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Original poster

electricity and water .......need help asap!!! pls

14 replies

jowil · 08/11/2004 11:31

hi i have a problem me and p have just split and as far as i was aware he had been paying the water and electric (we certainly seemed to be paying it every mth) it turns out he had been using the money for something else!!!which i wont go into now. now my dilema is that the water bill is 300 and electricity is 500 and i just cant afford this on my own... but the 2 bills were in his name only is there anyway i could either a) ring up and claim i just moved in b) what would happen if i rang and tell the truth? i need to know even though my name was not on these bills will i be liable?

pls help because i am now frightened they will turn my electricity and water off and with a 8 mth baby that isnt a good thing at all!!!

OP posts:
throckenholt · 08/11/2004 11:39

I think I would ring and tell the truth - you really don't want to risk having them cut off.

Original poster
jowil · 08/11/2004 11:42

throckenholt.... i know i should tell the truth really but i really cant afford to pay it myself (and surprise surprise xp doesnt want to know!!) will i be liable? xxx

OP posts:
mothernature · 08/11/2004 11:43

Speak to the company's concerned, inform them he is not at that address, don't try to hide anything from them answer truthfully if they ask something, you should be able to sort something out, speak to your local CAB office and they should be able to offer some sort of help, infact speak to them first....they should not shut anything off with a baby so don't worry but don't do nothing either..

Momof2 · 08/11/2004 11:46

Jowil
Problem is if you don;t make any payment then you will start accruing more and more I should think as they will probably charge you interest on non-payment (sorry don't want to worry you even more). Am unsure legally if the bills are in his name how you stand, but I think I would call them up, be honest and see if you can make a small contribution, just so they can see that you are trying to pay some of it off. They might be able to help with who is liable for the amount owing.

throckenholt · 08/11/2004 11:51

I would have thought you would not be liable to his debts - but you want to get it over into your name asap so that you are responsible for the future. If you are liable for his debt then you can arrange to pay it a bit at at time (I have seen the CAB offer to pay at a rate of about £1 per week - and that has been accepted !). You can't leave it though - because yo may end up with not supplies and bigger debts.

Original poster
jowil · 08/11/2004 11:56

ok thanks everyone... guess i gotta bite the bullet and phone them (gulp!!!) i cant believe he has done this... what a w*er!!!!

xx

OP posts:
janinlondon · 08/11/2004 13:09

Jowil, I think you said on the other thread that the electricity is with NPower? There is a huge problem with NPower bills at the moment. If he was paying pre-arranged direct debits monthly he may not even be aware of the shortfall in his payments. The pre-arranged direct debit amounts are way too low, so people are unknowingly building up a big debt while paying too little each month. Is it possible that he was in this situation? I have been paying my direct debits to them faithfully, and have just discovered that there is a shortfall of several hundred pounds that I previously knew nothing about. Its just a thought. Also thought that rather than say that you haven't lived here before (they will have access to the electoral roll by the way) you could explain it by saying you are now (give a date) taking over this property and will now be responsible for bills. It would be better than lying, as I do think they will find you out on this one.

KatieMac · 08/11/2004 18:18

Jaininlondon has the right idea
Phone and say I am taking over the bills from x date. Please contact xp for all previous monies.

Freckle · 08/11/2004 19:35

Horrible situation.

If your name is not on the bill, but you have benefitted from the use of electricity, the electricity supplier may claim that you have had beneficial use of the electricity and are liable to pay the bill if you have control over the use of the electricity. For example, a young person living with her/his parents would not be considered as having control.

If the person whose name is on the bill leaves the accommodation, the person left behind, whether an ex-partner, sharer or other occupier, may be held responsible for any arrears and will be expected to take over the supply in her/his own name. If the electricity supplier determines that the person left behind is responsible for any arrears the supply may be disconnected if arrangements cannot be made to repay the arrears. In exceptional circumstances, the electricity supplier has the discretion to ignore the arrears, for example, where a partner has been left with young children and large debts.

In your case, it is likely that the electricity company (or gas co.) will consider that you have benefitted from the use of the electricity/gas. So it might pay to appeal to their better nature and explain that you have a small child/ren, other debts, etc.

essbee · 08/11/2004 20:01

Message withdrawn

TeriS · 08/11/2004 20:11

Not sure if it still applies, as it was about 10 years ago, but this happened to somebody I know (with the electricity and phone bill), and they didn't have to pay. They just forwarded the details of ex!

However, they did end up with a pre-pay electricity meter (don't think the electricity company was too impressed!).

This did happen to me with an ex too, and I ended up with a years worth of water rates to pay (which he should have been paying - when I checked he hadn't even registered it!), but when I explained the situation to them, they were really nice, and just added this to the Direct debit payments, and split it over the following year.

Good luck, hope you get it sorted out!

LIZS · 09/11/2004 17:02

You may already have resolved this or taken CAB/legal advice. However have spoken to my dad who volunteers in an advice centre. He doesn't think they can chase you for the outstanding bills if they were in p's name only. Ring and say as of x date you are responsible but until then p was liable. It is then up to them to track him down. The exceptions to this would probably be Council Tax and Rent as the tenancy is in joint names. Having said that you can claim a discount as sole occupant from date he left.

hth

Freckle · 09/11/2004 17:48

This might be true of normal debts, such as credit cards, etc. However, utilities are treated slightly differently. As I posted earlier, if the company considers that a resident has had beneficial use of the energy supplied, they can chase that resident for arrears regardless of whose name actually appears on the bill. Clearly jowil has had use of the energy, so they may consider her liable. Again, with young children in the house, the company may be prepared to waive the arrears provided jowil takes over responsibility from now on.

Tortington · 09/11/2004 18:19

they wont turn your electricity or water of - they may suggest a meter. you could ring them up in your maidn name and tell them you are the new bill payer - get them to take a reading and chase your partner for the money - is what i would do

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