Yorkshire water recovering the full amount on a shared house, help needed urgently!

sputty01

Hi sorry about the cross-posting but its been suggested id get a better response from here than the water utilities forum. :think:

This isnt for me personally but my partner, she was living in a student house last year and sharing with 4 others. They had been living with the same landlord the year before and in their rental agreement it stated that the water bills were included in their rent.

They moved into a different house across the road with the same landlord the following year, and had a verbal agreement with the landlord that he was responsible for the water. None of the tenants had a rental agreement for this new property (one was never signed by any of the parties so no copy exists with the landlord either).

When they were residing in the property they began recieving letters from yorkshire water addressed to their landlord demanding payment of the bills. About 3 months ago yorkshire water began asking my partner for an amount totaling £119.93 (apparently reduced from around £300).

We called yorkshire water straight away and the woman on the phone stated they had done a records check and it returned her name (which is incorrectly spelt), she confirmed that they were requesting that amount assuming she was the sole occupier but i informed them that it was in fact a shared house. They stated they would pursue their claim for the full amount unless we could provide them with names and addresses of the other tenants.

Unfortunately we do not know the forwarding address of the other tenants although we have mobile numbers for them. They wont give their current addresses out though.

Today we received notice that they are going to transfer the debt to Rockford Debt Collections unless we set up a payment arrangement tomorrow.

Obviously we don't want to be paying the full £119.93 and would be willing to settle for 20% of the original full amount but i don't really know how we stand at the moment.

UPDATE:
Ive since contacted yorkshire water regarding the situation again and asked to settle, did a bit of arguing and they are obviously a bit unsure what to do as well, i said i would settle for 1/5th of the whole year which is £40 which they considered but declined. They have extended the deadline by 2 weeks and sounded sympathetic so we have time to try and sort it out in a civil fashion, i can understand why they don't want to be chasing everyone individually but said i would like to get some advice on the situation first.


Anyone have any advice on how we should approach it?

tallyhoh

Normally one persons name would be on the water bill. Where did the company get the info from that your partner was responsible? (apart from a records check)

sputty01

It seems the landlord somehow said he was no longer responsible in January without notifying anyone. All they will say is they did a records check and found her name, im assuming its the landlord who gave her name because i dont see how they would spell it incorrectly if it was off something she had filled in herself. They also informed me he called in august 2011 to change the name on the account again.

I think the landlord just noticed they had no rental agreement anymore and decided to take advantage once they had left and all the rent was paid up. I realise its a silly mistake but our point is it should be split.

prettypaula

not much help here, but myself and hubby were in a similar situation 4 years ago, we lived in a rented flat and the landlady had stated she was paying water rates, we never had a bill and when we moved out, 6 months later he found there was a CCJ on his file from severn trent.

they wouldnt have any of it and we have to pay it.

sadly, it seems you will need to pay it or risk a CCJ, water companies are reknowned for whakcing CCJs all over the place.

:mad:

jamesd

See what the Cambridge Water Company has to say about liability, noting that for properties in multiple occupation and short lets they may regard the landlord as the occupier. In which case all liability would be with the landlord.

Up to them whether they choose to take this route. It'd be cheaper and match what the agreement was and there is some justice in that.

If they have a copy of the past rental agreement stating that the landlord was responsible that may be of use even though it was for a different property. It is useful evidence of likely intent of the parties, not just a claim by the landlord.

Alternatively, they could accept responsibility for their portion and could:

1. Make a payment of one fifth of the amount of the bill for the time in the property. Use a cheque by post if necessary and state in that letter that this is full and final settlement of the one fifth of the bill that they are liable for.
2. Inform them that regrettably they don't have a forwarding address for the other former occupants and suggest writing to them for debt collection at the only known address, the one they were at, in the hope that letters will be forwarded.
3. Suggest contacting the landlord in case the landlord has details, subject to the OFT guidelines on letting third parties know about debt collection activity (which generally prohibits it).

"Who is liable to pay the bill

The occupier of the property is normally responsible for paying water charges. If someone shares accommodation, the liability is shared even if the bill is only in one name. An occupier who remains in a property after the person with whom they shared has left (for example, if partners have separated) may be held responsible for current charges and any arrears. The company may also seek to recover money owed by the person who has left the accommodation."

The water company dealing with student lets is really going to be better placed charging the landlord because the landlord is much easier to chase. Not so nice for metered supplies where the landlord can be liable for lots of metered water use, though.

vax2002

Without a full correct name and someone agreeing to represent that name, they have no contract, so did she give her details when asked ? if so now she knows why they required them.

Cardew

I hoped you might get better advice here than the water forum.

Firstly for any Utility bill all occupants can be held jointly and severally liable - comes up countless times - unless one tenant has his sole name on the account.

Secondly Utility companies routinely cannot cut off supplies - if you have used gas/electricty/water you have entered a contract with that company - termed a deemed contract with gas/electricity. Nobody signs a contract for Utilities these days - anyone signed one in the last 20 years?

Thirdly to say that the water company will find it easier to chase the Landlord might be so, but the landlord has no liability if ihe doesn't live in the property and it is occupied by someone else - unless the occupant can prove that the landlord is responsible for the bill.

Utility companies will not deal with a third person dispute if they have a name of an occupant, they will chase them for all money. How does the water company know if the OP's partner is telling the truth about other occupants etc etc(just to illustrate)

In this case the Water company will simply sell the debt to the DCA. For that sum they probably won't go to court - but it will affect her credit record.

Given the circumstances I would pay the full sum and then take the Landlord to the Small Claims court as he verbally agreed that he would pay the water bill - as he did in the first house.