Name (maliciously?) added to Water Bill from a house I left 2 years ago...

supashammy

Hi,
I received a call this morning from a debt collector. Laughably they called me then put me on hold.

When I got through to an advisor I was told I had a 2 year debt (£600ish from April 2010-April 2012) with Thames Water from a previous property.

As a 'living out of a suitcase' self-employed chap it took a while to play the address match security game with the unknown agent.

I finally worked out which propery it was. It was a self contained flat I stayed in from January to March in 2010.

I was paying nearly £800 a month to a landlord who seemingly ran away to Jamaica the moment I moved in. He was completely uncontactable about numerous issues I had with the flat, and then actually denied I had paid rent one time. Nightmare.

I ended up leaving at the end of March and moved in with my girlfriend. The landlord agreed the move when we suddenly appeared on the doorstep the week I was moving out and said he wanted me out as soon as possible so someone else could move in (poor blighter).

During all this time the monthly £800 included all bills.

What should I do?

My main concerns are

1) Stop the hassle;
2) Remove any badness on my credit file regarding this
3) Find out who put my name on this bill
4) Find out whether I have other unpaid debts from other companies associated with this property.
5) Anything else I should be concerned about here!?

mart.vader

Simple enough - Write to Water Co, Tell them you vacated the flat in March 2010, before the bill was incurred (April 2010-April 2012) and its not your bill.

supashammy

mart.vader wrote: »

Simple enough - Write to Water Co, Tell them you vacated the flat in March 2010, before the bill was incurred (April 2010-April 2012) and its not your bill.

Thanks for your response.

I think your answer is in response to the 1st concern I have: The Hassle...

I am not sure I have any evidence of when I actually left the flat. The contract was deemed ended verbally.

The landlord was liable for the water rates so my name should never have been put on this bill and it was only put on after I moved out. I'm concerned that whoever put my name on this bill has also put my name on other bills which I am yet to be chased for.

supashammy

Will the Water Company naturally remove any badness on my credit report?

Gothicfairy

supashammy wrote: »

Will the Water Company naturally remove any badness on my credit report?

No

As far as they are concerned you owe them the money and legally as a tenant they can case you for it.
You have to prove it to them not the other way around I am afraid and as for getting the details of who added your name to the account...no chance.

You need to find something to prove your responsibility dates or this could well end up with a CCJ

macman

It is unusual for water, electricity or gas to be included in a rental, because it's potentially a blank cheque for the tenant. Was this clearly stated in your STA?

mart.vader

supashammy wrote: »

Thanks for your response.

I think your answer is in response to the 1st concern I have: The Hassle...

I am not sure I have any evidence of when I actually left the flat. The contract was deemed ended verbally.

The landlord was liable for the water rates so my name should never have been put on this bill and it was only put on after I moved out. I'm concerned that whoever put my name on this bill has also put my name on other bills which I am yet to be chased for.

Tell them when you left the flat,. - if you can find any evidence that you lived elsewhere, i.e. bank statement, utility bill, letters, employment records, anything dated March 2010 with your name and another address on it.

If you want to send them a copy, do so. If they wish to accept this - then fine. If they don't - dispute the debt.

According to the OFT guidelines on debt recovery, if the debt is disputed, they cannot pass it to a debt recovery agency.

"Badness"? on your credit record should not be appearing for a disputed debt.

Cardew

mart.vader wrote: »

According to the OFT guidelines on debt recovery, if the debt is disputed, they cannot pass it to a debt recovery agency.

However he didn't dispute the debt with the water company; for the very good reason he wasn't told there was a debt, let alone that he left the flat March 2010 and the outstanding bill runs from April 2010.

I doubt the DCA will have a bill from Thames Water in the OP's name. The DCA will have been given his details by someone, landord or current tenant?? and the DCA bloodhounds attack.

Unfortunately 'innocent until proven guilty' is not something the DCAs worry about.

It will save a lot of hassle if the OP can prove he lived elsewhere for the period in dispute.

In the Debt Free Wannabe section of MSE I have seen some very good advice on how to write to a DCA when disputing a claim.

Gothicfairy

Problem is of course that he does owe something and should have had an account, what his landlord told him is nothing to do with the water company, they just want paying.

He really needs to find something to back up his story ( not saying I don't believe him just that they will not care) and once he has something they can get it sorted.
other then finding some evidence I am not sure what else there is but court.

Cardew

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Problem is of course that he does owe something and should have had an account, what his landlord told him is nothing to do with the water company, they just want paying.

It appears the bill is RV based as it is for 2 years from April 2010 to April 2012.

So it is apparent that the bill was paid for year 2009/10(i.e. to end March 2010) and as the OP left in March 2010, he owes nothing toward the bill the DCA have in their possession.

Gothicfairy

But if he never told them he moved in or out they will chase him from the date they are given and it is down to him to prove otherwise.