Previous Tenant Debt In FM Name

Persephone33

Hi,

I’m looking for advice as I appear to be hitting my head against a brick wall! 

Family member moved into a council property, and the previous tenant had an outstanding bill with British Gas. (please also note that when my family member moved into the property the that it was capped and had to be uncapped when they moved in, we have documentation to confirm this) 

My FM has never in their entire life held an account with British Gas. 

However BG have now started to threaten bailiffs if the outstanding bill is not paid and have also placed the bill in my FM name?!? I do believe this is against the law? Also we are unsure who has provided them with this information. 

BG have also stated that they have tried to contact on the landline number which is registered to the account, which again, was disconnected by the previous tenant! Thus confirming that this account belongs to them.

However after all this back and forth BG are still unwilling to help and accept that it is the previous tenant with whom they need to be in touch with regarding the outstanding bill. 

Any advise on where to go from here would be greatly appreciated , they are an elderly person who is becoming rather unwell with all the unnecessary added stress. 

Many thanks 

DE_612183

Have you got documentary evidence from the council of when your FM took occupancy?

If so submit that to BG.

If they carry on use the complaint facility and then ask for a deadlock letter before going to ombudsman - although it shouldn't' get that far...

Robin9

Your FM may well have had an account with BG even if only for a few days

The normal process is that when you move into a property you read the meter and give your bank details,   Then you are free to contact the supplier of your choice, give them reads when asked.

Who does your FM think they are supplied by ?

And the Electric ?

Persephone33

Thank you for your replies! 

Here are a few extra points which I hope answers some of the questions asked. 

We submitted evidence to BG of dates of when FM moved into the property, to which their response was to send a revised letter with dates which had been changed. 

BG states that meters have been read on dates when the property was vacant and still capped. These readings far exceed the reading which were recorded by FM when they moved in. 

Supplier is Octopus for gas and electric who were provided with the reading when they moved in.  

Also the property was vacant for 6 months before FM moved in. 

Hope this has provided a bit more detail. 

Many thanks for your advice!

Scot_39

You need to find out how that switch happened.

And what the council did in terms of taking on the supply - if anything - during the void period.

Did the FM ever create an account with the previous deemed supplier (BG - was it the councils and / or previous tenants) ?

Did the council offer a utility sign up service - did they register the account at BG - possibly on a commission basis ?

How did FM set up the switch to Octopus if they hadn't a service to switch over ?

Or did they use one of the suppliers who do their own "move my tariff" type services to do move for them ?