business electricity disconnected today - warrant in wrong company name - help

[timewarp3]

Today the electricity company supplying our building attended whilst i was out and disconnected the electricity.

 

the warrant is not in my company name, it is in the Name of a former company sub letting the building from me.

 

This business liquidated in December.

 

I moved back into the building after the former company ceased trading - the lease has always been in my name - i sub let to the previous company.

 

I tried negotiateng on the phone ( i was working on a clients site in London so could not get back to the NW in person)

The supply company say that they are disconnecting and that because the lease is in my name - i am connected to the former company.

 

one thing I noticed tonight when i went into the office is the copy warrant left by them

was the name of the liquidated company not my company

surely the warrant has to be in the correct name -

 

History.

A couple of weeks ago when their agent attended our premises, i explained that he was chasing a debt belonging to a liquidated company

no longer at our premises,

 

I also explained that all the old correspondence had been forwarded to the liquidators as per instruction

- even so we can not legally open someone elses post so were unaware of any debt or communication prior to his visit.

 

I also explained that they would have been informed of the liquidation as they were a creditor

and he admitted that they probably were but they do not act on it ?

 

It all seemed amicable at the time - I suggested changing or transferring the account into our name

and we would pay the bills for our usage ,

 

he said that was not possible whilst the debt remained outstanding to the liquidated company - suggesting we pay it .... why would we ?

 

i gave their agent a copy of my rates bill, a copy of trading invoices and company insurance,

a copy of my current letterheading all to prove the business is different.

 

I even gave him a copy printout from companies house (webcheck) proving that the company he was seeking had liquidated

and a list of officers - which of course did not include me.

 

he said it looked ok and would investagete.

 

Last week we had a call from supply company saying that the businesses had a common director and the bill and warrant still stand ??

 

The liquidated business and my existing businesses do not have a common director

- the supply company has picked up another business that that i have that is also registered at the same address

and say this proves the common link.

This is nonsence !.

 

Even if i was a director of the liquidated company

- surely they would be seperate legal entities and they could not transfer a debt from one to the other ?

 

I phoned other supply companies for advice and assistance

- but they all say that they can not help or take over the supply unless the current company releases it.

 

The supply company are not backing down. they say the name on the warrant is irrelevent, insisting it is the same company.

 

where do i go from here

- is it worth contensting the validity of the warrant ?

- even if successful

- how do i get them to re-instate the supply,

 

i have looked on the web and am worried

- there are loads of horror stories quoting anything from months to never for reinstatement.

 

i will have to buy or rent a generator to supply building in mean time

- im not sure of costs , but it ill cost a couple of thousand to buy a decent generator,

then get it connected,

then im not sure of the running costs etc .

...else close the business and make 5 staff redundant or relocate

... this seems very unfair

- everything seems to be sided with these bullys.

 

how do i sort this mess out.

[Conniff]

Who is the electricity supply company ?

[timewarp3]

Eon

[Conniff]

Tell your story to the big man tony.cocker@eon-uk.com see if he agrees with your treatment.

[nottslad]

Was there a lease in place for the former company - you mention you were sub-letting the property to them, if there was some sort of lease that would back you up, also the Liquidator of the insolvent company should be able to provide accounts showing rent payments.

 

In my experience, the de-energisation probably went ahead due to the change of tenancy not being done.

 

What type of meter was it you had ie was it a half-hourly supply or non half-hourly?

 

Technically EON should be contracted with the occupier of the premises - if they had a contract with the company that has entered liquidation the debt should be written off due to the insolvency, they cannot ask a third party to pay that debt.

[timewarp3]

No there was no formal lease in place for the former company.

they paid me and i paid the landlord - the main lease is in my name.

 

In hindsight - a hundred quid or so for a solicitor to draft a lease may have been better.

 

we have provided eon with details of the liquidator and they accept that the company

is in liquidation.

 

the meter is a 3phase digital meter made by edmi - i dont know how it is configured.

 

Eon had a contract with former occupier - not myself.

I made several calls again today to attempt to get the supply re-instated, they refuse to discuss reconnection or allow the supply to be transferred without a payment of in excess of £7000 and a security deposit of a £6000 .

 

The debt should be written off due to the insolvency.

 

I think that their practice of not allowing the supply to be released to another supply company so i can get electricity elsewhere seems grossly unfair and their terms of a £6000 security deposit is more akin to blackmail than reasonable business practice..

 

I have had to send the staff home again today, we cant work without electricity even the phone system needs electric .

 

i think i will have to buy a generator, but that comes with its own problems,

 

the main shutters are all electric and we have electric gates to our unit, so i either need to run the generator 24/7 or compromise security......

if i dont resolve this soon it will be too late to save the business,

 

i cant even tap into a neighbours supply temporarily - the nearest is 40meters away across a yard !!

 

Was there a lease in place for the former company - you mention you were sub-letting the property to them, if there was some sort of lease that would back you up, also the Liquidator of the insolvent company should be able to provide accounts showing rent payments.

 

In my experience, the de-energisation probably went ahead due to the change of tenancy not being done.

 

What type of meter was it you had ie was it a half-hourly supply or non half-hourly?

 

Technically EON should be contracted with the occupier of the premises - if they had a contract with the company that has entered liquidation the debt should be written off due to the insolvency, they cannot ask a third party to pay that debt.

[Ubiquitious]

I would see your solicitor.

 

 

This is outrageous.

 

 

For a start they have trespassed as the Warrant was incorrectly issued.

 

 

If the electricity contract was in the name of another company then that is between the liquidators and Eon.

 

 

Did you inform Eon as soon as you moved back in that the former company is no longer at your premises?

 

 

If so they had no right to disconnect.

[*RainbowTears*]

I would see your solicitor.

 

 

This is outrageous.

