My mate was sharing with a psychobitch and decided to move out last year. PsychoBitch found a replacement housemate who would move in later in the year. PsychoBitch refused to sign the paperwork releasing my friend from the lease until the new tenant could move in, so my mate was obligated to keep paying the rent for 4 or 5 months even though she'd moved out.

The energy company are now chasing my friend for gas usage at her old house AFTER she'd moved out. The gas provider agree that she DID close the account, however, no one's name was put on the account after she moved out. The gas company consequently claim that she is liable for the outstanding debt unless she can prove her name was not on the lease. It was, but she wasn't living there.

Any suggestions? I was thinking Ombudsman. Now we're wondering if the water company are going to chase her as well :/

Send over some hired goons to get your money back.

This is why I don't share with people, because I'd end up in jail if someone did that to me.

The gas provider agree that she DID close the account, however, no one's name was put on the account after she moved out. The gas company consequently claim that she is liable for the outstanding debt unless she can prove her name was not on the lease. It was, but she wasn't living there.

That's horses***
Once an account is closed you are no longer liable for any outstanding debts incurred. Definately take it up with an Ombudsman

here's a suggestion: share-house living sucks the fat one.

in regards to the gas account, the gas company cannot use the leasee of the tenancy as evidence that they were also the user of the gas.

the gas co. must be able to prove that your friend was the customer atta che dto that address. now if she closed her account as you say she did, and the gas company is refering to gas used at that tenancy after she lef then there is no way they can charge her for that gas used.

best suggestion is to screw the letter up and th row it in the bin - it's just a try on because PsychoBitch has obviously defaulted.

questions:
-was your friend getitng mail from the gas company after she left the sharehouse?
-how did she close her account with the gas company, phone, mail? did she take a file note of that conversation? did she get a confirmation of the accounts closure or a refund of some sort of deposit?

Utility companies stuff up so often, if your friend can prove she moved out to the gas company I am sure they will just forget about it because more often than not they are lazy and cbf.

last edited by infi at 12:12:41 20/Jan/06

The gas provider agree that she DID close the account,

Then it is their issue not hers. Does she have that in writing? If not get it and then go to the obidude!

the obi wan kenobis man!

Crap housemates.. ooh yes the stories
Got one from here (hi merlyn)
this current guy told us he was 25 and was a television professional (made ads ie law & order for ch10 etc). Turns out he's 37 and is a valet parking attendent, has no money, always bums stuff and uses (abuses) all my s***. excellent!

rant over

ah yes, she closed the account but wasn't off the lease. As a result she is liable. Otherwise what is to stop all renters closing gas accounts then continuing to use the gas and claiming they weren't livng there? Sure this isn't what she did, but the fact that her name remained on the lease for said property is enough evidence for the gas company to assume she was still living there.

If the other bitch was such a psycho she should have removed herself from the lease when she moved out. The other chick doesn't have to sign papers releasing her from the lease, she just needs to go to the agent and break it formally.

Oooh, good questions infi! I've emailed them to her. I know she would have documentation of the tenancy fight, cos her and the ex-housemate both had solicitors at the time. Unfortunately there's no laws specifically applying to sharing/flatmate disputes, which is why she ended up having to pay the rent. Keep you posted :)

If the other bitch was such a psycho she should have removed herself from the lease when she moved out. The other chick doesn't have to sign papers releasing her from the lease, she just needs to go to the agent and break it formally.

Yeah, she couldn't. Switching the lease over required 3 signatures - the girl moving out, the one moving in, and the remaining psycho. Psycho just wanted the house to herself for a few months.

The only alternative was to not pay, meaning an eviction notice would be served, but psycho would then take her to court to recover the money. Basically while her name was on the lease, she was obligated, and she couldn't have it removed without the co-signature.

:(

Otherwise what is to stop all renters closing gas accounts then continuing to use the gas and claiming they weren't livng there?

Gee I dunno, not having any gas being sent to the house?

Wheres Obes and his stories?

He's ranting on irc instead :P

Gee I dunno, not having any gas being sent to the house?

unfortunately it doesn't work like that. You close the account and they take a reading. They don't disconnect the gas, so it's still beng supplied but the new tenant is reponsible. In cases where the new tenant doesn't open an account, they check the lease of the premises and those on the lease are liable for the gas usage in the period where no account was open.

Yeah, she couldn't. Switching the lease over required 3 signatures - the girl moving out, the one moving in, and the remaining psycho. Psycho just wanted the house to herself for a few months

you can break the lease. You have to pay rent up until the agent finds a new tenant, for a maximum of one month or some s***.

Spidz: There is no maximum... you pay the rent until a replacement is found, or the lease expires. But this wasn't a normal lease break... there was a person still living there that wouldn't cooperate. So she was screwed. I think you're confusing it with normal happy people moving on from their dwelling ;)

The solicitor told her she should've had all this stuff in writing - a contract drawn up between them BEFORE they moved in. Like she used to pay less rent for taking the smaller room, but as soon as things went sour, the PsychoBitch refused to pay more than 50%. Even with bank papers, there was no way of proving an agreement on the rent splitting.

Oh well... live and learn.

this sounds like something i watched on either judge judy or jerry.

i think that slowly poisoning the psycho bitch to coordinate the death of all of her pets, yes including her pet rock is a fitting revenge.

unfortunately it doesn't work like that. You close the account and they take a reading. They don't disconnect the gas, so it's still beng supplied but the new tenant is reponsible.

