Not Paying Your Water Bill

NICHOLAS_2 · 17 January 2015 at 3:10AM

I moved into a property owned by a family member about 2 or 3 years ago. The guy who lived here before seemed to owe some on his water bill, probably half a years worth of money.

The last letter they sent was a few months ago now, asking for like 500 and something quid. I haven't paid them anything since i moved in.

Technically i probably owe them between 3 or 400.

They address the letters to the guy who used to live here.

Do i have to pay them anything?

If i ignore them for say another year or so, and then moved out, they would be non the wiser and still send letters addressed to the old guy wouldn't they?

From the looks of it the old guy who lived here has a bad credit history anyway so any debt on his file would be irrelevant, he owed the energy company 1800 quid on his prepayment meter.

JJ_Egan · 17 January 2015 at 10:45AM

Basically you are asking how can i steal from the water company .

matelodave · 17 January 2015 at 12:59PM

You are liable for the water bill from the day you moved in.

If you chose not to inform the water co when that was then you might end up paying for the previous tenants water as well.

Hopefully you've got proof of the day you moved in (signed tenancy agreement etc) and a meter reading if you've got a meter, otherwise you could be in for a nasty shock.
Trying to evade payment could end up with you being taken to court and ending up damaging your credit record.

NICHOLAS_2 · 17 January 2015 at 10:14PM

matelodave wrote: »

You are liable for the water bill from the day you moved in.

If you chose not to inform the water co when that was then you might end up paying for the previous tenants water as well.

Hopefully you've got proof of the day you moved in (signed tenancy agreement etc) and a meter reading if you've got a meter, otherwise you could be in for a nasty shock.
Trying to evade payment could end up with you being taken to court and ending up damaging your credit record.

It's owned by a family member so i can get something bodged up with the dates should they water company claim i owe more than i really do.

Does it affect your credit rating? I currently have bad credit history and noticed that the 2 or 3 grand i owed British gas just showed on my credit file as account closed, no late payments or defaults, i'm not sure if your energy or water bills are the same as normal credit agreements.

If i was to contact the water company within the next 6 to 12 months to set up a payment plan or pay it all off do you think anything would show on my file as late payments? I'm not sure it will.. unless maybe they take you to court to get a CCJ against you.

I can afford to pay it off but i am self employed with a small business so always try to delay money leaving my bank account for as long as possible.

cajef · 18 January 2015 at 4:05PM

NICHOLAS wrote: »

Does it affect your credit rating? I currently have bad credit history and noticed that the 2 or 3 grand i owed British gas just showed on my credit file as account closed, no late payments or defaults, i'm not sure if your energy or water bills are the same as normal credit agreements.

I can afford to pay it off but i am self employed with a small business so always try to delay money leaving my bank account for as long as possible.

Makes a note never to employ you for anything.:eek:

stator · 18 January 2015 at 4:21PM

Just tell them when you moved in, they will send you a bill, you pay it, job done. No adverse credit ratings.
If you ignore it you don't know what will happen. Maybe they'll start poking around to see who lives there. You're currently on a deemed contract, they just don't know it yet.

freshstart11 · 1 February 2015 at 6:25AM

After so long with no payment they may do a search with credit agency to see who there.

samsmoot · 7 February 2015 at 11:25PM

Hi Nicholas.

No, you don't have to pay them anything.

Worst case scenario is:

They find you;
Then they ask for payment;
You then pay up or not;
If not, they will send a letter before a court claim giving you X days to pay;
Then you'll probably have to pay to avoid added court costs.

A claim could get you a CCJ, but if you settle it before or upon the letter before court action you shouldn't lose out in any way. Just ignore them is my advice.

Odd how some on this board imply that avoidance of this potential and unproven civil debt is a criminal offence. FYI: failing to inform a water company of your occupancy of a property is not unlawful.

matelodave · 8 February 2015 at 2:52PM

You are correct but using water without paying for it is theft and in my view should be treated as such especially when there's no intention of paying the bill.

Cardew · 8 February 2015 at 4:17PM

matelodave wrote: »

You are correct but using water without paying for it is theft and in my view should be treated as such especially when there's no intention of paying the bill.

He is back.

You are wasting your time with samsmoot on anything to do with water charges.

If you delve into his previous posts, he experienced a problem with a water company and thus wrote scores(hundreds?) of posts attempting to advise(badly) people how to avoid paying legitimate bills.

He is fully aware of the financing structure of the water companies, and that any such avoidance and/or legal expenses incurred simply mean that the losses/expenses are paid for by other customers in higher charges - the water companies suffer no loss of profit.

Yet he just continues with his stupid vendetta.

samsmoot · 8 February 2015 at 4:35PM

matelodave wrote: »

You are correct but using water without paying for it is theft and in my view should be treated as such especially when there's no intention of paying the bill.

Then I suggest that you have a word with your MP so they can try and get the law changed to encompass your "view".

Not Paying Your Water Bill

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free