Daughter given wrong information by private landlord

The_shuffs

MamaMoo wrote: »

OP, is your daughter in receipt of housing benefit?

Yes she is a single mum on benefits. I'm helping her to sort her money out and this was how I found out about the problem with G and E it's a work in progress

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Please check about council tax- that is a priority debt and must be paid.

silvercar

MamaMoo wrote: »

OP, is your daughter in receipt of housing benefit?

Did she originally tell the council that her rent included E & G and now doesn't. Correctly she should have informed them from the start that some of her rent was for utilities and there may have been a deduction from her housing benefit for the utility amount (if her HB covered her rent in full).

Now that her rent doesn't include utilities she should notify the council and that may lead to an increase in her HB, depending on her circumstances, the rent level and the LHA for her area. Effectively her rent has gone up as now she has to pay utilities separately.

Annie1960

The_shuffs wrote: »

Yes she is a single mum on benefits. I'm helping her to sort her money out and this was how I found out about the problem with G and E it's a work in progress

But you are not really helping her, you are letting her pay a bill that is not hers.

Will you daughter also pay my gas and elec bills if I send them to her?

SerialRenter

silvercar wrote: »

Seems like her other option was to tell EDF that she was registering as a new customer with them and pay the bills going forward. That would leave EDF chase the landlord for the outstanding amount.

As someone who's also had a dodgy landlord and been in this same situation I can tell you that EDF will insist on seeing a tenancy agreement for the start date before they'll change anything on the account.

This does make me think that the whole of the debt currently on the account would not exclusively be for the period she's occupied the property. It's likely to cover the void, or even previous tenant.

Pixie5740

SerialRenter wrote: »

As someone who's also had a dodgy landlord and been in this same situation I can tell you that EDF will insist on seeing a tenancy agreement for the start date before they'll change anything on the account.

This does make me think that the whole of the debt currently on the account would not exclusively be for the period she's occupied the property. It's likely to cover the void, or even previous tenant.

I was thinking the same thing. My ex-LL tried to get me to pay G and E bills from over a year before my tenancy started. Thankfully I had taken meter readings when I moved in so was able to sort my usage out with the supplier myself leaving my ex-LL with a hefty bill to pay :rotfl:

If your daughter hasn't done so already, she should take meter readings and start her account as of now. Then she can start to tackle the issue with who (most likely her LL) owes EDF money for previous usage.

The_shuffs

Annie1960 wrote: »

But you are not really helping her, you are letting her pay a bill that is not hers.

Will you daughter also pay my gas and elec bills if I send them to her?

My daughter has been in the flat since May last year, the tenant before had paid the G an E up to the date she moved out in May so after that all G and E being used was by my daughter making it her bill except the LL told her face to face NOT in writing that the G and E was included in the rent, that was a mistake which has only just been found out all her other bills are up to date

DRP

The_shuffs wrote: »

My daughter has been in the flat since May last year, the tenant before had paid the G an E up to the date she moved out in May so after that all G and E being used was by my daughter making it her bill except the LL told her face to face NOT in writing that the G and E was included in the rent, that was a mistake which has only just been found out all her other bills are up to date

In whose name are the G/E accounts with?
Where have all the bills been going since May?
Who has been paying them?

If the answer to those Qs is 'the landlord', then LL seems to be legally repsonsible. At the very least this gives your daughter lots of room for negotiation - there could be thousands to pay over that period...

Annie1960

The_shuffs wrote: »

My daughter has been in the flat since May last year, the tenant before had paid the G an E up to the date she moved out in May so after that all G and E being used was by my daughter making it her bill except the LL told her face to face NOT in writing that the G and E was included in the rent, that was a mistake which has only just been found out all her other bills are up to date

Hi Shuffs

We really are trying to help you, but I don't think you are understanding the position. It is irrelevant whether or not your daughter used the G and E.

Please make yourself a cup of tea, take a deep breath, and go back over this thread, and read the posts, especially the ones from G_M.

Our intention is to help your daughter avoid being taken advantage of by her landlord, who is trying to get her to pay these bills, which seem to belong legally to the landlord (regardless of who used the G and E).

southoftheriver

I'm so frustrated reading this! Hope things come right in the end. OP please re-read this thread!