Claiming money back i've already paid

GrievingDaD

Hello 
A quick back history to my question.
I left my ex wife at the end of 2008 due to several types of abuse i was receiving one of which was financial, at the time I'd give her all my wage every Friday morning before work so the bills could be paid (so i thought) only to find out the water and gas bill hadn't been paid when I opened my wage slip one week to see it was £60 down because of 2 ccj's that I knew nothing about.
Now my youngest child has just gone 18 and the ex wife can no longer use her as a weapon I'm trying to find out if I can reclaim the money that I've paid twice for and two accounts I never applied for.
I don't recall who the suppliers were but I'd guess Yorkshire water and British gas, I vaguely recall ringing one of them about the issue and the lady said I didn't need to sign up for an account for anyone to put the account in my name.
Is it possible and where would I start ? I've lost around £40k to this woman in total due to her fraudulent activities.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and helping.
 

Aylesbury_Duck

GrievingDaD said:

Hello 
A quick back history to my question.
I left my ex wife at the end of 2008 due to several types of abuse i was receiving one of which was financial, at the time I'd give her all my wage every Friday morning before work so the bills could be paid (so i thought) only to find out the water and gas bill hadn't been paid when I opened my wage slip one week to see it was £60 down because of 2 ccj's that I knew nothing about.
Now my youngest child has just gone 18 and the ex wife can no longer use her as a weapon I'm trying to find out if I can reclaim the money that I've paid twice for and two accounts I never applied for.
I don't recall who the suppliers were but I'd guess Yorkshire water and British gas, I vaguely recall ringing one of them about the issue and the lady said I didn't need to sign up for an account for anyone to put the account in my name.
Is it possible and where would I start ? I've lost around £40k to this woman in total due to her fraudulent activities.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and helping.
 

I don't really understand what you've paid twice for, or how?  Is it that the utility bills are in your name and you've been paying them, on top of whatever child maintenance you've been paying, which presumably is supposed to cover a contribution to utility costs?

If there's genuinely been fraudulent activity, you need to decide if you wish to report it to the police.  Otherwise, with the sums involved, I would think that getting some proper legal advice would be the first step.  Some solicitor firms offer a free initial consultation so you could get some idea as to what - if anything - might be possible.

pinkshoes

GrievingDaD said:

Hello 
A quick back history to my question.
I left my ex wife at the end of 2008 due to several types of abuse i was receiving one of which was financial, at the time I'd give her all my wage every Friday morning before work so the bills could be paid (so i thought) only to find out the water and gas bill hadn't been paid when I opened my wage slip one week to see it was £60 down because of 2 ccj's that I knew nothing about.
Now my youngest child has just gone 18 and the ex wife can no longer use her as a weapon I'm trying to find out if I can reclaim the money that I've paid twice for and two accounts I never applied for.
I don't recall who the suppliers were but I'd guess Yorkshire water and British gas, I vaguely recall ringing one of them about the issue and the lady said I didn't need to sign up for an account for anyone to put the account in my name.
Is it possible and where would I start ? I've lost around £40k to this woman in total due to her fraudulent activities.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and helping.
 

As above, if it's a fraud case you need to involve the police.

If you were a couple at the time and she put your names on the bills because you were living at the address, then that's not fraud.

If this was after you'd separated and you notified the companies that you were no longer living at the property, and your ex then used your name to get credit, then notify the police for fraud.

I don't understand how you've gone from £60 down due to 2 CCJs to £40k lost.

DullGreyGuy

 

No, it is going to be almost certainly statute barred. Even if it weren't you have no evidence of the debt, you cannot even remember the entities involved. Time to move on. 

eskbanker

GrievingDaD said:

A quick back history to my question.
I left my ex wife at the end of 2008...

Perhaps a bit too quick, in that the timescales may be problematic - are you referring to financial issues before or after your separation, and to what extent were they factored into any formal settlement at the time?

In general, you have six years to take action, so you'd need to ascertain the sequence of events in considerably more detail than you've shared.

GrievingDaD said:

Now my youngest child has just gone 18 and the ex wife can no longer use her as a weapon I'm trying to find out if I can reclaim the money that I've paid twice for and two accounts I never applied for.
I don't recall who the suppliers were but I'd guess Yorkshire water and British gas, I vaguely recall ringing one of them about the issue and the lady said I didn't need to sign up for an account for anyone to put the account in my name.
Is it possible and where would I start ? I've lost around £40k to this woman in total due to her fraudulent activities. 

Who would you be trying to reclaim the money from?  If the suppliers were providing services to both of you in the marital home then they're unlikely to be interested in who paid them, but unless you're saying they've been paid for something that they didn't supply then I can't see much prospect of recovering anything from them?

outtatune

Was there a financial order made at the time? If not, why not, and have you subsequently remarried? Because once you do, it's too late to apply.