Gas and electric debt 9 July 2022 at 10:51AM in Debt-free wannabe 7 replies 631 views

JimC2099

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum but I'm looking for some advice.

Long story short I moved into a property 6 years ago and the landlord was going to sub let gas and electric to us. Which would've been fine but from what I read they couldnt make any profit on it whatsoever. We asked for the original bills and was refused so didn't pay, this went on for the whole of the tenancy.

After we moved out and we told them again that we wouldn't pay anything with out original bills they have finally produced them and are trying to set up a plan with us. I'm just wondering what if any rights we have in this situation.

Many thanks in advance for any help anyone can give.

sourcrates

UK citizens have many legal rights and responsibilities. There are different types of laws protecting the rights of individuals - from civil laws to criminal laws.

In your particular case, you have the right to know how your bill was calculated, and what figures were used in that calculation.

Paying nothing really should not have been an option, as I guess you are now left with quite a substantial bill, and no meter readings to match against the bills they say you owe.

JimC2099

Yes they are charging for 6 years and three months worth of gas and electric.

All we have are the original bills that are in our landlords name for that property in pdf format on a usb drive. It's a shame as this could have been rectified so long ago but they just refused to give us any of the original bills

sourcrates

Well if your happy to pay this, then that`s up to you, otherwise dispute it with the companies concerned.

They all have complaints procedures to follow, and remember, any simple contract debt over 6 years old will be statute barred, do the back billing regulations apply at all ?

peteuk

If its in the landlords name then the contract is with them, not you. So I’m not sure how you would set up an agreement with the provider.  

If it was in your name then would the bill not come to you?

JimC2099

So it's all in our landlords name. He was trying to sublet it to us, with a bill he had made him self. That's when we asked for the original bills to check what he was charging us. This was all through his kind of letting agent. No bills were given so we never paid, they said pay we said where are the original bills. As far as I'm aware the bills are fully tonthe utility company

peteuk

Sorry I think I am missing something...

Did you rent a property or part of a property? Either way check the tenancy agreement.  Most places are Rent £X including bills or Rent £Y excluding bills. Or has a set amount for bills   My daughter lives in an apartment block and each apartment has its own supply, so she controls the bills.  

So when it comes to sub letting gas/electricity (depending on your agreement) if you rent the property then 100% of the bill is yours, but if you rent a room then its difficult to work out what you have used.  If there's four adults in the property then you could divide the bill by four.  But other than that I am unsure how he can "sub let" as he proposed. 

EssexHebridean

Presumably you were setting aside a sensible monthly amount for these bills though during the time you were in the property? Is the issue here that the actual bills have come up at more than the amount you had set aside? If so then your best bet assuming you are now happy to accept that the bills are reasonable is probably to agree a payment plan with the landlord do pay back the outstanding amount over time.