British Gas Default dropped off, Lowell arrived

Not_anxious_but_anxious

Hello,
Hope you can give me some advice!
I had British Gas - Gas and Electricity accounts in 2010 with other flatmates. We moved out of the house in early 2011 and our tenancy ended.

In 2015, I got an email from a collection agency to pay around £1600 for the electricity account. I ignored the emails as I was outside UK at that time and I had no recollection of any outstanding amount or emails from BG regarding payments due. The emails stopped after some time.

Subsequently I came back to UK and I saw in my credit report a default in 2012 marked by BG. This dropped off in 2018 and I thought I can start from a clean slate. :j

In 2019, now i have got a letter from Lowell which had a copy of BG letter which said my debt of £1600 for electricity usage between 2010 and 2014 has been transferred to Lowell. :mad:
I received no such letter from BG directly.

The electricity account number in the copy of BG letter seems to be correct as I can see it in some of the BG promotional emails and it has my name as well. However, the address seems to be slightly off, i.e. it says elec usage of Flat 2A, whereas we were in Flat 2B. I'm guessing this is why we probably may have missed out on the correspondence and making payments/closing account, etc. for electricity whereas we had no issue with the gas account. But its just a guess.

Sorry, finally the question - I believe the debt is Statute Barred but since they say electricity usage till 2014, does it mean it is not? Also, should I reply back with Statute Barred letter after they mention anything about court or straightaway?

Thanks for your time! Sorry for unwanted details, as i didnt want to miss out on anything which maybe relevant.

WhenIam64

Would it not be better for you to show you moved from the flat in 2011 and it is not your debt?

Did you advise them you moved out?

Did the remaining tenants stay till 2014 and was your name still on the tenancy agreement.

Utilities will chase people they think owe the money until proven otherwise. A 2014 debt is not statute barred.

Not_anxious_but_anxious

WhenIam64 wrote: »

Would it not be better for you to show you moved from the flat in 2011 and it is not your debt?

Did you advise them you moved out?

Did the remaining tenants stay till 2014 and was your name still on the tenancy agreement.

Utilities will chase people they think owe the money until proven otherwise. A 2014 debt is not statute barred.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I can try that I guess but i thought Statute barred letter would be better? I'm not sure if we informed about moving out.
The other tenants who lived with me also left in 2011 and the tenancy agreement ended in 2011 itself. I have no idea who stayed between 2011 - 2014.

CakeCrusader

Statute barred is different for utilities, it generally starts running from the date of the last bill, so 2014 here. Send them a prove it letter, then tell them that you moved out on X date. You did let the utility company know you were moving and give them a final reading, didn't you?

sourcrates

Not_anxious_but_anxious wrote: »

The other tenants who lived with me also left in 2011 and the tenancy agreement ended in 2011 itself. I have no idea who stayed between 2011 - 2014.

In that case, don’t muddy the waters, proceed on the basis that it’s not your debt, so dispute your liability for it on the fact that you moved out in 2011.

Remember, Lowell must provide evidence of your liability for the debt, you don’t have to prove anything to Lowell.

Not_anxious_but_anxious

CakeCrusader wrote: »

Statute barred is different for utilities, it generally starts running from the date of the last bill, so 2014 here. Send them a prove it letter, then tell them that you moved out on X date. You did let the utility company know you were moving and give them a final reading, didn't you?

Thanks for replying, I don't remember if we let them know that we have moved, or maybe we did for the gas account but not the electricity account.

Not_anxious_but_anxious

sourcrates wrote: »

In that case, don’t muddy the waters, proceed on the basis that it’s not your debt, so dispute your liability for it on the fact that you moved out in 2011.

Remember, Lowell must provide evidence of your liability for the debt, you don’t have to prove anything to Lowell.

Thanks for replying! We had two accounts - gas and electricity - with two diff account numbers. My guess is we got the gas account paid and closed properly. The electricity account was never paid and never closed (my guess) as we might have thought that it was a combined account.
So.. should i send a prove it letter? Also, should I initiate communication from my side when they mention about court action or straightaway? Thanks for your time.

CakeCrusader

Some of them only keep records for 5 years or so, so they may not have your meter readings etc. Send Lowell a prove it letter and go from there. They should reply with a copy of the last bill, so you just reply saying this can't be a bill for you as you moved out on X date.

WhenIam64

the tenancy agreement ended in 2011 itself.

A copy of the tenancy showing you were no longer occupying should help as it will be a fact that you were not the "consumer". The new tenant would have become liable under a default contract for supply.

They may then go after the landlord who could end up paying.

CakeCrusader

It's down to Lowell to prove that you were living there during this period, it's not down to you to prove that you were not.

WhenIam64

It's down to Lowell to prove that you were living there during this period, it's not down to you to prove that you were not.

While technically true, there is merit in getting this sorted through the provision of enough information for Lowell to chase the correct debtor. Often when issues go belly up and land in SCC, the first question asked is why did the defendant not provide the information right at the beginning?

The debtor in this case will have been the new tenant, or is there was a void, the landlord.