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Original poster

Moved house yesterday and the vendors hadn't paid their electricity

30 replies

StressLevelsAboveRoofLevel · 15/09/2018 12:31

We had no problems during the buying process. Met the vendor once, he seemed decent enough and mentioned a wife. House is clean and well kept.

When we arrived yesterday there was a letter on the doormat. It was chaotic so I've only just opened it now. It's a final repayment letter wanting £500.

Solicitors is obviously closed, not quite sure what to do now? Are we liable?!

OP posts:
glintandglide · 15/09/2018 12:32

No course not! Call the electricity company with your moving in reading and give a forwarding address if you have it. Not your problem at all. Or the solicitors really

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 15/09/2018 12:32

No, just call up today and move it in to your name with the meter readings.

PragmaticWench · 15/09/2018 12:33

No, you call up and start a new account. The vendors account has nothing to do with you. Make sure you give exact meter readings to start your account.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 15/09/2018 12:33

Also not really sure what it’s got to do with the solicitors?

DamsonGin · 15/09/2018 12:36

Take a photo of the meter reading, let the electricity company know and give them the vendors forwarding address or contact details for their solicitor (via yours if necessary).

Original poster
StressLevelsAboveRoofLevel · 15/09/2018 12:36

I've taken out electricity with a different company but I'll call this one today.

Oh I was massively panicking- visions of bailiffs at my door!

OP posts:
glintandglide · 15/09/2018 12:38

You don’t really need to call them, your new electricity company will deal with getting the supply switched over. It’s up to the old company to get their debt paid, nothing to do with you. Just keep returning to sender as “no longer at this address”

£500 isn’t much and they issue final demands as soon as you notify them you are moving houSe for the outstanding balance. Don’t worry about it

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 15/09/2018 12:38

Erm don’t bother calling them. It’s not your account and I’m a bit baffled why you opened their post anyway. You should have just given it to them!

glintandglide · 15/09/2018 12:39

Sorry- to clarify- £500 is a lot of money, but no necessarily much to owe a utility company upon calculation of final bill

Original poster
StressLevelsAboveRoofLevel · 15/09/2018 12:39

It was addressed 'to the occupier', it wasn't named.

OP posts:
GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 15/09/2018 12:40

That doesn’t even sound true!

TangelasVine · 15/09/2018 12:41

Yes it's nothing to do with you as it's their debt. Just make sure you have taken opening meter readings and submitted them.

ShowOfHands · 15/09/2018 12:43

Why would it say "to the occupier"? That makes no sense.

We've never bought a house and not had the previous owner leave behind unpaid bills and debts. Be prepared for bailiffs and debt collectors. And more letters. And in two cases, court summons. None of it is your problem. You just explain and they'll be on their way.

TangelasVine · 15/09/2018 12:44

And even though you've moved company you'll still need to pay the old company for whatever you have used. This might just be a few days worth depending on how quickly the switch happened. So you'll need the readings from the day you owned the house, and the readings from the day of the supplier switch. Your new supplier will ask you for these.

AwdBovril · 15/09/2018 12:44

Take dated photos of all meter reads. Make sure the serial numbers etc are clearly legible on every one. You can emal them to the utility company. If there is pending legal action against the vendors, telling the utility company about the change of ownership should stop it.

I'd also check any other bills etc that may be registered to the house - council tax, & water company for example.

glintandglide · 15/09/2018 12:48

It’s not possible an occupier can take out an electricity credit account. You must’ve mixed it up with another letter

A0001 · 15/09/2018 12:53

It’s not possible an occupier can take out an electricity credit account. You must’ve mixed it up with another letter

I must have imagined the one i got addressed to ‘The Occupier’ for £40 from British Gas then, when I moved in to our current house.

I think what happened was there was a gap between the meter reading the old owner gave when moving out and the meter reading I gave when moving in

The bill wasn’t addressed to me, I therefore ignored it.

You should do the same and ensure, as a PP said, you have photos of meter reads when you moved in, and when you switched (which your new company will ask for when they’re ready).

You will have a bill to pay to the old supplier but I shouldn’t be huge.

Thecomfortador · 15/09/2018 12:57

The previous tenant at my house had a debt and we received letters addressed to the occupier. I phoned and they sorted it out no problem.

glintandglide · 15/09/2018 13:02

That’s not an account though is it A0001? A utility account is a credit account. It’s like taking out a credit card in the name of the occupier. It can’t happen.

Singlenotsingle · 15/09/2018 13:05

It's a contract between the previous owner and the electricity company. You aren't in breach of contract, they are! Give it to your solicitor or the estate agents, to forward on to him.

DonnaDarko · 15/09/2018 13:09

I think they tend to use "The Occupier" when they know that the previous occupier has left, but they don't have a forwarding address.

GreenTulips · 15/09/2018 13:13

This happened to us and the values did turn up - but quickly went away when we said we'd just moved in and didn't know the previous owners address.

Don't worry about it not your problem

FanWithoutAGuard · 15/09/2018 13:26

Why would it say "to the occupier"? That makes no sense.

This happens. I rent out a house. Names of tenants and my names are known. After the last but one tenant moved out, I had a month unoccupied, all the utilities companies where informed, including that it was a rental property, and that I was the owner, and that my correspondence address was my actual address.

They sent bills to the rental house, addressed to the occupier (from Spark).

I thought it was a scam! (because as I said, they had all the names and contact details available to them)

Turns out it wasn't (well, not exactly - in that there was some outstanding amount, but it wasn't the amount on the bill, which was not labelled an estimate, but turned out to be an estimate).

We went through the ombudsman, the lot, pointing out how underhanded it all was to act this way - the bill was quashed (it wasn't 500, it was a lot less)

Do ring the company - do confirm readings, do tell them that this is not your account and that you are the new owner and you are not responsible for this bill. Do expect a fight.

ratspeaker · 15/09/2018 13:31

Take a note of your meter readings or better still a photo. Also take a note of the meter numbers , you may need these for future reference. If you dont know how to find your meter number try google to show where it should be.
You are only liable for utilities from the day you bought the house.

DamsonGin · 15/09/2018 13:34

Funny that, we took Spark Energy to the ombudsman too.