Bill from rental over two years ago

Tracy_Pearson

Hi , after moving back from Spain we rented a property for 6 months while looking to buy a house. we moved out of the property in Nov 2015 and a couple of weeks ago we got a letter from a legal company stating we had outstanding utiliiy bills and we were threatened with a county court judgment. I panicked and paid the bill although I though it was incorrect. Whilst living in the rental property we paid over £700 in bills and they have charged us a further £695 ?? How can they justify that amount for six months only. I am in a much bigger house now, with more people living here and the bills are half that amount. The threatening letter was the first contact we had had letting us know that there was anything outstanding and this is over two years later !!! We had paid a deposit for the rental and had to wait 4 months to get it back and were told that everything was fine and nothing outstanding.
We have asked the fuel company to provide bills, reading etc and after three weeks of promised phone calls and information we havent had anything from them. We are constantly calling them and are promised calls back but nothing. They are also saying they charged 28p a unit for electric ??? I only pay 11p to British gas and that is on the standard tarriff. Can they get away with charging such extortionate prices?
I would like to know if there is anything we can do about this as I am sure we have paid oustanding bills for a previous tennant but how do I prove this.
i wish I hadnt paid as I would probably have contact back from them but I dont have any debt and didnt want to be blacklisted.
Any help would be appreciated, Thanks. Tracy.

Guest101

Tracy_Pearson wrote: »

Hi , after moving back from Spain we rented a property for 6 months while looking to buy a house. we moved out of the property in Nov 2015 and a couple of weeks ago we got a letter from a legal company stating we had outstanding utiliiy bills and we were threatened with a county court judgment. - well you shouldn't have panicked - even if you lose in court you have 28 days to pay before you get a CCJ... I panicked and paid the bill although I though it was incorrect. Whilst living in the rental property we paid over £700 in bills - for 6 months? that's not a lot to be fair. and they have charged us a further £695 ?? How can they justify that amount for six months only. - I don't know, probably should've asked them I am in a much bigger house now, with more people living here and the bills are half that amount. - well you might be on a better tariff, or it be more energy efficient The threatening letter was the first contact we had had letting us know that there was anything outstanding and this is over two years later !!! - but did you tell them your new address?? We had paid a deposit for the rental and had to wait 4 months to get it back and were told that everything was fine and nothing outstanding. - Your deposit is nothing to do with utilities.
We have asked the fuel company to provide bills, reading etc and after three weeks of promised phone calls and information we havent had anything from them. We are constantly calling them and are promised calls back but nothing. They are also saying they charged 28p a unit for electric ??? I only pay 11p to British gas and that is on the standard tarriff. Can they get away with charging such extortionate prices? - yes. because you agreed to it...
I would like to know if there is anything we can do about this as I am sure we have paid oustanding bills for a previous tennant but how do I prove this. - By keeping your house in order and closing down accounts.
i wish I hadnt paid as I would probably have contact back from them but I dont have any debt and didnt want to be blacklisted.
Any help would be appreciated, Thanks. Tracy.

blacklisted? I think you should research how debt works

saajan_12

Did you pay the £700 at the time to the fuel company directly or to the landlord/lettings agent? Where are your bills and meter readings from that then? From the bills you should be able to find what tariff you were on and hence the
- gas & electric daily standing charge
- gas & electric unit charge

Calculate how much should have been charged based on the meter readings and number of days, and compare this to the total payments made.

agrinnall

The most important point that Guest has made is about letting the utility company know your new address - I'm guessing that you didn't, and that you didn't have your mail redirected, and that only now have they put debt collectors onto it who have managed to track you down. You could have dealt with this 2 years ago had you done either of those things, having let it slide it'll now take a while to sort out, and may well cost more than it would have done in the first place.

If you tell us which utility company it is we may be able to suggest the best means of getting in touch with them.

G_M

as others have said
a) why panic and pay till you know if the debt is or is not due. A bit late to start querying it now.

b) keep your finances in order and you'll know who & what you're paying, and why.

As to the utility bill:
1) did you pay the landlord, or utility company, for the utilities?
* if landlord, it's usually included in the rent
* so I guess the utility companies, in which case it has nothing to do with the LL, or the deposit, or the rent

2) did you take meter readings? When you moved in? when each bill arrived? when you you moved out?
* that is the ONLY way to know if what you are being charged is right or not

3) did you request, and pay for, a final bill when you left? If not, why not?

4) as for the amount, what tariff were you on? Did you shop around? Switch? Did you even know what the rates were? Why not?
* no one can comment on the cost without knowing
i) the tariff
ii) the size of property
iii) the level of insulation
iv) whether you kept it hot medium or cool
v) whether you used this particular utility for heating, hot water, cooking, air conditioning, or what

You've now paid the bill. Move on. Learn for next time.