ESB liability...for HUGE bill !!

The girlfriend and me bought an apartment in 2003 and moved into it in Jan 2004.

Prior to that we rented. ESB was in girlfriends name in rented place.

ESB called the girlfriend today to tell her she owes a massive bill from Dec 03/Jan 04 to date for ESB in the rented place. We haven't lived there since Jan 2004 !!!

What should she do ??

ESB Bill

Not sure what your query is. It looks like they're asking your girlfriend to pay an unpaid bill. What's the problem with that??

It's 14 months since you moved out, but if you're liable, the bill should be paid.

ESB called the girlfriend today to tell her she owes a massive bill from Dec 03/Jan 04 to date for ESB in the rented place. We haven't lived there since Jan 2004 !!!

When you quit the apartment what happened to the ESB account? Did you/she close it or at least have it transferred over to the new tenants?

Reply

We moved out of the rented property in Jan 2004 and into our new place i.e. neither of us have lived in the rented place since Jan 2004, yet are being chased for a bill from Jan 2004 to March 2005 !!

To get the ESB changed out of our name you need a metre reading. In the couple of weeks prior to leaving we called the landlord several times to ask him where the metre was so we could get the reading. He never obliged so we paid the last ESB bill prior to departure and left him a note saying this and a copy of the bill.

Couple of points:

1.) I know we should have insisted on closing off the ESB account - this was for both of us the first place we rented - but we relied on the landlord "doing the right thing".

2.) Why did the ESB leave it 14 months to call us to tell us there was a problem - we could have sorted it ages ago ??

Any ideas

Re: Reply

Have you explained your side of the story to the ESB and/or the landlord, preferably in writing? Did you retain the last bill that you paid as tenants which should include a reading or estimate close to where it was when you quit?

Re: Reply

Obviously you will have to prove to the ESB that you haven't lived in the rented property since early 2004.

I'm no expert but don't landlords have to keep rent books? If so, this should show when you moved out. Seems the problem arose because you didn't inform the ESB that you had moved. At a guess, the ESB are probably well accustomed to this kind of thing. They'd have to take your girl friend to Court for the unpaid bill. Can't imagine they'd want to incur that expense. As ClubMan says, sounds like you need to talk to your ex Landlord. Isn't it surprizing the ESB didn't disconnect when bills weren't paid?

8)

Re: ESB Bill

It's bad form on behalf of the landlord that he didnt' do this. Normally when a tenant moves out, the landlord (or his agent) will check the apt and make sure that all is OK. If all is OK, the deposit is returned to the vacating tenant. A reading should then be taken of the ESB meter and the tenant should call the ESB and get the bill transferred to the landlord's name straight away. I know the landlord wasn't fortcoming with the whereabouts of the meter, but the onus is still on the bill holder to get this sorted. You should have called the ESB at that stage and explain the position to them.

If you were in the apartment for some time, the ESB should be able to provide an average monthly usage for you.

To me it looks like the people who moved into the apartment after you are getting free electricity. They're not paying the bill because it's still in your girlfriend's name. You should call around to the apt and tell the tenant's who you are and ask them if there's any "post" there for you. If there is, look for the ESB bill that was issues after you moved out. You could work out a daily cost and pay this amount. It might cost you a few € more to do it this way, but at least you'd have paid for what you used.

Re: ESB Bill

Also try contacting Threshold to see if they have any advice re landlord in this.

Edited by ClubMan to add link.

just a few points (i am a landlord by the way ) and i have had and still have my issues with tenants running off with and not paying the ESB bill .

you have no obligation to pay the ESB bill , go to the ESB and prove to them that you are not liable for the bill. Show them other bills , a copy of your mortgage payments etc to prove you have not lived there since Jan 2004 since you cant live in both places at the same time .

the bill is in your name but the useage was not by you (this is what happens to me ,the bill is in my name ) and you can prove it , tell them it is pointless in persueing the matter with you .

give the landlord a call and explain the situation to him tell him that under no circumstance are you going to pay this bill and he should be aware that his tenants are doing this . also point out to him that the ESB may shut off the power on his current tenants and the issue of a bill due after you leave and have paid everything up to that date is none of your business .

the ball is in his court, power in his apt. may be shut off

In all probability what happened here is that the landlord let the appartment to new tennants. The ESB bill kept arriving with your name on it, so the new tennants never opened it, it was someone elses post.

Unless they were complete idiots they would have recognised that they weren't getting any ESB bill themselves and they would have known that the post for you was an ESB bill, but they probably figured someone elses name is on the bill so it's someone elses problem.

-Rd

Would have thought it's the landlord's responsibility.

I contact the ESB with details and meter reading when tenants move out and transfer to my name. When the new tenant moves in, I transfer again to their name and give them the tenant's phone number to confirm the details.

Find ESB Customer Service very efficient - they have linked my property addresses to my home address and, so far, I haven't had any problems.

I used to work for the ESB in a former life and the policy was not to transfer the account to a tennants name unless they had a 5 year or greater lease and pay a huge deposit ~circa €500.

bond-007 said:

I used to work for the ESB in a former life and the policy was not to transfer the account to a tennants name unless they had a 5 year or greater lease and pay a huge deposit ~circa €500.

Click to expand...

This wasn't my experience in 1990, where the EBS had no difficulty in transferring the account at a rented apartment into my name.

I'm in a similar situation at present. I got a phone call 2 months ago from the ESB informing me that I had an outstanding bill of TWO YEARS!! I duely informed them that I hadn't lived in said apartment since May 2006 and that I had moved to Canada straight after vacanting the premises. They said I was liable for the bill because it was under my name and I hadn't closed the account when I moved (the landlord at the time told me he'd simply get the new tenants to change the name on the bill, thought nothing of it) The appartment has been empty and uninhabited since we moved out as far as I know and now they're trying to get me to pay or get the landlord to accept liability.
I have NO intention of paying it. But I'm interested to know if this will affect my credit history in the future. All the info they have on my is my date of birth, name, and mobile number. Anybody help me out? much appreciated

ESB cannot affect your credit rating. They are not members of the ICB.

I recommend that you change your phone number though.

Hi, I used to work for ESB Customer Supply two years ago. This was a common query. Everything Sherib said is correct. If you can fax in any legal document such as mortgage/lease contract to the debtors department the ESB will accept this as proof that you are not liable for the debt and they stop sending you the threatning letters. They will also want contact details for the landlord so they can see who does in fact owe the money to them. Phone the customer supply number and insist on speaking to a supervisor and get that fax number.

Oh and its only your credit rating with the ESB that is affected by outstanding debt.

The reality of the situation is that under the ESB's General Conditions of Supply ([broken link removed]) if you fail to notify ESB to close your account you are liable for charges incurred until such time as your account is closed even if you leave the premises beforehand.

You didn't contact ESB directly to close your account- you relied on the landlord to do it on your behalf. That was a mistake. You were the account holder and the responsibility was on you to terminate your liability. The ESB is legally entitled to pursue you for the debt.