Change of Occupier - 3 Valleys Water - Help please!...

Addz

My partner and I purchased a property in early Feb. It requires a great deal of rennovation and as such we still have not moved in (and doubtful for the next couple of months at least!).

We got a letter from 3 Valleys Water addressed 'To the Occupier' and in it they mention that they now have no details on who lives at the address and that they were to cut off the water supply for leak prevention etc (usual waffle).

So I call them up straight away and register myself and partner with them as the occupiers. I inform the chap that we are not living there as the house is uninhabitable and wont be for the next few months. At first he says we will need to be billed back from Feb. Then he asks is it a flat or a house. I reply house and he responds by saying a water meter will need fitting (which we already knew). I agreed and he said someone will be round to fit it within 8 weeks. He also said we shall only start paying the bill once the water meter is fitted. This all sounded great to me, as we havnt been using the water at all (kitchen and bathroom are completely ripped out and gutted).

Yesterday I go round to do some work, and I see a letter from 3 Valleys Water waiting for me. They are demanding £250 for water and sewage charges. Its split into 2 charges, one from Feb to March, and the other from April to March 2010!

So even though they are demanding a water meter to be fitted, they also want to charge us for a years unmetered water in advance! And all this when we havent been using any water!

Surely this isnt fair?

I'm obviously more than happy to pay for water that we have used (hence have no grumbles about the water meter) but it seems harsh that we are expected to pay full unmetered rates pro rata for this year, full unmetered rates for next year in advance and then have a water meter fitted and be billed for the units used on that too!

Any advice would be most appriciated. We have just had a council inspector declare the place unhabitable and has given us Council Tax Exemption for 6 months. Would that go in our favour somehow?

:undecided

Cardew

It is standard practice to demand charges for the year ahead.

When you apply for a meter, your metered charges will normally start from that date.

Any money you have paid in advance(i.e. a pro-rata proportion of the £210) will be credited to you.

You can always ask to start paying the £210 by Direct Debit which will stop you paying the money 'up front'. and any payments will be a credit to your account.

kip_cordelia_40

if house is unfurnished and unoccupied no water charges apply..or this used to be the case.....if your name appeared on the bill from the date the company had property down as empty ring up and say house empty unfurnished until date you moved in. this shud ammend your bill by a bit

lee12_2

I know water rates are charged as normal up until the day the meter is fitted. so my suggestion would be tell them you want to pay by monthly direct debit then you will only pay water rates at the old rate for the time before the meter,
We are on a meter and save a lot but then again we are in the south west and water here is horrendous averaging £700 per year for 3 bed house, we save over 50%