Sounds to me like the gas company has the problem not the tenents. If you don't have a contract with someone why provide a service?

Sounds like they are lazy

you can break the lease. You have to pay rent up until the agent finds a new tenant, for a maximum of one month or some s***.

QFT.

Your friend got hosed, and probably fed a line of horses*** from the Real Estate as well about it. If your friend wished to break the lease then the act of HER doing so is enough.

The co-party has to decide to sign a new lease, or leave when the real estate finds a new tenant (which they are obliged to do, but the lease holders are obliged to pay the costs of them advertising etc).

People get so owned by not knowing their rights. My girl was gonna pay out hundreds of dollars to fix dodgy old door handles that broke while she was there when she moved out of her old unit into our house. The Real Estate tried all sorts of s*** to make her pay, I told her to mention the words "RTA" and "Tenants Advocacy" and they immediately backed down and claimed it was all a miscommunication.

READ your Tenants guide they have to give you when you start a lease.

Don't take s*** from your agent, their job is to manage the property with as little cost to the owner as possible. If stuff is broken or wrong with the property, give them a phone call. Ifv they don't fix it, put it in writing and keep a copy, and gently but firmly indicate you will seek arbitration on the matter.

When you own her, which I hope you do, make sure to rub it in too.

I love it when people try to hurt people and fail.

Sounds to me like the gas company has the problem not the tenents. If you don't have a contract with someone why provide a service?

Sounds like they are lazy

it's expensive to physically diconnect the gas service. They are simply asking to be paid for the gas they provide. It's the people that don't open the account that are either lazy or dodgy.

video it too. friday afternoon delirium is kicking in. weeeeeeeee!

fark that

what I have done in the past is gone to the agent and told them that I was moving out and I was no longer paying rent. They said ok np I will take your name off the lease. Then I shut the powere and Phone off and they had to sign up again.

When you own her, which I hope you do, make sure to rub it in too.

I don't get it... was that to me? And video tape what?

I wonder if Vic has different laws to QLD for this, cos I know she did everything by the book with legal help. Don't think she could've had any other outcome. And her flatmate definitely had to sign her out of her obligation... the real estate agents couldn't find new tenants unless they were BOTH moving out. Yeah, maybe different laws?

the reference to "owning" related to the revenge we were collectively hoping your friend exacts on the PsychoBitch.

pls videotape said revenge for our collective enjoyment.

oh, share house living! on of my flat mates snowboarded down the stairs, hit the radiator, and the pipes been leaking for a few months.

oh wait, that was me. :P

I've never heard about the signing out of her obligation thing before. My first share house I was replacing someone, was added to the lease and that was that. Never had any hassles until many years later, was renting on my own, just bought a place and had to break the lease, the rental agency wanted me to "pay out" the remainder of my lease unless some one else took over. I was lucky to find some one 2 days before I left.

no one's name was put on the account after she moved out.

If thats the case wouldnt the gas company look to the owners of the property, surely their name would be lodged with the gas company seeing as they own it.

yep, and they'd point them in the direction of the people on the lease for the property.

Then maybe what she needs to do is get a Stat Dec signed and hope that might hold up?

thats the first worthwile suggestion thus far.

also possibly some sort of proof of where she really was living - did she sign a new lease at the alternative premises?

Yea, maybe copies of the new lease, and other bills she's paid and the new address too?

Only ever had one really bad flatmate... and bad doesn't even cover it. Fortunatly after we (wifey and i) escaped we met possibly the BEST flatmate ever. Even after moving to Sweden we keep in contact.

Ha, oh dear. She moved into her bf's place for the first 6? weeks, then they moved into a new place together. So there'd be a 6 or 8 week period where she doesn't have her name on a new lease.

Unsure about the revenge on PyschoBitch... she has apparently moved on to a new place too.

lol. She's going to call the Ombudsman tomorrow :)

Keep us posted then.

Okay, here's the update...

She spoke to Gas provider again, and mentioned she would be contacting the Ombudsman, which made them a million times more receptive.

She has a lot of legal documentation (letters to and from the solicitors, police reports etc) covering the dispute, many of which refer to the date that she moved out. She didn't really want to share them, but Gas company have agreed to pursue PsychoBitch if my mate sends them her documents. She's agreed. All should be fine.

New Story:
Male friend last night was physically assaulted by his flatmate's bf. Oh the drama! There was 3am phone calls, police cars, blood, a visit to the hosptial, concerned parents turning up.... And what started the fight? Mate told the girl he disapproved of her giving a set of housekeys to her bf. I believe his comment was "I don't even know him, he could be a criminal for all I know". Well... he certainly has a police record now :P

sigh

Got to agree with you there, it should be up to both people living in the unit before extra keys are handed out. I think even the rental agency may have something to say about extra keys being handed out.

Bear, I think your male friend had his point validated quite nicely by that.

Haha yeah. He did well too - didn't hit him back, not even once. He figured a criminal record would be more damaging than a retaliatory black eye. So the thug guy doesn't have any kind of counter claim. :P

How are things between him and the room mate though?

he banging her now the boyfreind is in jail, which was the plan all along!

I see what he did there.

Thats crazy, its like one of those "I knew a guy who knew a guy who had this happen to him..." type stories you read on sites like Something Awful, its not supposed to ACTUALLY happen to real people you know =\

But yeah, like hermi said, I guess if nothing else it entirely validates the argument for not giving out keys to flatmate's partners.

hahaha spidz :D

How are things between him and the room mate though?

Tense. Not talking at all. Wouldn't really call them friends anymore.