Ex-partner didn't pay bills

taconite2

Just my initial.

I don't know what's on the account. I haven't seen anything yet. My only reference is the letter. To be honest I didn't even know SSE supplied her property!!!!

Just a quick question. Not happened but..... If she found a way to put my on the rental agreement i'm jointly liable? What's the best way to settle this? Why should I give this debt recovery anything? My deal is with the utility company...I didn't ask for it to be passed on. Don't forget I've never seen a bill previously. I just find it so strange they've jumped to the debt recovery stage


They asked for proof I live elsewhere like the electoral roll, I've given it them. See what they come back with

naedanger

taconite2 wrote: »

J
Just a quick question. Not happened but..... If she found a way to put my on the rental agreement i'm jointly liable?

If your name is legitimately on the rental agreement then yes, you will be jointly liable for the utility bills, even if your name was never on the bill. And being jointly liable means the utility supplier can hold you liable for the full amount, which they would do as you are in the UK.

If however you were put on the rental agreement fraudulently (or erroneously) then you would not be liable. However you would have to prove that on the balance of probability. A court would likely start from the view that the agreement was valid.

What's the best way to settle this?

If I was not liable I would do what you have already done.

Why should I give this debt recovery anything? My deal is with the utility company...I didn't ask for it to be passed on. Don't forget I've never seen a bill previously. I just find it so strange they've jumped to the debt recovery stage

From this it sounds like you are admittingly liability. You could dispute their need to have employed a debt recovery agency but I think your chance of doing so successfully (if you are liable) is not great since you have previously denied liability.

taconite2

I want to summarise this so as many people understand in case it happens to them it's here...


I'll call myself A and my ex B.


B rented a property out, all bills/council tax in this name. A isn't a resident here but does stay over ocassionally. However there's a possibility A is connected to B's address (how this is I've asked the debt recovery company) B didn't pay the electric bill. 6months later legal dispute over unpaid amounts to other matters leads to A taking B to a small claims court. A wins. B pays half before leaving the UK. CCJ still stands.


1.5 years later, the utility company probably realised they can't get hold of B. So now they pursue A.


A hasn't seen any bills or had any knowledge of company who supplied B's property. First news of this is a letter from a debt recovery company with no explanation what the debt is made up of, other than an admin charge was applied.

modsandmockers

taconite2 wrote: »

My deal is with the utility company...I didn't ask for it to be passed on

What are the details of your deal with the utility company?

HappyMJ

naedanger wrote: »

If your name is legitimately on the rental agreement then yes, you will be jointly liable for the utility bills, even if your name was never on the bill. And being jointly liable means the utility supplier can hold you liable for the full amount, which they would do as you are in the UK.

If however you were put on the rental agreement fraudulently (or erroneously) then you would not be liable. However you would have to prove that on the balance of probability. A court would likely start from the view that the agreement was valid.


If I was not liable I would do what you have already done.


From this it sounds like you are admittingly liability. You could dispute their need to have employed a debt recovery agency but I think your chance of doing so successfully (if you are liable) is not great since you have previously denied liability.

Are you sure about that? I'm sure that is not the case.

I hope it isn't. My name is not on the energy bill. My OH's name is. How would they even know if my name was or was not on the tenancy agreement? It's a private agreement between myself and the landlord. Data protection prevents the landlord from giving the tenancy agreement to anyone who asks for it.

A credit check would not show me as financially associated with my OH. I'm trying very hard to avoid that. She has an extremely poor credit rating. So I can't see how I could be held responsible for that bill.

Can someone else confirm this?

taconite2

naedanger wrote: »

From this it sounds like you are admittingly liability. You could dispute their need to have employed a debt recovery agency but I think your chance of doing so successfully (if you are liable) is not great since you have previously denied liability.

modsandmockers wrote: »

What are the details of your deal with the utility company?

Sorry I'm think out aloud! I've not admitted anything to the utility company or the debt company. Just me saying this here between ourselves.


I was merely saying given the stress I've had over the other court stuff a part of me just wants to pay it off so it can be closed as quickly as possible. Close this chapter of my life and move on :-)

naedanger

taconite2 wrote: »

I want to summarise this so as many people understand in case it happens to them it's here...


