Can i claim back some charges the water have took from me?

Widelats

I put a similar thread in the consumer rights section i am really looking for some help.

I would appreciate some info on this as i am lost.

Basically, i got a new flat in December where the water charge is in with the rent, so i no longer had to pay water charges direct to Northumbrian Water.

I recently found out that from December i have been getting deductions every benefit payment for my old address, the total is over £180, i am wondering where do i stand in claiming these back?

Info: before i moved from my old address in December my balance was clear but the water company has continued to take the payments till todays date, i am really angry, i had a cheque off them for only £35 and i think i have been robbed, they did not ask my permission to take these payments and in effect they have been getting double payments as i have been paying for my new address all the time.

Anyone know? Will i get the rest of the money back? Should i go to citizens advice as well?

Thanks everyone.

Cardew

Firstly they have no way of knowing if you have left your old address unless you tell them - which I assume you didn't do?

It should be straight forward to get a refund of the payments - have you asked them?

Widelats

Cardew wrote: »

Firstly they have no way of knowing if you have left your old address unless you tell them - which I assume you didn't do?

It should be straight forward to get a refund of the payments - have you asked them?

I have asked them they only sent me £35. I have sent another mail to them. I thought when they billed someone they had to get their permission to take money from their benefits, i was paying this way till i moved out of my old address and i expect they must of sent another bill while i was not there and just said to the DWP that it was fine.

I am still lost here as i am not getting any refund.

Gothicfairy

Did you pay a Final bill ?
There would be an amount owing when you moved as they would not have know the date you moved until they were informed.
Were you on a meter ?if so did you give a final meter read ? If you were on RV then it is hard to get the bill wrong unless you moved and didn't tell them.
The water company can take direct payments if you are x amount in arrears and it is up to the department of work and pension if it goes through and they fix the amount. It can be as little as £3.10 per month which does not clear any water bill amount and always leaves a debt when it has finished.
Have just read through your post again and find one thing confusing. Direct payments do not go through if the account is at zero. They only do Direct Payments if the account is in arrears and if the DWP have allowed that then you need to contact them , as far as I know they also stop the payments straight away if a customer has changed address.

What did the bill actually say ? What was the dates of the bill and the amounts ? How much had you paid in total ?

Sorry for the questions but that is the only way to work out if you should get a refund

Widelats

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Did you pay a Final bill ?
There would be an amount owing when you moved as they would not have know the date you moved until they were informed.
Were you on a meter ?if so did you give a final meter read ? If you were on RV then it is hard to get the bill wrong unless you moved and didn't tell them.
The water company can take direct payments if you are x amount in arrears and it is up to the department of work and pension if it goes through and they fix the amount. It can be as little as £3.10 per month which does not clear any water bill amount and always leaves a debt when it has finished.
Have just read through your post again and find one thing confusing. Direct payments do not go through if the account is at zero. They only do Direct Payments if the account is in arrears and if the DWP have allowed that then you need to contact them , as far as I know they also stop the payments straight away if a customer has changed address.

What did the bill actually say ? What was the dates of the bill and the amounts ? How much had you paid in total ?

Sorry for the questions but that is the only way to work out if you should get a refund

My balance was clear when i moved out of my old address on 5th December 2008. I spoke to the DWP Monday they said they had been paying a bill since 26th December 2008 until now, and they also said"it is up to you now to get that money back as once it has left us it has nothing to do with us, the money is with the water company now now i don't think he is telling me the truth on this, he reckoned it up for me and said i had paid £178 since December 26th 2008 - i was not at that property then and i admit i must have forgotten to tell the water company when i moved.

The letter from Northumbrian water says that a final bill was issued on 26th December 2008, and i had £35 in credit which they sent me a cheque for. I am totally confused by both the DWP and the water board i do not know where i stand and who owes me that money i have heard 3 different things from DWP i sent a letter too and got no reply.

Think i would be better going to the citizens advice or do you know where i stand with this?

I did not read the final bill that the water board sent as i have not been back to my old address.

Appreciate any info or help on this.

Gothicfairy

Ok.

Not easy without seeing the bill but the DWP do not normally allow any direct payments to go out with there being a debt as there is nothing to pay.
There are several things you need to do.....

First get a copy of the final bill and a break down (called a statement of account) to show every payment and every debt.

You also need to work out if the property is on RV or meter as that will make a massive difference to the bill.
If it is RV then you need to check the dates of the move and if it is metered then you need to check the final read and date.
Not telling them means that the account might have been closed to the incorrect date and that would leave a debt. You need to find out when the account was closed and if the date it wrong you might have to send in some documentation to show your actual move out date.

Get that info first and then go from there

Widelats

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Ok.

