Am I Liable? Old Sky Account opened in MY name in 2015 but used by future tenants

fhodg9

Hello, bit of a strange one!

I recently got a text from a debt collection company called Capital Resolve who were contacting me regarding a debt I supposedly had with Sky. Initially I thought it was a scam, as I do not have a Sky account. However the next day I recalled that back in 2014/15 I lived in a houseshare where I opened a Sky account in my name for TV and broadband. 

After checking back through old emails I found out that when I moved out in 2015, as it was not easy to transfer the name of the Account Holder someone else (I'd have had to pay off the whole contract) , I just decided to update the payment details into a new tenant's name. As time passed I just completely forgot about it, and that was the last I thought about it until this text over 5 years later.

I called up Sky, and they managed to track down the account. It turns out that it was only closed in August 2020, and there was an outstanding payment of £72 on the account. Essentially it seems that over the 5 and a half years, whenever someone has moved out of that house share, the tenants have always just updated the payment details as they go, however the account has always been in my name.

As the account is in my name, I decided when I was on the phone to Sky just to settle the balance of £72 and consider the matter closed.

However, a few questions have come to mind since:

• Was I actually liable for the £72 bill, or should it have sat with the tenants who used the service?
• Will this missed payment of £72 affect my Credit Score? I check my Credit Score every month (including December 2020) and it has always been at the maximum, so nothing has happened yet. Although the Sky Account is in my name, the missed payment was not associated with my bank details.
• As the Sky Account is in my name, would any missed payments from tenants over the 5 and a half years affect my Credit Score?

Thanks 

Yahoo_Mail

1. Yes you are liable. The account was in your name so it was ultimately you were responsible for making sure the bill was paid.

2.  Sky TV does not report to the CRAs but Sky Broadband might.  If they report it will be put down as a late payment(s). Ignore your score as it doesn't matter.

3. Yes (But again your score doesn't matter.)