Moved into new property and I owe previous tenants bill, why?

My questions don’t appear to be answered in your guidance ​@Nukecad 

1- Yes, if you want the debt collectors to stop sending you letters then you have to give your details and proof of when you moved in.

(Otherwise how do they know that it isn't your debt, and you are telling porkies?).

I can understand your reluctance  but if they don't have your details then how can they rule you out?

2- No, once a company has told debt a debt collection company to chase a debt they then leave it up to the DC company to chase the debt - if the debt collectors are chasing the wrong person then you have to sort that out with the debt collectors. The company are not going to tell rhe DC to stop because someone still owes them.

The form does not ask if YOU were the tenant, it asks if the property was tenanted. It's really a question for the landlord, how are you supposed to know how long it may have been empty before you moved in?

“The period in question” means the period during which the debt arose.

I see though that it's only a yes/no option - it should really have a ‘don't know’. Personally unless you know it was empty then I'd put “yes”, you are not saying that you occupied the premises, just that a previous tenant was.

I would then put in the space for notes that you are unsure if the property was tenanted before you got your tenancy and if they want to know then it's their job to find that out, it's not your job.

I use octopus energy but have received a bill from ovo  energy which may relate to the last occupier. So I want to know what dates the final bill of £46.73 relates to for account: [PII redacted by moderator]

thxs

Hi ​@James Adam 

I have asked for a moderator to remove those personal details, for security you should never post account numbers or other personal details in plain sight on a forum.

I doubt that any company will give you any information about an account that is not yours.

Billings for debts from previous occupiers are not that unusual, after all someone owes money and they will be chased at their last known address. (Which just happens to be yours now).
If you get one or more such letters you just have to know how to successfully deal with them, and I wrote a guide that shows you how to do that.

The first questions to ask are:

Is it addressed to a named person? (don’t post any name here).
Or is it addressed to “The Occupier”?

Is the bill from OVO?
Or is it from a Debt Collection agency?
(OVO tend to instruct LCS Debt Recovery, to chase unpaid debt).

If it is from OVO then you should contact customer support and tell then that you have received a final billing for the previous occupant. If you have a forwarding address for them then you could let support know what their new address is. (Or not, it's your choice, but if OVO can't find them then you'll probably then start getting debt collection letters).
Contact details here:

However if the letter is from a collection agency then you will need to sort things out with that debt collection agency and not with OVO.
See this guide for how to deal with debt collector letters:

Read ALL of the first post, particularly the section called “ There are two Important Facts that you need to realise about a Debt Collection Agency: “.
Then follow one of the 5 links depending on who the letter is addressed to.

Hey ​@James Adam 

I’m glad to see Nukecad has already stopped by with some helpful information and questions on this one. 

It would be good to know who that letter is addressed to. As mentioned by Nukecad, unless this is in your name, you won’t be responsible for this. They’ve linked to a helpful guide they wrote which you may find useful here too. 

If you could share some more information and answer some of the questions Nukecad left, that’d help us all direct you to the next best steps.