Ovo added me onto account without my consent. Help!

Benno77

Hi,
I really need some advice and am hoping someone here with more knowledge than I may be able to offer some help?

I lived in a property about a year and a half ago (I moved out a year and a half ago that is) as a lodger. My landlord rented the property and his name was the sole name on the tenancy agreement. I paid him a fixed monthly amount to cover rent and use of household utilities.

Whilst I lived there he misunderstood a conversation we had and called OVO Energy to ask for my name to be added to the Gas/Electric account. When he told me what he'd done I was not happy and he was extremely apologetic.

I was a bit concerned about this at the time but OVO never contacted me to confirm my consent to be added to the account so I assumed it never progressed any further. However after I'd moved out I started to receive demands for payment of overdue amounts owed to Ovo as it turned out that my landlord had not kept up to date with the gas/electric bill on the property.

Ovo are now pursuing me for the debt by means of a CCJ and I'm terrified. I've tried talking to them about it but they insist I'm liable for the debt even though I never confirmed or requested that my name be added onto the account and my name was never on the tenancy agreement for the property, I was merely a lodger there paying a fixed monthly amount to my landlord

Can anyone offer any advice as to whether what Ovo are doing is legal? It's over £1000 they're demanding and I don't see how it's fair they expect me to pay as the account was not in my name and nor was the tenancy agreement on the property it relates to.

Help!

Nada666

You are jointly and severally liable from the time your name was added. It was up to you, knowing this had happened, to contact the utility supplier when you left to ensure billing and payment was up to date.

(As a lodger rather than tenant it is really only rent and council tax you have no liability for. Any other bill once they have your name you can be pursued for the whole amount.)

AnotherJoe

Nada666 wrote: »

You are jointly and severally liable from the time your name was added. It was up to you, knowing this had happened, to contact the utility supplier when you left to ensure billing and payment was up to date.

I don't see how That can possibly be right. On that logic I could add your name to my energy account and you'd be liable! There must have to be an acknowledgement, a signature, to indicate your acceptance.
OP you need to contact the court and inform them you never gave your consent. What did OVO say when you informed them yiu never gave your consent to be added and it was done without your knowledge and asked them to prove you requested it.

footyguy

Benno77 wrote: »

Hi,
I really need some advice and am hoping someone here with more knowledge than I may be able to offer some help?

I lived in a property about a year and a half ago (I moved out a year and a half ago that is) as a lodger. My landlord rented the property and his name was the sole name on the tenancy agreement. I paid him a fixed monthly amount to cover rent and use of household utilities.

Whilst I lived there he misunderstood a conversation we had and called OVO Energy to ask for my name to be added to the Gas/Electric account. When he told me what he'd done I was not happy and he was extremely apologetic.

I was a bit concerned about this at the time but OVO never contacted me to confirm my consent to be added to the account so I assumed it never progressed any further. However after I'd moved out I started to receive demands for payment of overdue amounts owed to Ovo as it turned out that my landlord had not kept up to date with the gas/electric bill on the property.

Ovo are now pursuing me for the debt by means of a CCJ and I'm terrified. I've tried talking to them about it but they insist I'm liable for the debt even though I never confirmed or requested that my name be added onto the account and my name was never on the tenancy agreement for the property, I was merely a lodger there paying a fixed monthly amount to my landlord

Can anyone offer any advice as to whether what Ovo are doing is legal? It's over £1000 they're demanding and I don't see how it's fair they expect me to pay as the account was not in my name and nor was the tenancy agreement on the property it relates to.

Help!

Welcome to MSE :hello:

I don't think I really understand you correctly, sorry.

Are you claiming that when the LL put your name on the Ovo account, he kept his own different address on the account? If not, are you saying you didn't ever get any notification by post.

It's a little further comploicated because you suggest you were just a lodger and the landlord actually lived at the same address. In which case I'm even more bamboozled as to what address correspondence in your name would have been sent to.

In such circumstances the landlords name would certainly have remained on the bill (as he would not have been able to get it removed as he syill lived there) and so he would be jointly & severally liable for the bill. I would have thought in the circumstnaces Ovo chasing the landlord would have been easier, especially if he still owns the property.

Difficult to advise really due to the rather strange circumstances and anomolies you describe.

I suggest you seek independent legal advice, or start at the CAB. Take along all documentation as I am sure they will be initially as perplexed as I am by your story.

footyguy

AnotherJoe wrote: »

I don't see how That can possibly be right. On that logic I could add your name to my energy account and you'd be liable! There must have to be an acknowledgement, a signature, to indicate your acceptance.
OP you need to contact the court and inform them you never gave your consent. What did OVO say when you informed them yiu never gave your consent to be added and it was done without your knowledge and asked them to prove you requested it.

Only if you hold a valid tenancy agreement with Nada666

Dird

footyguy wrote: »

Only if you hold a valid tenancy agreement with Nada666

They ask for proof of tenancy? welcome to my gas bill @footyguy

System

Benno77 wrote: »

I lived in a property about a year and a half ago (I moved out a year and a half ago that is) as a lodger. My landlord rented the property and his name was the sole name on the tenancy agreement. I paid him a fixed monthly amount to cover rent and use of household utilities.

Help!

I am sorry to sound harsh but if you knew that action had been taken to put your name on the account, then why didn't you contact Ovo and put them right. It could be argued that your inaction is tantamount to an acceptance of the status quo. I fear that your problems are further compounded by the fact that you omitted to contact Ovo went you moved out. Resolving this mess may require proper legal advice. I would take a trip down to your CAB for an independent view of the facts. Take as much evidence with you as you can; e.g., tenancy agreement etc.

I am no lawyer, but if I found that someone had put my name on an account without my express permission, I would be asking questions about whether this could be construed as fraud. That said, I fear that there is more to this than the OP is letting on.