Would you pay it?

[drained1]

My brother has just had a phone call from his ex.

They split up 5 years ago and have a daughter.

Ex says the water company they used 7 years ago has tracked her down and there's £350 remaining on an account from their old house. And she obviously wants half the money from him.

He is 100% certain he paid half of the remaining balance when they moved into a new house though he has no proof as his old bank account was shut down when he set up a joint account with his wife - he moved on from the ex and got married.

So....would you pay it? I genuinely believe he did give her the money at the time and she never paid it. She's always one for getting into debt and not paying bills on time. However I've been telling him to pay it just to keep the peace - my niece (his dd) will probably be brought into it otherwise.

The money is apparently coming out of her bank account next week and she expects half of it to be transferred.

I would suggest he contacts the water board to make sure the bill is genuine for a start

surely she would be able to pay it in instalments?

She's taken a photo of the letter and sent it to him, I've not seen it but I'm sure it will be real

Well, you may think she’s crap with bills, but he wasn’t great with them either if he just left her to pay their joint bills, knowing she wasn’t great at it either.

If it was a joint bill with the water company he’s liable for the full £350 if they turn to tracking him down.

So unless this is the longest in a line of requests, I’d tell him to get her to transfer her £175 to him, then call and settle it himself.

How easy it is for him to afford it? If £175 is easy to find then I’d pay it for the sake of his daughter and a quiet life.

@GreenLantern53 I thought that too but no idea. She's just said the money is being deducted next week from her account and my brother owes her £175ish

It's just a sore spot for my brother as they moved into a new house, he bought literally everything new for the house then she kicked him out a month later. He bought things on a catalogue too and was left to pay it all. But stupid of him really but he thought they were happy. Just dragged up some old memories for him.
Hes a decent bloke and would probably just offer to pay the full thing if it was anyone else but his ex

I wonder how he'd feel if a £350 over payment and consequent refund came to light?

Ex says the water company they used 7 years ago has tracked her down and there's £350 remaining on an account from their old house

Wait... so is the debt over 6 years old? If so neither of them has to pay it unless she has admitted that she owes it.

@Ellisandra he had no idea how crap she was at money at the time. It was only afterwards when he realised.

The bill is just on her name. Not a joint one.

@gamerwidow he could pay it I think, I agree that I'd pay it for his dd

I would ask for a copy of the correspondence, but then yes, if it is legitimate he needs to pay his half. I think I would pay it to them directly though.

I think so yeah, nearly 7 years old. I could be wrong there though. I haven't seen the letter but I know when they moved out of the house in question which is coming up to 7 years

Sorry read a few more posts now. Changed my mind, no I would not pay it.

you dont have to pay back debts that are 6 years old??

GreenLanternThey have 6 years to chase you. If the company have not made contact to reclaim a debt within 6 years you do not have an obligation to pay the supposed debt.

oh ok im sure they probably have chased it over the 6 years shes probably just ignored it.

I'm pretty sure that he could request the old statements from his bank account if he can remember when it was and has a note of his old bank account. To be honest I can completely understand him just paying it for the sake of an easy life but how amazing would it be to prove her wrong

So a £350 water bill for one months usage?!

This doesn't make any sense - if they've had to track her down then how do they have her bank details in order to take the money next week?

So he's saying that he already gave her the money for this 7 years ago, right?

In that case (for the sake of his DD not being dragged into it) I'd contact the water board, confirm the debt, and pay my half directly. If it results in an overpayment because they debit her account the full amount, then they can refund the excess to her. What I wouldn't do would be to give the money directly to her. He did that once and obvs she didn't use it for its intended purpose.

FWIW, I'm in the US, but here he could contact his old bank for them to search out his old records even without an account number. However, doing so usually costs a pretty penny. Banks searching old records usually charge an hourly rate + a 'per page' copy fee. A 'blind search' (no account number, not sure of the transaction date) might cost more than just paying the bill.

I'd tell her to get fucked.

She got new furnishings and what he bought on the catalogue (unless she gave it all back to him) so I'd tell her to pay it herself.

Also, if he'd only been in the house 6m, how is a £350 bill partly his?

That's a good point. Unless they had a leaking tap or watered the garden for 6 hours every day I would be suprised at such a large amount for a short time.

I would request an official letter from the company. For all you know the ex could have forged the letter.....

And also agree if it is owed he should pay direct. Explaining to the company

If it's real it's probably before the time exceeded for paying debts. The debt recovery team have probably been doing a cleanse and sending out letters chancing that someone will pay up.

If he's not named on the debt he is not liable to pay.

He must not admit t the debt to her or he'll end up paying.

Personally, I'd ignore.

If he wants confirmation, banks do hold old statements and you can request them for small fee. Like others have said, the 7yrs rings alarm bells. Companies crystallize these debts and write off after 6 yrs so very unlikely it's a true debt.