End of shared house water bill issue
Help and advice on student digs, dealing with landlords and getting on with housemates. But if you're looking to find a place, head to our accommodation classifieds.
-
- Reputation:
- Thread Starter
- Vengeful, Imperial Overlord of The Student Room
- Posts: 4,981
End of shared house water bill issueLittle problem, won't be mentioning names just in case they are on here
Lived in a house of 6 last year, we have all finished uni and moved home now. The water bill was with Southern Water, the money came out of the account belonging to Person A, but all of our names were on the bills (at least I saw a letter with everyone's names on). Persons B & C each owe Person A about £30 for the final bill, as a result Person A either can't afford or is refusing to pay the final bill until they get their money. Persons D, E and F have all paid the money they owe.
Today Person A received a final notice letter about the money. Is it right that this can effect the credit rating of everyone named? Even though they only have our names? -
- Reputation:
- Benevolent Member
- Posts: 724
Re: End of shared house water bill issueCan persons A, D, E and F all chip £15 in to cover the bill and get the other two to pay them back?
It's not great, but if you're all on the bill you all took collective responsibility to get it paid.Last edited by adsyrah; 26-07-2012 at 16:05. -
- Reputation:
- TSR Royalty
Re: End of shared house water bill issue(Original post by dhr90)
Little problem, won't be mentioning names just in case they are on here
Lived in a house of 6 last year, we have all finished uni and moved home now. The water bill was with Southern Water, the money came out of the account belonging to Person A, but all of our names were on the bills (at least I saw a letter with everyone's names on). Persons B & C each owe Person A about £30 for the final bill, as a result Person A either can't afford or is refusing to pay the final bill until they get their money. Persons D, E and F have all paid the money they owe.
Today Person A received a final notice letter about the money. Is it right that this can effect the credit rating of everyone named? Even though they only have our names?
Assuming that you are D, E, or F
Ask A for your money back, call the water company/debt collectors directly and pay your part of the bill ASAP -
- Reputation:
- Thread Starter
- Vengeful, Imperial Overlord of The Student Room
- Posts: 4,981
Re: End of shared house water bill issueUpdate: Person B has now paid. No-one has heard from Person C as far as I am aware.
Not sure if I could call the water company to pay as the only identifying details I have are the address of the house we lived in.
Will ask Person A to pay the bill but not tell anyone to try and scare Person C into paying so the rest of us don't get affected by it. -
- Reputation:
- Exalted Member
- Posts: 261
Re: End of shared house water bill issueI've never come into contact with a company that will allow someone to just pay a sixth of the total owed, even if six names are on the bill. Especially if until now they've been receiving payment from one account. They want the full total and will pursue the full total as they are legally entitled to do, they have no incentive to let themselves get dragged into house politics.(Original post by TenOfThem)
Assuming that you are D, E, or F
Ask A for your money back, call the water company/debt collectors directly and pay your part of the bill ASAP
That's the whole point of a joint contract-they're no longer six separate people, but one entity for the purpose of the contract. And that entity is responsible for paying the bill in full and on time, regardless of what goes on between them privately. So no, one person cannot call up and just pay a sixth.Last edited by JoannaMilano; 01-08-2012 at 11:32. -
- Reputation:
- TSR Royalty
Re: End of shared house water bill issueMy son has done exactly this(Original post by JoannaMilano)
I've never come into contact with a company that will allow someone to just pay a sixth of the total owed, even if six names are on the bill. Especially if until now they've been receiving payment from one account. They want the full total and will pursue the full total as they are legally entitled to do, they have no incentive to let themselves get dragged into house politics.
That's the whole point of a joint contract-they're no longer six separate people, but one entity for the purpose of the contract. And that entity is responsible for paying the bill in full and on time, regardless of what goes on between them privately. So no, one person cannot call up and just pay a sixth.
Whilst the company may not ... if this gets to the point of being in the hands of debt collectors, they almost certainly will
