Who is responsible for unpaid utilities

[Geokinkladze]

My brother rented a house I owned, he and his partner signed a tenancy agreement, which stated they were responsible for the utilities.

 

We contacted the utility providers and the bills were sent (as I understand it) in my brothers name.

 

After 3 months unpaid rent I had enough and "had a word" with my brother who soon left (I eventually did get some of my rent). He moved to another UK property and has since moved abroad, no doubt to sponge off someone else. We notified the utilities that we were now responsble. A few months after this I sold the property.

 

A demand for payment from a debt chasing firm on behalf of Scottish Power arrived at my house recently, addressed to my brother. It covers some of the dates when I owned the property when it was vacant but it also covers some dates when I owned the property and my brother was there.

 

The debt chasing agency said that a copy of the tenancy would suffice... they now say it shows only monthly terms so only proves my brother was there for 1 month. I did not get anything signed from my brother when he left.

 

The debt agency says unless I pay they will register the debt as being defaulted and it will go against my name at my current property. Can they do this?

[MrShed]

Rubbish. The debt was in your brothers name only - this cannot be attached to either yourself, or to the property.

[Geokinkladze]

Mr Shed,

 

Thanks for your succint reply. I was of this opinion myself initially but allowed myself to be frightened into thinking that this situation could be turned against me.

 

The debt chasers argument was that as I owned the property and couldn't prove when it was vacated by the tenant I was ultimately responsible for any unpaid bills. I suspect this inital bill is the first of many that will make it through my letter box (gas and water to come no doubt, council tax already spoken to).

 

I did contact Scottish Power who seem to have no record of the meter readings after the date my brother moved in, including the ones my wife provided them with after he moved out and when the property was sold. This isn't surprising as we had a previous issue in which they tried charging us for two seperate meters at the property (a prepayment one which we had replaced when we first bought the house).

 

Scottish Power never did bill us for any electricity during the period after my brothers exit and our selling the property and I have always told them that such a bill would be paid, if they sent me one. Although at the same time I would like them to resolve the overbilling we were subjected to (they never did charge us at the correct direct debit, combined gas & electric rate, always at the more expensive one). Though I suppose thats a seperate issue.

 

I will continue to monitor this thread if anybody else has comments on it.

 

thanks for your time.

[MrShed]

Lets 100% clarify. For any unpaid bill, especially in this kind of instance, the ONLY liable person is the account holder - i.e. the name of the person on the bill. This is the only person who had any kind of contract with the utility company, and hence the only person who can be held liable. Your liability starts ONLY when you transferred the account(or, more likely, created a new account) into your name.