Daughter’s ex boyfriend harassing for money for old utility bill

[Maryfromthedairy47]

Hello

first time poster here.

I’ll try and keep it brief.

my daughter was living with someone three years ago. She was working, he was a student. They shared the rent, water bill and broadband bill. The electric bill was in his name. He didn’t pay towards council tax as he said he wasn’t liable as he was a student. My daughter had to pay the full amount as she wasn’t eligible for single person discount.

they broke up. There was huge confusion with the water company over the bill (they were being billed for another property). I eventually helped them sort out the water bill.

ex boyfriend stayed in the flat for the duration of the tenancy, my daughter moved out. He left the place in a state and the deposit was not returned.

my daughter has moved on and is happy in a new relationship. The ex boyfriend is now saying she owes him money for a utility bill. This is nearly three years after they split. Her name was never listed with the utility company.

my daughter has tried blocking and ignoring him, but he keeps harassing her for money.

my question is, can the ex boyfriend use the small claims court to get my daughter to pay towards the bill if her name was never on the account?

thank you.

he can't do anything about it

the way couples split their bills is down to them and the only person legally liable for the bill is the person on the bill

if she moved out (easily proven), paid all bills that were in her name and presumably closed those accounts / informed providers she moved out then he cannot claim anything from her

It would be fair for her to pay her share of the bill if that was what they agreed at the time, deducting his share of the Council tax ( he was not exempt as a student, the property would have been had it been occupied only by students, therefore he owes DD half. He also owes her her share of the deposit if it was totally his fault that non of the deposit was refunded ( is that even true? has she been in contact with the LL about that? Aren't there rules about the return of the deposit that would require her involvement?).
I can't see that the ex could enforce it through the Small Claims court unless he has evidence that she agreed to be responsible for her half regardless of everything else.
Blocking and ignoring is not the way to deal with it. She needs to set out her position in writing - eg she will consider paying her share of the bill once he repays her half of the deposit/sends her evidence that the whole of the deposit was withheld and his agreement to that, and agrees to her deducting his half share of the council tax.
If i was her I would be phoning the LL to ask what exactly did happen!

You are incorrect about the council tax point in that the responsibility for the council tax does fall to those adults who are not otherwise exempt eg because they were a student.

He could possibly succeed in small claims if he were to adduce evidence that there was a verbal agreement between them that the bills were split equally and that could be evidenced by him showing that he contributed to bills that were in her name.

It is not just a simple no. How much is he claiming and is payment a simpler and easier way to get rid or does she not want tompaybput of principle?

For example the electric bill was in his name and she either contributed or didn't because he paid that. Either way implies there is some form of agreement about payment of bills and the agreement can be enforced even if verbal

@DelphiniumBlue students are exempt from council tax, not all students are 18 year old house sharers, some are 35 and married and live with their husband/wife.

There would have been a single occupant discount if they had proven he was a student with a council tax exemption certificate available from the university.

What evidence does your DD have about all the bills she paid etc. He could take her to the small claims court. How much is he asking for just out of interest?

Also what proof does she have of when she left the property? If the tenancy was in joint names but he stayed on then she would still have been liable for rent unless the landlord agreed to her moving out and the tenancy changing to his sole name.

Agree with PP - it may well be better for your DD to send a communication setting out all the bills and costs (including rent) she paid and reminding him that the agreement was that he would pay the water bill, if that was the agreement. She should bear in mind in writing that this letter may end up in front of a judge (small claims) and write with the necessary clarity and detail.

Ah, I stand corrected, apologies. But DD still paid more Council tax because of him. If, as Pudding says, she could have claimed single person occupancy if he had supplied the appropriate certification, can she contact the council and claim it back? If he plays ball with that, then they could use part of the reclaimed money to cover the outstanding bill.
But was that bill incurred during her occupancy?Why has it only come to light now?

Thank you.

Thank you

Thank you everyone for your time and advice. We are going to go to CAB with everything written down.

We think he is now in touch because he has wind that she is happy and has moved on.

she drew a line under the deposit, rightly or wrongly, that’s what she decided at the time. I believe she did give home money to pay towards the utility bill at the time, but he didn’t use it to pay the bill, of course it is difficult to prove whether she did it not, now, I’m not sure if she gave him cash or bank transfer, but I may ask her to check her bank account, just in case.

thank you all, once again.

Doesn't sound like it's about money. Sounds like he is just spiteful that she has moved on.

I'd report him for harassment.
Don't give him any money, he'll only take that as further incentive to harass her further.

Get a note of all the other bills she paid. So that if it does go to small claims court she can show she paid all those to his one so it'll be obvious it was the agreement.

How much was the bill? It sounds like she was liable for it, or she had free electricity for the period outstanding.

She should have disputed the deposit at the time (many landlords just try their luck and see who lets them have it).

The utility company couldn’t come after her this late in the day so perhaps she can apply the same rule to him! Doubt a small claims court would allow him to pursue without good reason as to why he’s left it so long

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-energy-back-billing-rules

He’d struggle to prove this. Personally I’d ignore this one.

The claimant has up to six years from the date of the event(s).

It does sound like he’s being spiteful, what a twat. Start gathering evidence and make sure your DD is very careful about how she words any correspondence with him going forward.

If her name isn't on the bill, she's not legally liable, so he can chase her all he likes. Unless he has a written agreement to prove his case, he won't get anywhere.

She's not libel as the bill isn't in her name. He's obviously bitter with nothing better to do. Just ignore