Flat mate left without paying bills

Theprodigy11

A flatmate recently left without paying any of their bills. They are all in my name and when I texted them to retrieve the money they won't respond.

Is there a way of getting this back???

Samuel T. Cogley

His deposit.

Did they get their deposit back yet?

Theprodigy11

The deposit was with the landlord and he said it is not his concern.

Samuel T. Cogley

So the LL is giving the deposit back to the flatmate?

Theprodigy11

They already have returned the deposit the private resident tenancy board said that is the right thing to do.

Farmer Bob

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

So the LL is giving the deposit back to the flatmate?

The bills are in the OP's name, so it's nothing to do with the landlord and the deposit he's holding for the other person.

Sucks to get caught like that, but live and learn.

piplip87

Very little you can do. Everything is in your name, you signed contracts with the providers stating the YOU would have bills paid by a certain date each month.

You can call the utility providers and explain what happened and they might give you an extra few weeks to pay the bill.

If it is the case you are going to be late paying I would suggest cancelling any Direct debits as an extra 15 Quid in bank fees is the last thing you need

the_syco

Theprodigy11 wrote: »

They already have returned the deposit the private resident tenancy board said that is the right thing to do.

Perhaps look into moving, as if the landlord is like this now, they'll always be like this.

Fighting Tao

the_syco wrote: »

Perhaps look into moving, as if the landlord is like this now, they'll always be like this.

The landlord abides by te law and doesn’t get involved with disagreements between two people and you advise to move?

Theprodigy11

Would the small claims court entertain it?

homerjay2005

Theprodigy11 wrote: »

The deposit was with the landlord and he said it is not his concern.

of course it is. did he give it back? if not, tell him to hold on to it until its paid.

jimmycrackcorm

Theprodigy11 wrote:

Would the small claims court entertain it?

No. The SCC only deals with businesses.

The only option is to try to find the flatmate and convince him to pay up.

Farmer Bob

homerjay2005 wrote: »

of course it is. did he give it back? if not, tell him to hold on to it until its paid.

Nope. When you rent a property the bills are your responsibility, not the landlord's unless.agreed otherwise.

The landlord was right not to get involved in a game of "he said, she said". Not his business...

endacl

the_syco wrote: »

Perhaps look into moving, as if the landlord is like this now, they'll always be like this.

Yep. Who wants to pay rent to a landlord with a track record of returning security deposits unchallenged.

Diceicle

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

No. The SCC only deals with businesses.

The only option is to try to find the flatmate and convince him to pay up.

Really? I would have thought and or hoped we had a judge Judy level court to rule on such things

whippet

Diceicle wrote: »

Really? I would have thought and or hoped we had a judge Judy level court to rule on such things

We don’t live in Telly land ... unfortunately it’s a case of chalking it down to experience ... the bills are in your name .. your responsibility. A life lesson learned that there are many jerks out there and it’s up to you to choose who you trust wisely

homerjay2005

Farmer Bob wrote: »

Nope. When you rent a property the bills are your responsibility, not the landlord's unless.agreed otherwise.

The landlord was right not to get involved in a game of "he said, she said". Not his business...

every house iver ever rented, the landlord has always asked for proof bills are settled before giving back deposit.

what if everybody decided to leave and not pay, who would be left with it? yes, the landlord....as it would be him who would have the electricity or gas cut off.

im pretty sure he has already kept the deposit because of this and is just telling the OP its not his/her business.

endacl

homerjay2005 wrote: »

every house iver ever rented, the landlord has always asked for proof bills are settled before giving back deposit.

what if everybody decided to leave and not pay, who would be left with it? yes, the landlord....as it would be him who would have the electricity or gas cut off.

im pretty sure he has already kept the deposit because of this and is just telling the OP its not his/her business.

Not the landlords problem. The tenant named on the bills is still in situ.

He’s not their mammy.

homerjay2005

endacl wrote: »

Not the landlords problem. The tenant named on the bills is still in situ.

He’s not their mammy.

bulls*it. a proper land lord woudl protect the tenants remaining. but i believe he will keep the deposit and pocket it himself.

henryforde80

Take it as a lesson learned. Nothing you can do now.

endacl

homerjay2005 wrote: »

bulls*it. a proper land lord woudl protect the tenants remaining. but i believe he will keep the deposit and pocket it himself.

The landlord's interest is in the property. The tenant's problems are the tenant's problems. Any arrangements they made regarding their own private affairs have nothing to do with the landlord once the terms of the lease are adhered to.

Imagine a different , yet analogous scenario:

Tenant: Hi. Landlord? It's me. Tenant 1. We have a bit of an issue. Tenant 2 keeps using all my teabags and always leaves the toilet seat up. Would you mind...

Landlord: *click*

LuckyLloyd

Theprodigy11 wrote: »

A flatmate recently left without paying any of their bills. They are all in my name and when I texted them to retrieve the money they won't respond.

Is there a way of getting this back???

Do you know any of their friends / family / employer? It’s a debt based on good faith for a presumably trivial amount (relatively speaking). If you have no way of shaming them into paying you will need to lie at the loss of it I’m afraid.

AllForIt

We had a tenant who didn't give a full months notice. She decided to leave the day before it was her turn to pay the house cleaner which each of the tenants would have to do only once every 8 weeks in turns. Coincidence? Well regardless she left a few days before the months notice period. She refused to pay it when I challenged her about it so I told the landlord. The landlord came to the house to return her deposit and she told her she had to pay it otherwise... . So she paid it.