 

 

For a start they have trespassed as the Warrant was incorrectly issued.

 

 

If the electricity contract was in the name of another company then that is between the liquidators and Eon.

 

 

Did you inform Eon as soon as you moved back in that the former company is no longer at your premises?

 

 

If so they had no right to disconnect.

 

I too agree that this is totally outrageous for EON to behave!

 

As for having to pay £7000 to cover "another's" debt ain't on! It appears EON don't care who used the supply as long as someone pays it.

 

But what I find even more disgraceful is EON all but blackmailing you into paying a £6000 security deposit to enable you getting your supply reconnected!!

 

So I'd do as Conniff suggested go straight to the top & email the CEO. Explain your situation in full & provide him with what proof you have of what's happened here & the actions of EON!!

 

The debt is NOT yours to pay, let alone be blackmailed into paying it!!

 

Keep on at Tony Cocker until this is resolved to your satisfaction.

 

Good luck.

[timewarp3]

Today I get a letter in my company name (NOT THE liquidated company name)

I phoned EON and asked why they had changed the name on the account and the sales person said he doesn know but told me it had been changed on 26th June - after they had disconnected the supply.

Apparently the main Landlord has confirmed the lease is in my company name so therefor the old bills and debt must be mine ?

 

Their debt is with a liquidated company - not mine!

 

They have disconnected the supply and will not release it to another supplier so i have no mains electricity - I am running on a generator now.

 

I do not owe the money - they refuse to listen.

 

Their warrant and disconnection was in a liquidated company name - not mine so I think they have trespassed and illegaly disconnected the supply. we did tell them on the day but they (Wrongfully convinced my staff that they had court powers under the electricity supplies act and court powers to disconnect - even if its not our bill)

 

I am now worried - they have now changed the company name on the latest letter , It now shows my limited company name, The letter says the supply will not be released to another supplier unless the debt of £6000+ is paid.

the account number has also now been changed into my companies name .. why ?

Its not my debt - why tell me ??

Is the change of name on the letter an attempt to move the debt ??

surely they cannot do this

How can they change the name...and then say the debt is due ?

you cannot retrospectively change name - i think they are trying to retrospectively claim all the old electricity bills are due and i think they may even be trying to insinuate or re-issue all the old bills in a new name

Surely this practice is ILLEGAL ??

im concerned incase they are moving towards trying something legal like going for ccj in my company name.

 

I did email these guys several times and outlined the case, emails have been recieved (confirmed by their sales people during one of the many pontless waste of time conversations I have had ) They have not replied or even acknowledged the emails.

 

I have had a letter back from the Citizens advice; staying that EON have stated that the change of tenancy is not deemed as acceptable , and tha EON can reject a change of tenancy request if there are resonable grounds,

 

The lease has always been in my company name -

i am not claiming change of tenancy.

i do not owe the money

I do not, did not have a contract with EON to supply electricity.

the company that owed the money has gone into liquidation - the debt has gone ....it simple

i can not be held responsible for this debt regardless of who is named on lease ,

 

to try and claim or attach the debt to another company is outrageous !

 

In the mean time Im running on a generator which costs around £13-£17.00 per working day which incidentally appears to be a lower cost to the the £500/600 per month usage indicated by EON.

 

I need some help or guidance here,

are there any non EON energy advisers who can point me in the right direction - i need to get this settled.

 

i want my electricity reconnecting and then I want to take these crooks to task for their bullying and blatenty dishonest tactics in the way they have proceeded so far.

Edited July 4, 2014 by timewarp3
typo

[timewarp3]

Ok this saga with EON continues,

The company they supplied electricity to went into liquidation in December last year

they were informed.

Their agreement was with the company in liquidation.

Eon were named as creditor on the forms.

 

Eon have claimed that because the lease on the building is in my name - i am liable, i must be involved in the other company and i owe the debt ??

The other company (NOW LIQUIDATED) was a seperate legal entity and I was not a director.

 

The bills all came in the liquidated companies name, I have evidence from the liquidated company to prove the liquidated company had been paying EON - therefore they had a contract or agreement with EACH OTHER - NOT ME or MY company.

 

way back in February when we re-occupied our building ,I contacted EON to ask them to change the account into a new company name so we could pay for our usage, they refused.we asked a couple of times and they would not transfer the account it saying there was a debt and it would not be transferred unless WE paid the debt.

we explained on the phone that the former company had liquidated.

 

time passes - we get disconnected on a warrant in another companies name-

we complain - they ignore

we phone - they say we are same company .

round in circles

we apply elswhere for supply - EON Block it (TWICE NOW)

we install generators to continue trading - running on generators now.

 

Now ---- today I recieved a bill for £6000+ in the name of my company .

we did not and do not have an agreement with them

EON have definately changed the name on the account - surely this is illegal.

They cannot re-assig a debt from a liquidated company and attach it to another to protect it.

Also this has historical VAT liability implications etc .

I am worried incase they try for court action CCJ, or something - i can defend but what about my supply, inconvenience etc in the mean time?

 

ANY HELP PLEASE??

[Conniff]

I would suggest that court is the best place for this to be sorted. If you have compelling evidence as you say, then it can only be a good thing. You will get your court fees back plus you can counter sue for compensation.

 

 

Why are you so worried about court ?

[timewarp3]

I would suggest that court is the best place for this to be sorted. If you have compelling evidence as you say, then it can only be a good thing. You will get your court fees back plus you can counter sue for compensation.

 

 

Why are you so worried about court ?

 

last time I was in court for a speeding offence i didnt do well

- the picture was definately Me .

[timewarp3]

Actually not worried about court - worried about putting a case together correctly and ensuring I fill in all the forms correctly, defence and counter claim

so I get compensation and costs etc.

So long as there is some guidance here - Im sure it will be fine.