Urgent advice needed - 'Final' bill from old address

reallyjammyjam

Hi all

Am very worried and hoping someone can give me some advice...

Checked my credit report and there was a search from a debt search agency, phoned up to see more about it and turns out it was done on behalf of Southern Water. They told me the address it was in relation to which I had lived in about 5 years ago. So a couple of months later I receive a letter at my current address to confirm I lived there. Obviously I wasn't going to lie so I didn't do anything at this point.

Then yesterday I receive a 'Final' reminder from SW for £326.46!!! I was gobsmaked. I lived at this address for about 5 months with 4 other people! I am extremely concerned. I haven't phoned them yet as I remember something about there being a way to do things in thsi situation i.e. contacting them and what to say. Obviously this is totally ridiculous...when I received the first letter I was concerned but thought, well they have tracked me down so I assume they will track the other 4 people down I lived with. As it was so long ago and I didn't live there for very long I don't even remember their names myself if they don't have the info for whatever reason.

I just can't see how they can get away with it, just billing me, I mean I don't know without speaking to them if they have billed anyone else but the bill amount is so high I just can't see it.

Please help me!

Vicky

Gothicfairy

Someone has given your name as the tenant and they have found you..End of really, if no one has told them about anyone else they would not even bother looking.
They will not track anyone else down as they have you.

The only way around this is for you to give them a copy of your tenancy agreement either showing the other people named or that you were renting a ROOM in a share house ( and as such it could be down to your Landlord to sort out)
I am afraid that in cases like this it falls to the customer to keep the company informed and I can only guess by what you have said that no one called them when you all moved in and used the water without thinking about paying for it.

Cardew

This happens frequently for Utility bills - mainly when the utility company sells the debt to a Debt Collecting Agency(DCA)

You will get better advice on how to handle this on the 'Debt' forum on MSE. Until you get that advice do not contact a DCA if they have sent the demand.

My understanding is that unless you were named on the tenancy and/or water bill(and didn't notify utility company when you left) you cannot be held responsible. However the DCA will threaten etc but won't take you to court unless they have proof you are liable for the debt.

Unfortunately, with credit records, it appears you are guilty until proven innocent!

Gothicfairy

They have got a final bill direct from SW so it is back with them.

As much as I respect your posts ( and I really do) this is not quite right "My understanding is that unless you were named on the tenancy and/or water bill(and didn't notify utility company when you left) you cannot be held responsible. However the DCA will threaten etc but won't take you to court unless they have proof you are liable for the debt"

Being held legally responsible for water bills is about usage rather then paperwork. If they can prove you had access to the supply then you can be made responsible and if they got a phone call/ email/ letter from a letting agent/ landlord / council/ college saying that the op was living in the property they can chase her and do so through the courts. It becomes the down to the customer to prove otherwise and clearly the op was at the property and using the supply..So they are responsible unless they can find someone else to lay the bill on.
The water act is about usage rather then ownership ( rightly or wrongly as it happens and often it is wrong but the law comes down on the side of " you used it, you pay for it" with this one)
I have seem tenants in illegal bedsits have to pay for the whole property as they were the ones who said they were using the water.

The op neither called them when they moved in or out so really I am not sure what high ground they can take, they used the supply and lived there and did nothing to make sure the billing was correct. They have moved out and now want it dealt with.

Cardew

I understand the point you are making,(and likewise respect your knowledge) which is why I suggested they go to the 'Debt' forum.

I was making the assumption that they stayed in the house when someone else had the ownership/tenancy and hence responsibility for bills. After all if you lodged in my house for a month in 2005, you could hardly be responsible for the £1,000 bill I haven't paid because they can't trace me and someone gave them your name.(like me!!!)

You are making the assumption, it seems, that nobody had a tenancy or responsibility for utility bills(or can't be traced) and somebody has found out that at one point the OP was in residence.

This whole business of jointly and severally reliable for bills is a minefield, and the courts have ruled that Utility companies/DCAs cannot 'find' a name and make them responsible for the whole period.

http://www.abacusfinance.co.uk/bill-payment-problems.htm

Responsibility for the bill

The person who has to pay any gas or electricity debt is the person who originally asked for it to be supplied. In the past some energy companies have also demanded payment from anyone living at the house when the gas or electricity was being used. Calling them as 'beneficial users'. But several courts have refused to allow companies to pursue this kind of debt now, and if you are in this situation, you may be able to stop them insisting that you have to pay.

Gothicfairy

That does not include water though..as we know water is totally different and has a different ruling ( I am afraid that I have seen more then one account like this end up at the litigation stage or even with a ccj as the law is really not that clear cut with water)


I was indeed making an assumption which might well not be correct but it does sound like they were legally in the property and as such could be made responsible. I was guessing that no one else was responsible as it would have been easier for the water company to chase the landlord/ letting agent rather then one tenant.

It might be worth the op calling them and asking where their name came from and what they have on the account to suggest that they are responsible for the whole bill.
The debt forum would indeed be able to help but I would think they would need slightly more info as well as it has to be clear what info the water company has..IE if they have a tenancy agreement for that period for the OP then that is another matter all together.