Back dated bill

alex198633

My ex was paying the bills until he called up last year and said I’m paying, he back dated this by about 4-6months I didn’t even agree to this or agree to stay with this supplier, I was never contacted by the supplier to say this was happening, I had a back dated bill, no metres read and no contract to say I was the new bill payer, I have refused to pay this as I would of shopped around. The bill is now just over £3000 in a yr. where do I stand and what can I do? I’m a single parent who feels I have not been treated fairly or even told this bill was going to me. 

Robin9

First of all can see what the bill should be.  £3000 in a year is a lot.
Do you have access to any of the older bills, perhaps to the time he said you were going to responsible for. Can you read the meters today and then do some simple sums to see what the actual amount is..

Changing suppliers may have made some difference but don't expect the £3000 to suddenly go down to £1000.

Gerry1

If you haven't registered in your own name with your supplier you may now be on a prohibitively expensive 'Deemed' contract, so that's the first thing to sort out urgently.  If so, you could ask them to ask them to backdate you to their cheapest tariff on the grounds that you didn't know your ex was no longer paying.

Get on the Priority Services Register if you qualify, that may help your case.

SnowTiger

alex198633 said:

My ex was paying the bills until he called up last year and said I’m paying, he back dated this by about 4-6months I didn’t even agree to this or agree to stay with this supplier, I was never contacted by the supplier to say this was happening, I had a back dated bill, no metres read and no contract to say I was the new bill payer, I have refused to pay this as I would of shopped around. The bill is now just over £3000 in a yr. where do I stand and what can I do? I’m a single parent who feels I have not been treated fairly or even told this bill was going to me. 

Who used the energy?

Robin9

Alex - is the bill you've got in your name or that of your ex's ?. If still in your ex's names then the bill firmly rests with him. If in his name the supplier may well refuse to speak to you.
 If it's in your name then there's a question of how your ex put it in your name.

MWT

alex198633 said:

My ex was paying the bills until he called up last year and said I’m paying, he back dated this by about 4-6months I didn’t even agree to this or agree to stay with this supplier, I was never contacted by the supplier to say this was happening, I had a back dated bill, no metres read and no contract to say I was the new bill payer, I have refused to pay this as I would of shopped around. The bill is now just over £3000 in a yr. where do I stand and what can I do? I’m a single parent who feels I have not been treated fairly or even told this bill was going to me. 

There doesn't necessarily have to be a contract, merely by occupying the property and using the electricity/gas you put yourself into a deemed contract.

So the date your ex used for the 'back-dated' aspect of this, was that the date he ceased to occupy property?

Is this a rental or owned? In either case whose name is on the lease or the deeds?

matelodave

If he closed the account that was in his name and the time he left but you've still remained at the property then by default you end up on a deemed tariff. TBH it probably difficult to get really good advice to actually address your specific circumstance from a forum such as this.
It becomes more problematic if he didn't give a meter reading when he left and there may have been a heap of arrears on the bills as well. I guess that you haven't been sending in meter readings nor checking bills or statements - how was he paying the bills, how did he know how much to pay etc.
Possibly the back-billing rules may apply in this instance but IMO you need better advice and assistance from someone who might be better qualified and can probe into what been going on possibly the CAB or even a solicitor especially if your EX (whatever that means) had a legal requirement to support you (or kids if any). Much more difficult to sort out of he was just a "live in" who cleared off than a legal spouse etc.