LL demanding £500 utility bill 8 months after moving out of property. Advice?

Fufflenuts

Hi there,

I could use some advice as I'm confused about what I should do in this situation,

Background: My previous flat had a boiler which served three flats. Initially gas was included in the rent. Mid-2014, the landlord made changes to the other two flats so that they had their own heating systems (they still used the boiler in my flat for hot water). He told me he wanted me to pay for my gas usage after that and I agreed as my gas usage is very low. There was no follow-up conversation and he had said nothing about how or when he wanted this paid, so I expected to be billed at some point but was not - I rather thought he may have realised that my gas usage only averaged around £6 per month and just left it included in the rent (the change was due to the other tenants abusing the gas heating and generating high bills).

I moved out of the flat in August 2017. A month ago I received a message from the landlord saying that he had found the gas bill and I needed to pay the outstanding amount to British Gas. Going by my usage at this property, the amount for my gas usage over those 3 years should be about £200. I requested a copy of the bill with the meter readings on it which he agreed to send but it never arrived. On Monday he sent another message saying that I had to pay British Gas £500 and do so quickly as they were demanding payment. I sent a very polite letter saying that this figure seemed wrong, asking again for a copy of the bill, whether he was billing me for boiler charges (which, considering the boiler serves three flats, I don't think I should be responsible for) and for an explanation as to why I had not been asked for this at any previous time in the last four years. He became defensive, said "no one is trying to con you" (my letter wasn't accusatory at all, I said I thought there may have been an oversight) and said I had to deal with British Gas, not him. He did not respond to any of my requests for information and it appears he is trying to avoid sending me the bill.

I'm a student on a budget, and while I can about afford to pay what should have been my ACTUAL gas usage during that time (about £200) I cannot afford what he is demanding I pay and don't think the amount is correct. Does anyone have any advice as to my rights in this situation, and how I should respond? Is he even allowed to bill me for gas I used almost four years ago eight months after I've left his property (I know utility companies aren't allowed to do that)?

Just to add, the change in utility arrangement was verbal only and the tenancy agreement doesn't help as the LL used an all-purpose one which just says something vague like "the tenant agrees to pay all required bills".

Thanks, I appreciate any advice!

fishpond

My advice for what it's worth.
Do not respond any more, do nothing, keep copies of all LL's and your correspondence.
:cool:

Nebulous2

Was the gas registered in your name?

shortcrust

fishpond wrote: »

My advice for what it's worth.
Do not respond any more, do nothing, keep copies of all LL's and your correspondence.
:cool:

I’d ignore it too - there’s no law saying you have to respond to messages. He’s just trying his luck.

Fufflenuts

Thanks for the responses!

I'm not sure I can get away with ignoring it as he seems persistent. I've also already acknowledged in our recent communication that I agreed in 2014 to pay for gas. As I agreed to that, surely I do owe him the money for that unless there are legal requirements requiring that he bill me within a reasonable time period. A bill for three years of gas eight months after leaving the property doesn't seem very reasonable, and I know that utility companies aren't allowed to bill for more than a year's usage if they failed to bill you prior to that, but googling doesn't seem to bring up any such restrictions on private landlords.

The gas bills have never been in my name, and from other dealings with British Gas I believe this means they won't tell me anything if I call them about it because I'm not the account holder. So I don't think I can ask them to send me a copy of the bill to check the amounts.

dawyldthing

If it's not in your name don't worry about it. He's trying it on

dawyldthing

Just block numbers/ emails and ignore. There's no way he should have left it this late. Sounds like he's billing you for a few places at that amount

shortcrust

Fufflenuts wrote: »

Thanks for the responses!

I'm not sure I can get away with ignoring it as he seems persistent. I've also already acknowledged in our recent communication that I agreed in 2014 to pay for gas. As I agreed to that, surely I do owe him the money for that unless there are legal requirements requiring that he bill me within a reasonable time period. A bill for three years of gas eight months after leaving the property doesn't seem very reasonable, and I know that utility companies aren't allowed to bill for more than a year's usage if they failed to bill you prior to that, but googling doesn't seem to bring up any such restrictions on private landlords.

The gas bills have never been in my name, and from other dealings with British Gas I believe this means they won't tell me anything if I call them about it because I'm not the account holder. So I don't think I can ask them to send me a copy of the bill to check the amounts.

Of course you can! Dawyldthing's suggestion of blocking numbers and/or email addresses is good advice.

FBaby

He's not trying him on, you owe him that money, end of. Frankly, your workings that you probably didn't spend more than £6 a month on gas seems amazing if you lived there and if I were you, I would accept that £500 over three years is a much more realistic utilisation.

You can ignore it and hope it goes away, but be prepared to be taken to court. You will then know how much you really owe but you might end up with having to pay court fees in addition to the owed amount.

bouicca21

OP may owe the £500, but no one can be sure of anything until the bill can be produced and inspected.

Pixie5740

Did your tenancy agreement say that Gas was included with the rent? If so was it ever updated when your landlord wanted you to start paying for your gas usage?

How have you calculated your gas usage to be £6 a month? That sounds incredibly low even for someone living very frugally? Did you ever take meter readings?