Do I have to pay a bill if my name isn't on it?

Neo-sharp

New member here looking for some help if possible?

I've received a number of bills from a utilities company relating to surface water & highway drainage charges, I live in an apartment block. The bills aren't addressed to me personally but 'the occupier' so I have ignored them rightly or wrongly. I've now had a letter from their legal dept. threatening legal action, ccjs etc. The question I have is can they pursue/enforce anything without my name being on the bill?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Torry_Quine

does the bill cover the period when you have lived there and have you informed them when you took up residence.

Neo-sharp

Thanks for the quick response. It's roughly accurate to when I moved in but I haven't given them my details hence why I think it's not showing my name. Could they get my data from anywhere else? Thanks

HappyMJ

They can get information from other sources but you do not have to answer any mail addressed to "the occupier". They must have your name to get a ccj.

Neo-sharp

Ok so is it best to continue ignoring the bills if they don't have my name or shall I contact them to give them my details? Cheers

HappyMJ

Neo-sharp wrote: »

Ok so is it best to continue ignoring the bills if they don't have my name or shall I contact them to give them my details? Cheers

If you accept liability for the bills then I would contact them. They'll find out eventually who you are from the land registry if you are the owner. If you are the tenant the landlord will inform them who you are. It might take a long time.

kitschkitty

On a related point even people in apartment blocks have to pay for surface water & highway drainage charges.

When I lived in a tiny bedsit I had to pay it as part of my waste water bill. I actually phoned up the company to query this as the bill was the same for people in tiny bedsits as it was for people in their own houses.

I said to the lady on the phone "so you're telling me this is just a way for your company to make more money, no matter how many people live in one property under the same roof they all have to pay" and she actually said yes - outright!

It's crazy!

So anyway you are liable for the wastewater bill including surface water & highway drainage charges, it's up to you if you pay up now, or make the company chase you/your landlord, to find your details, and then take you to court if necessary etc.

Cardew

You are most certainly liable to pay bills addressed to The Occupier.

You need to read the relevant acts of Parliament if you have any doubts.

When you occupy a property as soon as you use any servicesyou have entered into a legally binding 'deemed contract' with the supplier.

Before the Gas, Electricity and Water Acts of Parliament, unless the new occupant made prior arrangements the services could be disconnected when the old occupant left and the new occupant would have to make arrangements for them to be re-connected. To enable people to move into a property with the services still connected - the deemed contract provision was included in the Acts.

How do you suppose the Utility company could find out when an empty property had been re-occupied and the name of the occupant responsible for the bills, unless the occupant informed them? If we all could escape paying legitimate bills simply by not giving our name to the company, how many would ever pay.


The letter to The Occupier explains what action you must take.

Cardew

kitschkitty wrote: »

On a related point even people in apartment blocks have to pay for surface water & highway drainage charges.

When I lived in a tiny bedsit I had to pay it as part of my waste water bill. I actually phoned up the company to query this as the bill was the same for people in tiny bedsits as it was for people in their own houses.

I said to the lady on the phone "so you're telling me this is just a way for your company to make more money, no matter how many people live in one property under the same roof they all have to pay" and she actually said yes - outright!

It's crazy!

So anyway you are liable for the wastewater bill including surface water & highway drainage charges, it's up to you if you pay up now, or make the company chase you/your landlord, to find your details, and then take you to court if necessary etc.

You are certainly correct about the Surface Water Drainage(SWD) situation being crazy - particularly for blocks of flats.

However you are incorrect in blaming the water companies.

Firstly it is a requirement of the Water Act(of Parliament) that the 'default' position is that all properties must pay for SWD and occupants must apply for the charge to be waived if their surface water doesn't enter the sewerage system.(enters a soakaway etc)

Clearly it is a nonsense that, say, in a 20 storey block of flats, each flat should pay a SWD charge. However that is something to take up with your MP as the water companies have no way of not charging.

Secondly your statement 'this is just a way for your company to make more money,' shows a lack of understanding of how water companies are financed.

The Regulator(ofwat) stipulates how much revenue each water company can raise and hence their profit level for a 5 year period.

So it wouldn't matter a cent to the water companies if they charged all flat occupants £100 for SWD or nothing. If it were nothing for SWD then they would simply be allowed to raise their other water charges to compensate and still make the same £xxmillion.

So the point is there is absolutely no incentive for the water companies to overcharge and they are bound by the Water Act to raise certain charges.

Neo-sharp

Thank you all for your responses and info, I've decided that for what it's worth I'll contact them and just pay the bill!

kitschkitty

Cardew wrote: »

You are certainly correct about the Surface Water Drainage(SWD) situation being crazy - particularly for blocks of flats.

However you are incorrect in blaming the water companies.

Firstly it is a requirement of the Water Act(of Parliament) that the 'default' position is that all properties must pay for SWD and occupants must apply for the charge to be waived if their surface water doesn't enter the sewerage system.(enters a soakaway etc)

Clearly it is a nonsense that, say, in a 20 storey block of flats, each flat should pay a SWD charge. However that is something to take up with your MP as the water companies have no way of not charging.

Secondly your statement 'this is just a way for your company to make more money,' shows a lack of understanding of how water companies are financed.

The Regulator(ofwat) stipulates how much revenue each water company can raise and hence their profit level for a 5 year period.

So it wouldn't matter a cent to the water companies if they charged all flat occupants £100 for SWD or nothing. If it were nothing for SWD then they would simply be allowed to raise their other water charges to compensate and still make the same £xxmillion.

So the point is there is absolutely no incentive for the water companies to overcharge and they are bound by the Water Act to raise certain charges.

Thats very interesting, thank you for the info (proves the woman on the end of the phone was well versed - she should have told me that not said yes)!

I was just thinking that based on my bills (water supply from one company and waste water from another) it's amazing to think we live in a country where a clean constant water supply costs less than half of what waste water services cost, though it is understandable that treating waste water costs a lot!