Houseshare Bills

tiny_penguin

Ok so I moved out of my last houseshare 2 months ago. Well I was kicked out actually. For being too quiet of all things, I apparantly spend too much time by myself. Came at a pretty bad time for me and to be honest they were very condescending and rude about the whole thing. Was very stressful trying to find a new place that suited me as well as this one and was not really very happy about the whole thing.

So I got a mail a couple of days ago with a list of bills i apparently still owed. This is the first I have heard about it. Now it has been 2 months since i moved out so surely i should not be hearing of this now. Anything that is billed bimonthly - even if they were getting it now it would cover the past 2 months which would not include mine since i have been gone for 2 months. They have offered to post me out copies of the bills. The thing is, I prob would have been fine with it if they were asking me within a reasonable amount of time after I left. But I do feel that they are only asking now cos they are short money and looking for a way to get it.

I also paid 53 euro for a yearly tv license and was then kicked out and was only there 6 months. so if they are asking for these bills and i pay them is it ok for me to subtract 26 euro from them (if they are being petty then why cant i)

The time thing is really the thing that is making me apprehensive of paying it. I have all the bills in my new place to pay, plus a lot of unforeseen expenses. Had I been asked for them when the bills were originally due I would be in more of a position to pay them.

Also the way I was treated in my last month there, after being asked to leave left a very sour taste in my mouth and there was a serious delay in my deposit being passed on. All in all not a good experience at all.

Where do I stand on this. Is it reasonable to chase an old housemate for bills out of the blue 2 months after they have left?

tiny_penguin

tiny_penguin wrote: »

Where do I stand on this. Is it reasonable to chase an old housemate for bills out of the blue 2 months after they have left?

You stand (or sit, or whatever) in another place of residence.

Their household bills are their problem. They are not your problem. Let them sod right off.

LegacyUser

i would get onto citizen'sinformation.ie if it gets nasty (or nastier?)- they really helped me out when i had ex-housemate issues: rights, etc....

tinkerbell

Well you can check the dates on the bills and see what they say - they may or may not include the time you were there. Although if the bill just came in and it was for the last 2 months and overlapped slightly with your stay, then it probably only covered a tiny amount.

And since they are being like that, yes I would subtract the tv license off it.

However, that said - it is 2 months after you moved out. They should've sorted ALL that out the day you left, got meter readings for the electricity/gas, etc. Not 2 months later. I think it looks a bit suss if they are trying to get you to pay up now - it doesn't add up.

ash23

I'd ask for the bills and then sit and work out what (if anything) that I owe.
I would deduct the half of the tv licence also from whatever amount.

If you owe the money then you owe it. But look for proof first.

ash23

ash23 wrote: »

If you owe the money then you owe it. But look for proof first.

I know I've already offered an opinion, but I have to disagree with the above.

The arrangement between the OP and others was terminated at their request. When terminating the arrangement, if the others wanted the OP to pay a share of bills that would arrive later, they should have dealt with this at the time. If they didn't - and the return of the OP's deposit suggests they didn't - then it's too late. The OP has left and there is no arrangement between the OP and the others in the house, therefore the OP has no liability to pay part of the bills. If they did make some arrangement and the OP is backing out of it that's a different matter, but it looks as if no arrangement was made.

Moreover, the OP has no "moral" responsibility to the others - they wanted the OP to leave, and they've got what they wanted. Whoopee do for them, but now it's game over.

Honestly, tiny_penguin, hold onto your money and don't let anything or anyone persuade you otherwise.

wild_cat

Deleted User wrote: »

I know I've already offered an opinion, but I have to disagree with the above.

The arrangement between the OP and others was terminated at their request. When terminating the arrangement, if the others wanted the OP to pay a share of bills that would arrive later, they should have dealt with this at the time. If they didn't - and the return of the OP's deposit suggests they didn't - then it's too late. The OP has left and there is no arrangement between the OP and the others in the house, therefore the OP has no liability to pay part of the bills. If they did make some arrangement and the OP is backing out of it that's a different matter, but it looks as if no arrangement was made.

