Debt Collector - 4 Year Old Bill

mickey77

We live in complete new builds from the ground, but there was a 1 floor factory there before, really sorry to sound thick, but should a meter be fixed to where the water is turned of? if so then there is no meter, so am now wondering if some law has been broken due to the planning permission?!?! Another question how can we be billed for past usage if there is no record of the address on their system? really do appreciate the advice and answers!!!!

mick

Cardew

Meter location can vary. On many houses it is at the boundary of the garden, others(mine) it is inside the house where the the water main enters. As long as it is on your water supply pipe somewhere it is OK.

The obvious solution would have been to have a water main with branches to flats with the water meter on each branch.

Have you spoken to any neighbours?

Plenty of older flats couldn't have meters fitted and they were given an assessed charge. This charge depending on location can be on number of bedrooms or number of occupants.

Again, as said earlier, I simply can't believe that 150 flats would have kept quiet about this for 4 years. Have you seen if it is being charged in the Service Charge.

mickey77

Have looked all around the property and can assure you that there are no meters! United utilities are on there way to fix a meter.

Aas for the other residents maybe they are paying the ratetable rates? alls i know is that there has been no correspondence from the water company till now!

Cardew

mickey77 wrote: »

Have looked all around the property and can assure you that there are no meters! United utilities are on there way to fix a meter.

Aas for the other residents maybe they are paying the ratetable rates? alls i know is that there has been no correspondence from the water company till now!

If it is new build they cannot be paying 'rateable rates'.

Rateable Value(RV) ceased to exist in 1990 when the 'Poll tax' was introduced. There is no mechanism to allocate an RV or indeed alter an existing RV.

Only houses with an RV(by definition built before 1990) kept their RV which is only used for water charges - unless a meter is fitted.

The normal method of back-charging(if say a meter is broken) is to monitor usage for a period and use that as the basis of an estimate. So keep your consumption very low if that is to be the case.

EagerLearner

Hello all,

UK Search have contacted MrEL, on behalf of Southbank Capital, chasing payment for Southern Water £225.09.
The property they refer to was a shared property and it was 6 years ago now.
We know we paid up our share of the bills, furthermore one of the other tenants that we are still in touch with, stayed on another 3 years. They paid all their water bills for usual supply etc.
I suspect this is a money raising scam and have heard that they then 'halve' your 'debt' if you call them querying it so that they can at least get some money off you.
I am in the middle of writing a letter for MrEL to sign as per page 1 of this thread denying the debt. I have already contacted Trading Standards and sent a copy of the letter.
Anything else needed? ie: should I talk to Southern Water, who we still get billed by now and have never mentioned this 'debt'?

EagerLearner

Hi everyone just a bump to ask about the above as I wanted to send the letter today?