Huge Gas Bill, can't pay it

gcluskey

I've been in shared rented accommodation for about 3 years and have all bills in my name. All my gas bills have been estimated and although I rarely use the gas myself I paid all my bills promptly and would always cover housemates until they had the money. All the previous housemates have since left so I decided to get the meter read. Turns out the bill is €1533. I can't pay this and told Bord Gais the story so they tell me I'd be cut off. I've no problem with this cos I don't use it and I told my landlord the story. He's happy enough to pay the reconnection fee but doesn't want to cover the bill. All the ex-housemates are polish and have left the country. Will I be taken to court? What happens to the outstanding bill if I leave this house? Is it up to me to pay it?

LegacyUser

Is there no way that you can get in touch with your ex housemates to get them to help out with the bill? Phone numbers/Social networking sites/email/work/friends that might have there contact details?

Its seems crazy that you should have to cover all this bill when there was four of you using it!

Victor

Yes, you are kind of stuck with it. Phone Bord Gáis, explain the situation and ask if you can arrange a payment schedule over say 6-12 months. I'm not sure if you can encourage the other to contribute.

How come the meter was never read? They are mostly outdoors these days. Bord Gáis are not without blame for leaving it this long and they need to give you time.

Silverfish

Who held the deposits for these ex-tenants?

The standard procedure is once someone gives notice to move out, the meter is read. Unfortunately the onus is on the house occupier to ensure the meters are read and correct, if the bills are being estimated. If they don't pay, the money is taken from their deposit.

That's all no good to you now, of course.

Best course of action is phone Bord Gais and agree a repayment plan.

easyeason3

Bord Gais should be able to accomodate you in paying the bill week by week. None of these companies really want to cut people off & will give everyone a chance when possible. You may need to make a decent enough first payment of around €300 to show you are genuine & then pay maybe €50 a week if that's what you could afford.
After all it's well & good thinking that you don't use the gas there now but if you ever move or own your own house in which you will need it they will be able to cross reference your name & date of birth which will show up the outstanding amount. Some of these companies will take people to court too so keep that in mind.
Ask to speak to a supervisor/ manager & explain what happened & then offer what you can but make it clear that you want to clear the bill but it won't be cleared straight away.

Overheal

gcluskey wrote: »

I've been in shared rented accommodation for about 3 years and have all bills in my name. All my gas bills have been estimated and although I rarely use the gas myself I paid all my bills promptly and would always cover housemates until they had the money. All the previous housemates have since left so I decided to get the meter read. Turns out the bill is €1533. I can't pay this and told Bord Gais the story so they tell me I'd be cut off. I've no problem with this cos I don't use it and I told my landlord the story. He's happy enough to pay the reconnection fee but doesn't want to cover the bill. All the ex-housemates are polish and have left the country. Will I be taken to court? What happens to the outstanding bill if I leave this house? Is it up to me to pay it?

If you feel that the reading is inaccurate go inspect the tank.. I was renting in Carlow and we were shocked when the bill came out to be 3 times that then what we had imagined. It turns out the tank cracked from being exposed to springtime sun and cool nights. We ended up getting the problem sorted with the Landlord.

Similarly in my Carolina house we've had an abnormally high energy bill and have discovered 2 days ago that the cnuts that built and sold us the house never installed any insulation in the roof.

MysticalSoul

As the bill is in your name, you would need to pay it. If you just got it switched off, when applying for loans etc. it would affect your credit rating. It is also partially the fault of Bord Gais, for having such an extended period of time without reading it. Could you not have read it yourself, most hardware shops sell the keys to the boxes. Do ring Bord Gais, and ask to repay it over a period of time. Also, am unsure if you really don't use the gas, as this is either heating or cooking, if not both - surely you have needed it at least once for yourself?

sardineta

gcluskey wrote: »

All my gas bills have been estimated and although I rarely use the gas myself I paid all my bills promptly and would always cover housemates until they had the money.