Not easy without seeing the bill but the DWP do not normally allow any direct payments to go out with there being a debt as there is nothing to pay.
There are several things you need to do.....

First get a copy of the final bill and a break down (called a statement of account) to show every payment and every debt.

You also need to work out if the property is on RV or meter as that will make a massive difference to the bill.
If it is RV then you need to check the dates of the move and if it is metered then you need to check the final read and date.
Not telling them means that the account might have been closed to the incorrect date and that would leave a debt. You need to find out when the account was closed and if the date it wrong you might have to send in some documentation to show your actual move out date.

Get that info first and then go from there

I will try get those then cheers, this is the letter from the water board i just found it, i am not on a meter by the way it is just paid by my rent at a set rate.:

Thank you for your email dated 20th June which was recieved by our customer care contact centre the same day. I am sorry you had to take the time to write to us regarding the above account.

Having reviewed our database, i can confirm that your account for the above property was closed on 5 December 2008 (this meaning my old address), a final bill was issued to your new address confirming an outstanding balance of £136.22 (i recieved no letter and as far as i know my account was clear when i moved out, i was paying direct for my water from the DWP then and asked them to take my normal payments as well as my arrears, they were clear when i moved.)

However, we contineud to recieve payments from the DWP to the value of £171.36 (The DWP told me yesterday it was £178.68 ) as part of your water direct payment arrangement. This left a credit on your account of £35.34

I have issued a cheque to the value of £35.34 and this will arrive under separate cover within the next 10 days. I can also confirm that we have been notified by the DWP that no further payments will be made to Northumbrian Water on your behalf.

As you are now paying your water charges via your rental agreement you do not have any outstanding amounts due to Northumbrian Water and the above account is closed with a zero balance. I would like to apologise for any inconvienience caused by this matter.


So does it depend on me now to get that final bill what they sent or at least ask them for a copy of it? Since moving into my new address i have always paid my rents there is no debt.

Gothicfairy

sounds like the bill was correct based on that though.

The DWP could in reality be paying as little as £3.10 per month ( not sure what your amount was but it could be something like 10p off the debt and the rest towards the bill current)

If they are staying your final bill up to 05.12.08 is £136.88 then you were in arrears and the DWP continued to pay until such time as that was canceled leaving you paying £178.68 which then gives you credit as you over paid by that amount.

RV accounts are harder to get wrong as they are a set amount for a period of time and as long as the amount of time is correct the bill should be right. IE if you move 05.12.08 then there is a fixed amount of a bill until that point.
How much was your bill when you moved in ?
Any arrears from another address ?
Did you make any payments yourself ?

Did the DWP pay the whole amount of arrears and current balance ?

Sorry again with the questions but it is not a simple yes / no answer

Widelats

Gothicfairy wrote: »

sounds like the bill was correct based on that though.

The DWP could in reality be paying as little as £3.10 per month ( not sure what your amount was but it could be something like 10p off the debt and the rest towards the bill current)

If they are staying your final bill up to 05.12.08 is £136.88 then you were in arrears and the DWP continued to pay until such time as that was canceled leaving you paying £178.68 which then gives you credit as you over paid by that amount.

RV accounts are harder to get wrong as they are a set amount for a period of time and as long as the amount of time is correct the bill should be right. IE if you move 05.12.08 then there is a fixed amount of a bill until that point.
How much was your bill when you moved in ?
Any arrears from another address ?
Did you make any payments yourself ?

Did the DWP pay the whole amount of arrears and current balance ?

Sorry again with the questions but it is not a simple yes / no answer

Bill was zero when i moved into my new address.

I don't think i had any arrears from my other address no

Yes i paid every 2 weeks for 3 payments then asked the dwp to do the rest as i have dyscalculia the numbers were really doing my head in i could not figure the way things worked, but you have just given me a idea, i could ask the dwp for all payments that were made when i was in my old address then i would know.

Cheees GC. i will get onto them tomorrow.

Gothicfairy

As you moved into an RV property you would have got a bill straight away for the years charges. At that point did you pay anything ? RV becomes due really straight away and although most companies allow it to be paid in 2 parts that is not a right so to speak and they can demand the whole amount and it does show as arrears.
So if your year bill was say £365 then that is what you owe and if you move out part way through the bill is reworked to however many days you were in the property.
direct payments are only available to the best of my knowledge on accounts with arrears so you would have had your yearly bill.

Good idea with going to the DWP and making then explain what went out. They paid your water bill and just like standing order. It goes into the water account no matter what the status of that account (ie final billed to zero) cos it is not something the water companies control.

Best to come back tomorrow when you have spoken to everyone then we can see where to go