Ex Occupiers Unpaid Bill. Should I Pay It?

[fabemmy]

Me and my fiance recently moved in to a new home that we rent.

We have been recieveing reminder letters of a unpaid electric bill of the last occupier. We have just recieived another letter saying the bill will be pasted on to a debt collection agency if it is not paid in a few days.

The bill is only a small amonunt so should i just pay it or is it the ex occupiers responsability.

[bednobs]

did you give the electricity company the meter reading when you moved in?

[Graham-W]

If the meter was read between the previous tenant leaving and you moving in it's not your problem.
Either way, contact to electricity supplier, explain the circumstances, let them know when you move in and ask for a revised bill.

[fabemmy]

The house with empty a couple months before we moved in so im not sure if my partner had done it or not.

[pixie373]

Why are they putting your name on the envelopes? If it is addressed to the previous occupier, just put them back in the post with a line through the address and "not known at this address" written on envelope.

[sherrardk]

Pass the letters on to your landlord.

[fabemmy]

The letters are saying the occupier on them.

My electric is with a different supplier so i know there not ours .

[FredPuli43]

No, assuming no part is from during your occupancy, in which case you pay your share, with an explanatory letter of why,and marking that 'in full and final settlement of my personal debt'.
Otherwise the creditor will be getting no judgment against you, since it will be against the named debtor, not you. You would be as well to tell them that the named debtor is not resident there but left long ago, it relates to them and their occupancy and the bill is theirs, not yours

[jno]

jsut do as pixe or sherrardk say. If you haven't used their electricity, you don't have to pay for it.

[FredPuli43]

Can't see how a debtor can be shown only as 'the occupier' in a simple claim for debt, though that may be subject to contrary legal authority in the Green Book, I doubt it. but the fact remains that the relevant occupier is not you.

[Peter Pedant]

Definitely not you - it is the consumer's responsability.
so it is either the previous tenant or the landlord if there was no tenant.

pass it onto your landlord

this should teach you to read meters - elec gas and water on the day you move in !

[Nibble]

Have you been passing these letters on to your landlord as they arrive? - and if not, why not? If you didn't live there, and it's not your supplier, it can't be your responsibility. Make sure that you have evidence of when you moved in, in case the debt collectors come and knock at your door. Make sure the landlord is fully informed - tomorrow, if you haven't done it already.

[Sycamore3House]

If you are now with a new supplier you would have been asked for a meter reading at that time. If the letters say occupier and the dates are before you moved in they are not your responsibility.