Moreover, the OP has no "moral" responsibility to the others - they wanted the OP to leave, and they've got what they wanted. Whoopee do for them, but now it's game over.

Honestly, tiny_penguin, hold onto your money and don't let anything or anyone persuade you otherwise.

I'm pretty sure the poster above means bills that were in the time frame that the OP was living in the house. So if he lived there four days into the bill time frame he should only pay for those four days etc. and not their share of the overall bill.

OP only pay for what what you used when living there!! Nothing more and do deduct television licence money away to. They want to play hardball you play it back.

Ickle Magoo

Get copies of the bills and calculate the proportion of any bill you owe based on the time you were actually living in the accommodation - so if the bill is for the two previous months and you were only there for a week of that then calculate the weekly charge and divide by no of occupants...do the same with the TV licence, I wouldn't even pay the 6 months, pay your share of 6 months and not a penny more.

All the best. :cool:

CatFromHue

what you could do is ask for a copy of the bills to see if you do owe any money. i wouldnt take their word for it.

if say the esb billing period was from the 1st of jan and ran for 8 weeks (i cant remember the exact billing period) and you moved out on the 8th jan. then you would be accountable for one week of the esb bill. if there were 4 of you in the house you would owe 1/4 of one weeks esb.

i would definitely keep in mind the money you payed for the tv licence when working all these things out.

i assume you got your deposit back too.

tiny_penguin

Thanks for all the advice. I replied stating i did want to see the bills and that i felt it was unusual that they have waited so long to chase more for it and not really appropriate. The money for the bills should have been requested at the time they were due, rather than a month later (the end of june bill would have been the last possible bimonthly bill i could have owed anything on). I asked for a reason why it has taken so long.

I also advised them i would be subtracting the money from the TV license. And also that i felt I owed them nothing after the way I was treated and since I had no lease and my deposit has been paid back in full that I'm really under no obligation to pay anything. And anything they felt I was owed should have been cleared up when I left.

wild_cat

wild_cat wrote: »

I'm pretty sure the poster above means bills that were in the time frame that the OP was living in the house.

Sorry for harping on about this, but I mean that the OP now has no responsibility for bills whatsoever - even those that were in the time frame the OP lived in the house.

In any case, tiny_penguin is handling this and probably doesn't need any more advice from me, so all I'm doing here is clarifying exactly what I mean.

Distorted

My bills are quaterly, so it would be quite possible to get a bill two months after someone had moved out, if I had someone living with me. If you get copies of the bills, and this is indeed the case, why wouldn't you pay for your share when you were there? I also don't think it would be worth requesting new bills and taking meter readings in a shared house when just one person moved out but if you wanted to avoid this, thats what you should have done - taken final meter readings.

Although I'm not sure why your deposit was refunded if you still owe bills from when you lived there.

In general, I think in life its better to go through it paying your bills and what you owe rather than abdicating responsibility - if indeed you do owe this money.

moco

I had a similar situation with a couple in a house share. My time In the house was very uncomfortable as the couple were always rowing and shouting basically acting like I wasn't there. They had no consideration whatsoever. I moved out of my own accord as I got a job in another country. There was no lease and they insisted they would get someone to replace me. They got someone, but she couldn't afford the deposit all at once, so the couple said they couldn't give me my deposit back til the new girl paid hers. I wasn't too happy about this, but was so happy to be leaving that I was past caring and said ok. Any bills were to be subtracted from my deposit and they were to send the balance on to me in a couple of weeks. I waited 4 months after having my calls and texts ignored before they gave me the money back eventually.

2 months after that I got a text saying there was a mistake on one of the bills and I owed more. I just deleted the text.

keithclancy

You should just ignore them.

Mighty_Mouse

This should of been sorted before you left the house.

You're prior flatmates sound like plonkers for coming after somebody they kicked out 2 months laters for 53 euros. I mean FFS even if they split it between the 2/3 of them a left it down to an error of jusgement.

That said, I've never left a bill unpaid in my life & don't intend to.
If you owe, you pay.

