I think I'm being scammed by EON

Patr100

anonymous_poor_lady said:

Patr100 said:

Debts must apply to individuals not properties.
If you were the only person who had an account with EON (you said only your name was on the bills)
then why are they now  targeting your husband? Did you ever hold a joint account with EON?

We didn't have a joint account together with EON. I was the only one to have my name with them. 

I guess I learned my lesson, next time I will include both names to save us from this trouble. 

I wasn't advocating having joint names. Just trying to ascertain the facts .
Doesn't look like joint names would help in this situation.
EON must have got your husband's name from somewhere.

Spies

Cant you just check on clearscore or the like and see if there are any defaulted accounts under his name? 

brewerdave

Patr100 said:

anonymous_poor_lady said:

Patr100 said:

Debts must apply to individuals not properties.
If you were the only person who had an account with EON (you said only your name was on the bills)
then why are they now  targeting your husband? Did you ever hold a joint account with EON?

We didn't have a joint account together with EON. I was the only one to have my name with them. 

I guess I learned my lesson, next time I will include both names to save us from this trouble. 

I wasn't advocating having joint names. Just trying to ascertain the facts .
Doesn't look like joint names would help in this situation.
EON must have got your husband's name from somewhere.

Last time I dealt with EON, you couldn't have a "joint" account for utilities, only one name allowed - but they still can go after other occupants of the property by means of the "jointly and severally liable" approach.

Patr100

brewerdave said:

Patr100 said:

anonymous_poor_lady said:

Patr100 said:

Debts must apply to individuals not properties.
If you were the only person who had an account with EON (you said only your name was on the bills)
then why are they now  targeting your husband? Did you ever hold a joint account with EON?

We didn't have a joint account together with EON. I was the only one to have my name with them. 

I guess I learned my lesson, next time I will include both names to save us from this trouble. 

I wasn't advocating having joint names. Just trying to ascertain the facts .
Doesn't look like joint names would help in this situation.
EON must have got your husband's name from somewhere.

Last time I dealt with EON, you couldn't have a "joint" account for utilities, only one name allowed - but they still can go after other occupants of the property by means of the "jointly and severally liable" approach.

Not if there is only one name on the bills as appears on this case.
The other person never entered into a contract to be liable.

brewerdave

Patr100 said:

brewerdave said:

Patr100 said:

anonymous_poor_lady said:

Patr100 said:

Debts must apply to individuals not properties.
If you were the only person who had an account with EON (you said only your name was on the bills)
then why are they now  targeting your husband? Did you ever hold a joint account with EON?

We didn't have a joint account together with EON. I was the only one to have my name with them. 

I guess I learned my lesson, next time I will include both names to save us from this trouble. 

I wasn't advocating having joint names. Just trying to ascertain the facts .
Doesn't look like joint names would help in this situation.
EON must have got your husband's name from somewhere.

Last time I dealt with EON, you couldn't have a "joint" account for utilities, only one name allowed - but they still can go after other occupants of the property by means of the "jointly and severally liable" approach.

Not if there is only one name on the bills as appears on this case.
The other person never entered into a contract to be liable.

There is history on this eg students have been pursued for the bill on shared accommodation even when they weren't on tenancy agreements or council tax bills.

EssexHebridean

anonymous_poor_lady said:

My husband sent the prove it letter. We didn't add any extra info to the letter, just the standard template as advised. While it was tempting to send evidence that they are wrong, it would also get my name involved (since the bill was on my name) and make things more complicated. 

Hopefully that will be enough. I will post any update I get here.

Thanks again for all the help!  This forum is amazing.

Right thing to do OP, absolutely. And yes, please do let us know how you get on - assuming you hear anything more, which you may well not!

If you DO get anything back claiming that he IS liable, then post on the Debt Free wannabe board as that's the right place to get advice if things escalate. 

scousemicky

I've had these 3 letters as well. The Guardian has a story on this so they've probably sent these letters to 100s of people.

theguardian.com/money/2021/dec/12/law-firm-for-debt-company-pursues-customers-for-eon-bills-on-homes-they-werent-living-in

EssexHebridean

Same advice as given to the OP Micky - Prove it letter and then wait and see if you hear more. 

anonymous_poor_lady

UPDATE:

We received a letter from the legal team with the following:

"We note that you don't believe that you are responsible for the balance because you did not reside at the supply address for the period of supply we have contacted you about, or were not the bill payer. It would assist us in resolving this quickly if you could advise us of the name of the correct party if that is known to you.

Once this information has been received we will quickly be able to update our records to confirm you were not resident at the time of supply and close our account and will not contact you again"

So they expect me to help them do their job? 🤡

In our prove it letter I didn't provide any information, they are just assuming reasons for the debt not being ours.

I don't know who is/was living there, we were just tenants. What should I do? I could send them my lettings agency or past landlord contact. But I don't know if I have permission to share such info. 

EssexHebridean

I’d say you can just ignore that, but I suggest posting in the thread already running over on the DFW board for further advice from one of the experts there. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6318050/energy-provider-passed-a-debt-my-father-doesnt-owe-to-debt-collector#latest