UTILITY FRAUD LCS

dragonb

I need some help! , Its LCS again.
We  rented a property in 2022- Jan 23, myself and partner separated, I moved on 18 Nov 2022 settled all bills up to my move out date utilities council etc and rent till end of contract.

My partner moved out at end of contract the property agents took no forwarding address from her.

I have received a letter from LCS asking for £866.70 for electric and gas issued on behalf of the Landlord owing to Eon. This was for the last 8 weeks of the contract after I moved out, this was the 1st I knew of an outstanding Bill.

I appreciate I may owe the outstanding bill for the gas & electric due to the contract even though I wasnt living there, I am curious am I.?

The main issue is that the Landlord has also added a further 5 weeks charge for gas and electric so he is claiming instead of 19 Nov 22 to 19 Jan 23 he is now claiming up to the 24 Feb 23, the property was vacant for that period as he had to make the property habitable due to failings by the said Landlord. Yes Myself and partner did report him.

My main question is this utility fraud as he asking me to pay for his electricity and gas.
If  so what do I do next.
 Thank You !

ArbitraryRandom

You say 'Its LCS again' - but this is your first post.. did you have another thread under a different username? 

If not, then the best advice is to send the 'prove it' letter - basically disputing you owe the debt and saying that they need to prove both that you are liable and the amount before they can take the matter forward (and likely, yes - depending on your contract and/or what you agreed with the landlord in writing, you would probably be liable for utility use until the contract end date rather than the date you moved out). 

Template here that you can modify to fit. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter

dragonb

Thank you for the reply, no its my 1st time with CLS its just what I have read about them on here.
It still has not answered my question about the additional 5 weeks he is trying to charge me for which is not my bill but his this has been confirmed by Eon is it fraud ?

MultiFuelBurner

If you didn't remove your name from the tenancy then yes you are liable.

Whether this is for the whole lot or another date that depends on when notice was given and the end date and the meter readings on that end date are key.

QrizB

MultiFuelBurner said:

If you didn't remove your name from the tenancy then yes you are liable.

Liable for energy for the duration of the tenancy.

If the tenancy ended on the 19th of January, you're not liable for any charges after that date.

bagand96

As other posters have said you are liable for energy bills until your tenancy ended.

Hopefully your ex-partner recorded final meter readings at the time the tenancy ended.  Bit confused when you say the letter from LCS is on behalf of the landlord?  Did you pay the landlord for energy or EON directly?  Is the letter from LCS definitely served on behalf of the landlord and not EON?  This will change your next steps. If you paid EON for energy then you should be able to go back to them.  if not you may have to deal with the landlord, or at least dispute the debt with LCS.

You're not responsible for the 5 weeks after.  In the meantime tell LCS that the debt is disputed which should buy you some time.

BellaBlondykeTheThird

Things they should teach in school as many rent first before buying.

dragonb

Thank you all for your comments

BobT36

Always take and submit a reading on the final day of moving out. 
Inform the utility company that you have moved and are no longer responsible for the supply. 

You MAY still be responsible for bills if you have voluntarily moved out "early", before your notice period ended, (unless the landlord agreed to mutually end it during the notice period). However any further charges up to the end of the notice period would need some sort of proven reading by the landlord, or an accurate estimate by the supplier. 

You're not responsible at all for anything after the notice period. Any "void" time is the landlord's problem. 
You should have a record of you either giving notice that you would leave on x date, or that you were evicted on y date. That should be all you need to prove non-liability beyond that.