help need on water rates

tc1992

i have lived in a 1 bedroom flat for 7 years.
i have never been contacted by any water companies, until very recently.
i had assumed that my water was paid for by the landlord (i guess because nobody had ever contacted me), and really given it no thought

about a week ago i received a charge of £376.63 from United Utilitities (letter was adressed to the Occupier), saying that if i did not pay within 14 days they would start legal proceedings.

i messaged the landlord, who said that water rates are my responsiblity. i phoned UU and explained the situation. They have told me that they will cancel the bill, and set me up with an account.

In the time i have been in the flat, i have been on either JSA or Incapacity until Febuary this year. i have been on Housing Benefit the whole time.

so my questions are:

1) did the JSA/Incapacity pay my rates, hence never recieving a bill until recently.
2) do i have any choice who to pick as my water supplier, like i do with electrcity?

Cardew

Firstly, no you have no choice of water company.

Secondly if you haven't paid water charges for 7 years, the charges going back 6 years(the maximum period) would normally be way more than £376. Very few people pay less than £150 a year either on a meter or not.

So you will have to look at the dates on the bill to see what period it covers. I can't see JSA/Incapacity having paid your bill as the water company would then have your name and not address the bill to The Occupier.'

tc1992

thanks. i didn't think that jsa did pay for it, but i couldn't find any other reason that they had never contacted me before. guess i just got very lucky, as they agrred to scratch the 300 odd quid demand, and there was no mention of having to pay for all the other previous time / years

macman

The water utility are not psychic, it's up to you to register for the utilities when you move into the property.
Your STA will specify what services are included, and if it doesn't say water, then that's your responsibility.
I wouldn't protest too much to UU though, as you appear to have been billed far less than what you actual owe over 6 years.
Are you saying that they have now cancelled the entire bill of £376?
Have you considered applying for a meter?