we all agreed it was probably for the best. We have switched from the business tariff set up by our landlords (which all our names were on) to a standard one, when I called to do this my house mates were not present, I didn't want the account solely in my name which I made clear to the operator. He told me to call when we received our welcome package to add everyone else to the account. I have just done this (I hope) but I'm a little unsure about what has actually been done. I asked the lady on the phone if she could add all of our names to the account rather than just mine, so the account would not me tied to me solely. After I had taken the phone to everyone and she had confirmed details etc I asked her to confirm the account was in all of our names, not just mine as I don't want to be the only one legally responsible for the bills. She said they had been added as representatives, and when I asked her if the account was in all of our names she said no. I explained the reason I wanted to add everyone to the account and asked if adding them as representatives would achieve it, her English wasn't the best and she just repeated a line about what representatives can do, when I repeated my query she just asked if there was anything else she could do, so I just figured I wasn't going to get an answer and left it there and try to find the answer elsewhere.

Does anybody know what the effect is, in regards to legal responsibility, of being a representative. I worry because sometimes collecting the money from my house mates is a timely process, and I don't want late payments to be impacting my credit record solely.

Thankyou for looking

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.


Unless the bill is solely in your name, all the people in the house are 'jointly and severally' liable for the bills and that includes telephone, water as well as gas electricity.


You need to look up(Google) 'jointly and severally', as well as a search on MSE.


There have been scores of cases reported on MSE- particularly with shared student accommodation.


The bottom line is that if a bill is not paid, any one of you will be responsible for the full amount of the bill. A Utility company will simply not get involved in a 'third party' dispute. i.e. who gave what money, to what person.


In the event of a default the bill will be passed to a Debt Collection Agency and they will chase whoever they can get their money from, and are simply not interested in the merits of the situation; and it can affect all your credit ratings.


Most Student Unions will have publications and offer advice.

matelodave

I'm not 100% sure but AFAIK a representative on an account is someone who can speak on behalf of the account holder but is not liable for the bill in the same way as an account holder.
I did it for my Mum, she had difficulty understanding & conversing with the supplier so I was her representative and sort it out for her but it was her bill and not mine. I had no responsibility to pay for it.

In your case it appears that you are the account holder and solely responsible for the bill, the representatives can speak on your behalf but aren't actually responsible and therefore would not be chased if the bill went into default - it would be you that they come after.

If you managed to add everyone's name to bill as account holders (rather than just as representatives) then you would all be jointly & severally responsible for the bill. Which means that in any dispute any of you could be chased for the outstanding amount. If anyone disappears then it's the person they can get hold of who has to foot the whole bill not just his proportion.

For your own protection it would be preferable for every one to be an account holder rather than you alone - at least it gives the supplier more people to chase rather than just you although it doesn't protect you from having to foot the whole bill if they can't find the others. As far as they are concerned any private arrangements that you have to collect and pay the bill are down to you and nothing to do with them. So lets hope your flatmate's are honest and pay-up on time

Joyful

Check out this which may make getting bills and funds from your housemates a little easier. It even sends them individual reminders to pay. http://www.britishgas.co.uk/blog/articles/everythings-easier-when-youre-with-me-mobile-energy

matelodave

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4910247


Have a look at this thread which shows what happens when your flatmates don't pay-up. The one who they find gets chased for the bill so you need to sort it out and make sure you aren't the one who ends up with the final bill.
Make sure that all bills are checked, consumption is properly monitored (meters should be read regularly and readings sent to the supplier so you don't get estimated bills) and that all bills are properly checked, corrected if wrong and paid on time - at least then the final bill shouldn't be unmanageable if it all goes to pot.

Cardew

It is also worth pointing out that there have been several cases reported on MSE where one person was responsible for collecting the gas/electricity/water share from flatmates and paying the bill.


The money was apparently collected, but the bills simply not paid. As detailed above, unless that person was the sole name on the account, that is of no concern to the Utility company - it is a third person dispute for you all to sort out between yourselves.


I would insist that receipted bills are displayed in the house.

littletommytucker

Being a representative means there name will appear on the customer account records, but not on the bill.

Reminder notices from BG in the event of an unpaid bill would only be sent to you as the named account holder. Also, it's your credit file that will be recorded each month.

Adding everyone else onto the bill itself really doesn't make any difference. If you'd paid your part of the bill and another hadn't, it would make no difference to BG. Your credit rating would still be affected and they would still chase you (or any of the others) for the remainder.