No good deed goes unpunished. Repayment plan it is for you, I'm afraid. Credit is going to be harder to come by, so any blemish on your record will be costly in the future.

*Honey*

Unforatunately it has to be paid. They should organise a payment plan for it however.

Never never never never never accept an estimated bill - always call him when you receive the estimated bill, give them the reading you take the second the bill drops on the floor and tell them to send out a revised bill. Never pay on an estimated bill - we found out the hard way (500+ euro) too.

dudara

When bills are in your name, and you live in shared accomodation, you have no choice but to be a bit of a nazi, otherwise you will get burned.

As previous posters have said, you are now responsible for this bill, but Bord Gais should be able to accomodate you with a repayment plan.

John Mason

you should of had the meter read before they moved out

you will not get any money from them now that they have moved out

you will need to connect the gas people and set up a payment place. if you dont pay it your credit rating will be destroyed and if you move house, it will be unlikely that bord gais will give you another account

BaZmO*

gcluskey wrote: »

....although I rarely use the gas myself....

I don't understand how you could rarely use it yourself yet the bill comes in so high?

Joey the lips

I am sorry for your troubles but it serves as a good warning to others. The gas and electricity companies advise you to read your own meter and provide you with keys to open the box( Gas board does so you can access turn off switch - gas co key opens both boxes)

You were nieve to accept estimated bills but we are all guilty of such mistakes. You have no chance of recovering the money from your previous mates as tbh I would not believe it if I were one.

Just as someone said contact the gas and try for an easy payment option,

prinz

Are you saying you had no exact reading done in 3 years? I thought it was obligatory to be taken once if not twice a year. Still bill is in your name, and yours only, and the bill stands so there' no real way of getting out of it now.Presume payment plan would be possible. Still not sure how the difference could get that high? Surely you noticed that the bills were very low before that?



As an aside I'd never recommend one person having all the bills in their name, it's asking for trouble, I learned that the hard way too.Couple of years ago had lots of trouble in a shared house, re bills and such. Seems to have been much more of a problem when the housemates were foreign.The house I was in we had trouble with a number of people for problems similar to the OP. In future if someone says they have a bill in their name, ask to see a bank statement to make sure it's being paid.

BaZmO*

prinz wrote: »

In future if someone says they have a bill in their name, ask to see a bank statement to make sure it's being paid.

Why? If you have proof that you've paid them and the bill is in their name surely the onus (or any legal comeback) is on them to pay.

Reflector

I'd recommend paying this bill as they can feck up your credit with banks or so I've heard. try and set up a scheme I'm sure if you explain the circumstances they'll do that for you.

Lesson here : anytime someone moves out get meter read and pay the bill while they are there because I'd say there is little to no chance of getting them to pay now.

prinz

BaZmO* wrote: »

Why? If you have proof that you've paid them and the bill is in their name surely the onus (or any legal comeback) is on them to pay.

The company didn't care who was paying, it was a matter of pay up or get disconnected. Especially when the other housemates come from abroad and have returned home. This guy was presenting the bill, we split it and gave him the cash, which he was then pocketing for almost 6 months. As all the letters were in his name etc., we heard nothing until after he had gone and we applied to have the name on the account changed.

Cuddlesworth

prinz wrote: »

The company didn't care who was paying, it was a matter of pay up or get disconnected. Especially when the other housemates come from abroad and have returned home. This guy was presenting the bill, we split it and gave him the cash, which he was then pocketing for almost 6 months. As all the letters were in his name etc., we heard nothing until after he had gone and we applied to have the name on the account changed.

It's pretty simple, you get it disconnected and then set up a new account and have it reconnected. The dept is still in his name and still his problem.

Oh The Humanity

although I rarely use the gas myself I paid all my bills promptly and would always cover housemates until they had the money

:eek: Why?

You covered the housemates? Are ya mad!?

And also, its madness to put any communal bills in your own name when in rented accommodation. Do you realise this will affect your credit rating in future?

You might have trouble getting a mortgage in the future etc because of this....