Don't be afraid to make them work for it a little though & subtract the TV license.

ps
it's a positive thing to try and find common ground with your housemates.
Social interaction is a basic human need.
Even if its small talk about cheap shopping deals or the weather or local news.
Hiding in your room is not good for the head over the long term.

tiny_penguin

Thanks again for all the advice - my issue was the timing and I'm just nto sure i trust them really. Ive asked they email me on copies of the bills and then i will look at it. FYI the amount owed is less than 20 euro when you subtract the amount for the tv license so i also feel it is a bit petty making such a fuss after all this time and the way i was treated.

I will pay it once I have seen the bills and made sure it matched (mistakes were made by them on more than one occasion on bill calculations when i was there, so def working it out myself)

Mighty_Mouse wrote: »

ps
it's a positive thing to try and find common ground with your housemates.
Social interaction is a basic human need.
Even if its small talk about cheap shopping deals or the weather or local news.
Hiding in your room is not good for the head over the long term.

I did not hide in my room - I just kept different hours to them, was up earlier in the morning and home first, and had a social life outside of the house. I would chat and be friendly if i was in the same room while cooking/eating/watching tv. If i went to the shop and they were home i would ask if they needed anything. I just went to bed at a reasonable time (9:30 or 10 o'clock - some time to wind down before going to sleep) Or if they were watching something on tv i didnt like i would go up and read etc. I began to retreat to my room a little more after i was confronted about this behaviour, as the girl who confronted me made things awkward by making me feel like i had to force a friendship. But i was still always friendly and chatting when in the same room.

She (it was really only one with the issue but the other just went along) were looking for a best friend rather than a house mate - and the way it was brought up with me was that i was 'strange' and 'antisocial' and basically very insulting towards me at the time which is why I am a little bit bitter about this.

Just becuase one person deems someone to be quiet does not mean they do not have social interaction skills, so be a little bit more careful when jumping to conclusions.

Distorted

Mighty_Mouse wrote: »

This should of been sorted before you left the house.

Agree with this. Although you should always take your own meter readings when moving out anyway, OP.

LegacyUser

tiny_penguin wrote: »

I did not hide in my room - I just kept different hours to them, was up earlier in the morning and home first, and had a social life outside of the house. I would chat and be friendly if i was in the same room while cooking/eating/watching tv. If i went to the shop and they were home i would ask if they needed anything. I just went to bed at a reasonable time (9:30 or 10 o'clock - some time to wind down before going to sleep) Or if they were watching something on tv i didnt like i would go up and read etc. I began to retreat to my room a little more after i was confronted about this behaviour, as the girl who confronted me made things awkward by making me feel like i had to force a friendship. But i was still always friendly and chatting when in the same room.

She (it was really only one with the issue but the other just went along) were looking for a best friend rather than a house mate - and the way it was brought up with me was that i was 'strange' and 'antisocial' and basically very insulting towards me at the time which is why I am a little bit bitter about this.

Just becuase one person deems someone to be quiet does not mean they do not have social interaction skills, so be a little bit more careful when jumping to conclusions.

I really sympathise with you, most places I've lived, it's been totally cool with everyone for people to do their own thing. A handful of people seem to think everyone should be besties in a house-share, but most people aren't like this IME.

I once lived in an owner-occupied house. Never again. The landlady/roomie expected us all to do things with her because it was her house. It was a very uneven set up too, every thing was her way or the highway.

You sound like you did nothing wrong, not everyone likes to watch TV all evening and like a quiet room to read in.

Pay your bills (after making sure the calculations are correct), you've made your point with the TV licence thing. They're probably just asking for the bill money to be awkward and you have served them some awkwardness right back both by asking to check the bills and deducting the TV licence portion. Well played, Sir.

LegacyUser

I think they are trying to take advantage and are been petty. Having shared with many in the past, the time to sort out if you owed bills was when you were moving out. Move on and ignore any further communication with them. Block their emails, texts whatever. I think you're been too nice for your own good worrying about paying bills in a place you no longer live and 2 months after you left!