Ex-Husband Left me with all Bills to pay

Croasdale01

**NB I'm writing on behalf of my current partner**

Background: Ex-Husband worked full time , wife (now my partner) was a full time mum 3 children

The Ex walked out on the family home in March 2015. All bills and including mortgage were in his name. Immediately he stopped paying and his wife had to pick up the bills even though she did not work. Consequently debts for Electricity and mortgage were accrued.

To cut a long story short: he had stopped paying the electricity bill about 1 year before he walked out and the debts were passed to his wife, as she remained in the family home.

Since I have become her partner I have found out that the debt is about £1400. She is paying it off at £5 a month.
She has no correspondence from the supplier SSE , just a direct debit and we would like to know if the ex-husband is liable for some of this debt. as the debt was accrued when he was in the family home .They are now divorced (since Dec 2016).

Regards
Ian

Candyapple

Most utility companies will work in the same way as the council; on a basis of joint and several liability.

All persons named on the account are liable for payment and the supplier will pursue whoever they can contact. Generally with joint bills they can try to get the money from either / both - genrally they will go for the easiest / most vulnerable. If you know where the ex-husband is living, you could notify his creditors and they can pursue him there, but that would be down to them, not a decision you could force them to make.

If they were divorced in Dec 2016 then why wasn't all this settled then?

Did she get the mortgage/house sorted too?

Croasdale01

Thanks for the swift reply.

Her mental state at the time of the divorce was not good and she was quite naive in accepting moving the house bills into her name (including the debt) . She was unemployed, had to find work to claim tax credits and couldnt claim housing benefit as the home was still in their joint names.

At the divorce settlement she got a large payout but had to move house as the family home was sold, again unable to claim benefits as she now had savings. The electricity debt moved to her name and naively she didnt question it.

She has no correspondence - lost in house move - and had no idea how big the debt was/is. There has been no statement from SSE for 2 years but we believe the bill to be £1400

Candyapple

If she has had a large payout, surely it would be best to contact SSE and ask for the outstanding balance and clear it? £1400 is not that much in the grand scheme of things and given this happened 3 years ago, it would be better for all of you to pay it off, forget that it ever happened and move on with your lives. Otherwise everytime that monthly DD comes out it's like a millstone around your partner's neck reminding her of her ex and will only cause prolonged misery.

Croasdale01

except that the 'large' payment is her life savings and pension and is eaten into every month as the rent alone is more than her monthly salary. ....but i get what you are saying . It just seems so unfair.

As far as i can see he should be liable to some of the debt but it will be up to SSE to agree to that and reduce her debt burden....otherwise its the staus quo .... £5 a month for 23 years.

Candyapple

Croasdale01 wrote: »

except that the 'large' payment is her life savings and pension and is eaten into every month as the rent alone is more than her monthly salary. ....but i get what you are saying . It just seems so unfair.

As far as i can see he should be liable to some of the debt but it will be up to SSE to agree to that and reduce her debt burden....otherwise its the staus quo .... £5 a month for 23 years.

Was there not enough money from the settlement to put down a deposit on a new house?

I'm surprised that the court ordered the sale of the house given that you said she was a full-time mum of 3 children - usually they grant residence to the main caregiver until the youngest child reaches 18 and then the property be sold.

If her rent is more than her salary then she should consider relocating to a cheaper area or downsize to one that she can afford. It seems silly if she is getting into arrears every month, it's only going to catch up to her sooner rather than later and then she'll be left penniless as well as homeless and at the mercy of whatever hostel emergency accommodation her local council has. She needs to sort this out ASAP rather than worrying about a £5 per month debt.

National_Debtline

Hi Ian


An energy supplier can actually pursue anyone who is legally responsible for the property for an energy bill. You can argue that your partner's ex husband is also liable for the arrears (for the period he was living in the property) and provide his address, but as Candyapple explains you can't force the energy company to pursue him.


Unfortunately they don't have to split the debt in half, they can purse either party unless they have recovered the full balance.


It sounds like it would be a good idea for your partner to get in touch with one of the free debt advice agencies to find out all of her options.


Susie
@natdebtline

John-K_3

Croasdale01 wrote: »

except that the 'large' payment is her life savings and pension and is eaten into every month as the rent alone is more than her monthly salary. ....but i get what you are saying . It just seems so unfair.

As far as i can see he should be liable to some of the debt but it will be up to SSE to agree to that and reduce her debt burden....otherwise its the staus quo .... £5 a month for 23 years.

Do you not contribute to the rent?

If it were my partner I think I’d just settle the bill, for her peace of mind, is that an option?