Whatever you do when its re-connected do not put it in your name, let someone else take a turn.

prinz

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

It's pretty simple, you get it disconnected and then set up a new account and have it reconnected. The dept is still in his name and still his problem.

If only. Unfortunately the company in question refused to reconnect to our address until it was paid, and as I couldn't lift the house down the road...

Cuddlesworth

prinz wrote: »

If only. Unfortunately the company in question refused to reconnect to our address until it was paid, and as I couldn't lift the house down the road...

You are aware that they can't transfer the dept to another person right? And it doesn't automaticly stay with the house. Go to the consumer issues forum, they will tell you the authorities to contact who will be able to sort it out for you.

dudara

I think that I'll move this to Consumer Issues

dudara

Mena

Not that this makes any difference to the fact that you are responsible for the bill and that it must be paid, ESB is not a member of the ICB so they cannot affect your credit rating in any way.

http://www.icb.ie/membership.php

Thoie

prinz wrote: »

The company didn't care who was paying, it was a matter of pay up or get disconnected. Especially when the other housemates come from abroad and have returned home. This guy was presenting the bill, we split it and gave him the cash, which he was then pocketing for almost 6 months. As all the letters were in his name etc., we heard nothing until after he had gone and we applied to have the name on the account changed.

Surely when he was presenting the bills you could see the outstanding balance and that the last bill hadn't been paid?

Victor

prinz wrote: »

In future if someone says they have a bill in their name, ask to see a bank statement to make sure it's being paid.

Thats possibly a bit much, but certainly make sure that bills have been paid for the previous period.

Fnergg

Regardless of how many people are sharing a house, no utility - Bord Gais, Airtricity, ESB - will accept more than 2 names on the bill.

Even so, both individuals are jointly and severally liable for the charges incurred. That means that if one of the named customers suddenly disappears the other party is fully liable for any debt outstanding. In other words, the latter individual cannot claim that he/she is only liable for 50% as there were 2 names on the account. He/she is liable for 100% of the debt because of the "jointly and severally" aspect.

In the case quoted by the OP he is fully liable anyhow as the account was in his name from day 1. The fact that other parties may have used most or all of the gas is irrelevant - he is the only one legally liable.

I would hope that Bord Gais will make a reasonable payment arrangement in the circumstances. If they were in any way remiss for not taking a meter reading in the 2 years they should also pass some ex-gratia credit to the account.

If you feel they are being unreasonable send a complaint to the Energy Regulator - click on the following link for details: http://www.energycustomers.ie/complaints/index.aspx


Regards,

Fnergg

axer

BaZmO* wrote: »

I don't understand how you could rarely use it yourself yet the bill comes in so high?

41 euro extra per month over 3 years.

OP, they cannot affect your credit rating so they will definitely accept a payment plan and probably wouldnt cut you off if you talk to them about such a plan.

Don't put your hopes in the ex-flatmates paying their share. You messed up by being so generous. Lesson learned. Move on.

Pythia

Don't worry about your credit rating unless there's a court judgement against you. People like Bord Gais, ESB and Eircom may threaten you with the 'credit rating' thing but you won't be affected. Lesson learned I think!

Zab

You should ring them again and try to get the bill reduced. They very often knock off significant amounts in these cases.

After this you'll need to work out exactly what everybody should owe and write to them with the details all worked out on paper (this bit is important!). A lot of people are honest and will accept what they owe even if they're not happy about it.

jor el

How could all the bills have been estimates though? They can only do estimates for 50% of bills issued, so there would have to have been actual readings taken at least 3 times a year.

Letting people leave the house without sorting all bills, telephone, ESB and gas, is a mistake, but there's nothing you can do once you've let it happen.

Zab

jor el wrote: »

How could all the bills have been estimates though? They can only do estimates for 50% of bills issued, so there would have to have been actual readings taken at least 3 times a year.

Where did you get this idea? If the meter is inside, as I assume that it is, then you have to let the meter reader in. If you don't do this, and ignore the cards they leave and the warnings on the bill, then all your bills will be estimated.