I'll call myself A and my ex B.


B rented a property out, all bills/council tax in this name. A isn't a resident here but does stay over ocassionally. However there's a possibility A is connected to B's address (how this is I've asked the debt recovery company) B didn't pay the electric bill. 6months later legal dispute over unpaid amounts to other matters leads to A taking B to a small claims court. A wins. B pays half before leaving the UK. CCJ still stands.


1.5 years later, the utility company probably realised they can't get hold of B. So now they pursue A.


A hasn't seen any bills or had any knowledge of company who supplied B's property. First news of this is a letter from a debt recovery company with no explanation what the debt is made up of, other than an admin charge was applied.

The position is the utility company needs to prove on the balance of probability you have a financial responsibility for the property (or that you agreed to the utility contract). Staying over occasionally would not make you financially responsible. Being on the tenancy agreement would.

If you gave this address (i.e. where the utilities are being supplied) on another financial document (e.g. a loan agreement) as being your own address then in my view this makes your case much weaker. I think a court would need a lot of persuasion to disregard this information.

If you are legally liable e.g. because you are on a rental agreement (or any other reason) then I would suggest you pay up (provided you can afford to do so) even if you feel it is unfair. Better to pay now than see the recovery costs escalate. But if you are not liable I don't think you should settle even if you feel you would rather put the matter behind you.

(My views are based largely on the link in post number 39.)

naedanger

HappyMJ wrote: »

Are you sure about that? I'm sure that is not the case.

"Anyone who is legally responsible for the property can be pursued for an energy debt if the person whose name is on the bill doesn't pay it. "

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy-supply/energy-bills/understanding-your-energy-bill/who-is-responsible-for-paying-the-energy-bills/

How would they even know if my name was or was not on the tenancy agreement? It's a private agreement between myself and the landlord. Data protection prevents the landlord from giving the tenancy agreement to anyone who asks for it.

This is a slightly different question. If they could show you lived at the property then that may be enough to convince a court you were jointly financially responsible for the property. They only need to prove you are jointly liable on the balance of probability. In practice a court will take all evidence into account and then decide who or what to believe. (Also if you were asked in court what would you say?)

A credit check would not show me as financially associated with my OH. I'm trying very hard to avoid that. She has an extremely poor credit rating. So I can't see how I could be held responsible for that bill.

Can someone else confirm this?

HappyMJ

naedanger wrote: »

"Anyone who is legally responsible for the property can be pursued for an energy debt if the person whose name is on the bill doesn't pay it. "

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy-supply/energy-bills/understanding-your-energy-bill/who-is-responsible-for-paying-the-energy-bills/



This is a slightly different question. If they could show you lived at the property then that may be enough to convince a court you were jointly financially responsible for the property. They only need to prove you are jointly liable on the balance of probability. In practice a court will take all evidence into account and then decide who or what to believe. (Also if you were asked in court what would you say?)

That link gives very conflicting advice. Many of the Citizens Advice pages give conflicting advice it's hard to believe what is true or not and would actually hold up in court.

So "can be pursued" is completely different to what they'll actually do.

Further down it says...

If you house share, you share responsibility for payment of the bill with the other residents, although the supplier will generally only pursue the named person for payment. If your name is on the bill, or the primary name on the bill, and others won’t pay their share, you’ll usually have to pay all of it and take legal action against the others for the money. Even if you move out, you could still be asked to pay the whole bill.

If an account has been set up using the names of number of residents, the supplier can legally chase anyone named on the account for any outstanding debts. So if your name is on the bill and you’ve paid your share of the fuel supply but another resident doesn’t pay their share, you could still be held legally responsible for the remaining debt.

If they are only going to pursue the named person for payment and my OH fails to pay then they won't chase me for it.

Hopefully she'll pay it sorry to derail thread a little just wanted to make sure they won't chase anyone else who is not named on the bill.

taconite2

Guys you've all been amazing and it's really helping me....


OK so from here I'm going to wait and see how they conclude they think it's me that owes the money....I'll report my findings back here!