SW Energy Chasing Landlord for Tenants Unpaid Bills

LoanRanger_2

I have reviewed the lease and there is nothing in there to suggest an overarching contractual arrangement with SW Energy.



I have also reviewed the welcome pack from when I purchased the property (it was new build and I started letting it to tenants within days of completion) and it actually says energy will be provided by SSE Energy (there is no mention of SW Energy). It seems that Galliard (the builder) or PMM (the development manager) switched supplier to SW Energy without informing me or any other tenants, and now SW Energy is trying to strongarm landlords. It all seems very murky.


I was previously told by PMM that I couldn’t switch supplier but on seeing that there was a change of supplier behind the scene from SSE to SW Energy I will have to explore that route again.

LoanRanger_2

Gerry1 wrote: »

This all seems very unclear - which fuels operate the boiler and the cooling system?

If there are conventional gas and electricity meters, it seems that SW Energy are just resellers, so why is everyone forced to use them if it's not a District Heating system? Does your lease (not the tenants') specify that you must use SW Energy for XX years, and did you sign it before purchase of the property? Sounds like it might be an Unfair Contract !

Or did you end up on a 'deemed' SW Energy tariff because you used their services after buying the flat and you didn't get around to switching supplier?

It seems like it is a 'deemed' tarrif there is a statement in SW Ts & Cs; which i only saw after the tenant moved out stating:


By using the Utility Supply You are deemed to have accepted the terms of this Supply Agreement. As such;
(a) You are making a legally binding agreement to comply with this Supply Agreement, including the Supply Terms;
(b) You agree to pay all Charges due to Us on time by variable direct debit (using the direct debit mandate attached) or by such other means as We may agree withYou; and
(c) You confirm that You have read and understood the Supply Terms.


I have signed no agreements with SW Energy and there is nothing in the lease suggesting the leaseholder / landlord would be responsible for tenants unpaid bills

Gerry1

Presumably the builder signed up with SSE, produced the welcome pack, but then switched to SW Energy (because it was more attractive, for them) before you exchanged contracts?

Either way, if you turned on a light bulb you were then on a deemed contract which whoever supplied the energy at that time. The clue is in 'deemed', you don't need to have signed anything, that's the whole point. You can't get out of a deemed energy contract except by signing up to one of their normal tariffs or by switching supplier, so please forget 'I didn't sign anything' because it just won't wash, irrespective of the company.

My guess is that you've inherited an expensive deemed contract, you didn't tell them that a tenant was taking over from you, the tenant now feels ripped off but hasn't switched, perhaps because they've been misinformed that they can't.

I doubt very much that you'll be able to wiggle out: it's not down to SW Energy to chase your tenant because the deemed contract is with you. You'll just have to pay SW Energy through the nose for the metered usage and take action against the tenant to reclaim it. Otherwise there will be debt collectors etc and it will get expensive and damage your credit rating etc.

Can you hold on to their deposit if the tenant doesn't pay you for their energy usage? Needless to say, IANAL so don't rely on any of this, just see what the CAB suggests. Good luck !

Gerry1

Another point to bear in mind is that until this is sorted out you or the new tenant are likely to be on a very expensive tariff: firstly because it's 'deemed' and secondly because it seems it's being re-sold with a mark-up. So your problems will only get worse.

Nor will you be able to switch to another provider because the account is likely to be in debt.

Far better to take the hit by paying up now, switching to a competitive tariff (and remembering giving 72 hours notice if / when you get a new tenant). Then chase the old tenant to see whether you can get anything back.

It may be better to settle for a partial amount because the tenant may be able to argue that you failed to close your account, failed to make them fully aware who their supplier was, and failed to warn them that their deemed tariff would be very expensive.

It's a hard lesson, but think of it this way: would you be happy if out of the blue a tenant told you that they'd moved out months ago, they'd let a stranger move in and that it was up to you to chase A. N. Other in respect of all the unpaid rent that had now accumulated?