Please help with prepaid meter debt that isnt mine!

gamma

Hope someone can help me.

My ex partner of 2 years was staying with me and he was solely responsible for the topping up of the prepay meter.

He did this diligently for the 2 years but using his own electric card. Last month an engineer came over to the house to change the meter to a more advanced meter - he couldn't be bothered changing the meter but asked us if we wanted to change over to a monthly bill.

This was convenient for us as my ex moved back to South Africa and the engineer changed the meter to not accept tokens any longer.

Today I receive a bill from Scottish Hydro Electric saying we own them £2000!!!
Aparrently they haven't been receiving payments for this meter as they cannot track a valid card to this address.

I know for sure that my ex has been paying and topping up as I've seen him use his card.

Spoke to them on the phone today and they passed me from pillar to post - 2 hours on the phone and we got nowhere.

Now this ex has moved back to Africa and there is no way for us to trace him or the payments on the meter.

Also the hydro says their engineer will never change the meter over - although he did. And they want either some receipts or the card which both isn't possible!!

Now who is responsible for this 'debt'? The letter was addressed to 'The Occupier'

What do I do now?? Any help would be appreciated

ExNRGXpert

Anything addressed to "The Occupier" isnt the legal resposibility of anyone in particular, obviously because there is no name on it. They can only insist you pay this bill if it is in your name.

gamma

Aparently because I am the registered person on the tennancy agreement I am responsible for this bill ..

I have spoken to energywatch just now and they have given me a Hydro Electric number to phone tomorrow.

It looks like I am going to have to pay this bill - can they force me?

Even tho they haven't got me as the person responsible for the debt?

ExNRGXpert

Its possible that the lodger may have been paying on his card as you say, however, it may have been that he was paying the bill in the name of "The Occupier" (which is wrong on their part to let it be paid in that respect)
They have a point when they say that if you are the owner or responsible person for the property that it is your responsibility. However as there is no name on the bill then they cant possibly make you pay it- it would be like paying a credit card bill in someone elses name!
Stick with Energywatch on this one, dont pay anything until you get some solid advice from them.

gamma

I will give them a call tomorrow but in the meantime we do not have a bill coming and the meter doesn't accept tokens any longer.

Do I just carry on this way? - Can they force me to pay?

Cardew

ExNRGXpert wrote: »

Anything addressed to "The Occupier" isnt the legal resposibility of anyone in particular, obviously because there is no name on it. They can only insist you pay this bill if it is in your name.

That is totally incorrect!!!

This has been covered many times.

The gas and electricty acts passed by the Government specifically sanction 'Deemed Contracts'. This means gas and electricity are left connected on change of occupant and the new occupant is liable for any energy he uses! If they don't have the name of the new occupant(and they rarely do) bills addressed to 'The Occupier' are absolutely legal and must be paid if you have consumed the energy of course.

This from The Energy saving Trust.

You do not need to have signed anything for a legal contract to be in place. A special type of contract can exist for gas and electricity.
When does this happen?
When you move into a property where the previous occupant used electricity or gas, and you haven't signed a contract yourself. It can also happen if you are landlord and your tenants have moved out, and the next tenants have not yet moved in.
What is the contract?
A contract will be 'deemed' to have been created between you, as owner or occupier, and the supplier which had the last contract to supply the property. Suppliers have special 'deemed contract' rates which will normally be a little higher than their 'in contract' rates.
Why do 'deemed' contracts exist?
They mean that properties can continuously be supplied with gas and electricity when ownership changes, even when suppliers do not know who the next occupant is going to be. It means new occupants usually find the electricity and gas still work when they move in.
Do I have to pay the 'deemed' supplier?
Yes. For all the energy you use unless and until you switch suppliers. It is a legally binding contract. If you sign a standard contract, it will replace the deemed contract.
Where does it say this?
For electricity, it is set out in an amendment to Schedule 6 of the Electricity Act 1989, contained in Schedule 4 paragraph 3 of the Utilities Act 2000. For gas it is set out in the Gas Act 1995, Schedule 2 (Schedule 2B to the 1986 Act), paragaph 8.

Advice like you gave above will get people into trouble if followed.

Getting back to the OP's question. It really depends how the accounting was set up.

By having a lodger(and not a tenant) it indicates to me that there were two separate supplies to the house???

If it was a separate metered supply in the lodger's name, then the OP is not liable IMO.

If it is in the OP's name(or they are responsible for the property) then they have problems.

However it is far from clear cut that they will owe all of the money - they can only go back a year in most cases.

Terry(an ex-utility company employee) is better qualified than most of us for this type of issue, and he will no doubt be along to offer his wisdom soon.

ExNRGXpert

Is it a credit meter now? (as in do you have to put any devices in to pay?)
You need to have a name on the bill if it is a credit meter- however you can state the date and meter reading from when you became responsible for the utilities again... dont let them try and force you to pay a bill that isnt yours

ExNRGXpert

Cardew wrote: »

That is totally incorrect!!!

This has been covered many times.

The gas and electricty acts passed by the Government specifically sanction 'Deemed Contracts'. This means gas and electricity are left connected on change of occupant and the new occupant is liable for any energy he uses! If they don't have the name of the new occupant(and they rarely do) bills addressed to 'The Occupier' are absolutely legal and must be paid if you have consumed the energy of course.

This from The Energy saving Trust.



Advice like you gave above will get people into trouble if followed.

Getting back to the OP's question. It really depends how the accounting was set up.

By having a lodger(and not a tenant) it indicates to me that there were two separate supplies to the house???

If it was a separate metered supply in the lodger's name, then the OP is not liable IMO.

If it is in the OP's name then they have problems.

However it is far from clear cut that they will owe all of the money - they can only go back a year in most cases.

Terry(an ex-utility company employee) is better qualified than most of us for this type of issue, and he will no doubt be along to offer his wisdom soon.

Yea thanks for the flaming... as i quite clearly said "The Occupier" does not name anyone specifically... my point was that yes, if the supply was being used then it does need to be paid for, however maybe i wasnt clear. To clarify... make sure the bill is in your name before you pay anything.
And FYI i am an ex utility company employee

gamma

Thanks for the replies

To Clarify the person who was paying for the meter tokens is an ex partner who has now dissapeared off the face of the earth!

So no there is only one meter.

hpsaucey

surely if you have a token meter as I have, you have to put money on it to get yourgas/electricity and that is purchased from a paypoint. so the money has been paid to someone. I f you know the name of the supplier on your ex's card then they have got your money and it has not been forwarded to your supllier. this happened to me when i changed from BG to powergen. BG still got the money but eventually passed it to pg. I contacted energywatch and they did all the paperwork for me and they found out I was in credit as I had money left on my card when i swapped. Double check with energywatch and see if they can sort it out for u and good luck.

hpsaucey

PS if I was you I would check with your supplier and ask how your bills are to be paid in future i.e. direct debit or quarterly and see if you can go back onto a prepayment meter with a gas/electricity card. Sometimes bills are sent out in the hope that people will pay them without question and therefore gain what is not theirs to have. You cannot get gas or elctric on a prepay token/card WITHOUT PAYING FOR IT FIRST. so in fact someone has paid it already and you should only owe them from when the meter was changed, but you should have taken note of the meter reading but the engineer should have that.contact energywatch