Can someone advise? - credit rating/debt collection

[Turnedouttoes]

A few years ago I lived in a house share and managed all the bills. In June 2018 I moved out and passed over the responsibility to another of the tenants.

We’d only recently taken out an account with First Utility and so they would not allow me to change the name on the account but instead said to add the other tenant as a named person (I now realise this was a mistake!)

It appears he moved out in June 2020 with an outstanding balance of £500 on the account which he closed. As I’m the account holder I’ve now received a debt collection letter and my credit score has gone down significantly.

I’ve asked the previous tenant to pay this bill ASAP and have told First Utility it’s nothing to do with me. They have said that as soon as he pays the bill my credit score will be reinstated but is this true?

I’m so worried as we’re trying to buy a house and I had a perfect credit score and credit history before this.

Well he isn't going to pay the bill is he? It's not as if he didn't know he owed the money. And of course you can close a recently opened account if you move out. Otherwise house buying chains would be held up by gas contracts, which is ludicrous. I think your only option is to suck it up and pay it, otherwise it's likely to get much worse. I'd be tempted to go back to the company and complain that you told them you were moving out so it's not your responsibility, but as you accepted what they said at the time then i can't see you getting very far.

No I think he will pay the bill. I imagine what’s happened is he closed the account and they’ve then sent the final bill to the address which he obviously doesn’t live at anymore.

I’m not really too worried about him not paying it, he’s a good guy. I’m more concerned about the effect on my credit rating

I'd be tempted to go back to the company and complain that you told them you were moving out so it's not your responsibility,

I'd suggest this.

Ask a) why they said this to you and what their policy is; and b) why - if you're the account holder and they knew you were moving out - did they not take your address and write to you there before now, giving you the opportunity to address this before it got this far. Make sure you are clear that it's a complaint as this triggers the 8 week response time. If, after 8 weeks, you don't have a satisfactory response, you can then go to the Ombudsman.

You may wish to let them know that the debt is disputed and that they shouldn't enforce while it's being investigated.

Hopefully somebody who knows more about debt can advise on that front, however. As I'm not sure of the best approach.

Thank you, I’ve submitted complaints to both First Utility and the debt collection agency so we will see what happens.

The really annoying thing is that the reason I switched to First Utility was that previously EDF had been undercharging us despite me submitting regular meter readings and asking to up our direct debit several times. When they finally told me we owed around £400 the other tenants who lived there for that period had moved on and moved abroad so I just paid it myself. And then switched to First Utility 🤦🏼‍♀️

If you have kids house sharing or at uni, tell them never to become the one who is responsible for all the bills!!