Billed £1,000!

zudecke

Hi all,

Received a letter from Thames Water who are saying that they haven't been billing me for the 2 years I've lived there.

Apparently the arrears amount to £1k. If I don't respond to them by 28th March, confirming the amount of bedrooms in the property, they'll put me on the default 3-bed tariff.

As I received no notices from them or bills, I had always assumed the landlord was paying this, as he also pays the heating bills.

Naive I guess..

What can I expect here?

Thanks,

Z

jaybeetoo

Who does your tenant agreement say is responsible?

spacey2012

Agreed you need your tenancy agreement ASAP.
Also what type of property ? lodger, room, multi occupancy flat, self contained or house or 72 bedroom castle

Cardew

Does the property have a water meter? Although it sounds as if the property has an assessed charge - i.e. a meter cannot be fitted; that is the only case where number of bedrooms comes into play.

Have they sent a bill? Does it give the start date for the period of the bill?

Is the property a flat? Is it in a converted house?

macman

I'd check on your council tax too bill while you're about it....

zudecke

- No water metre
- Never received any bills or ANY contact from Thames Water whatsoever
- 1-bed property in a new(ish) build (8 years old)
- Tenant agreement makes no reference to water bill at all

Thanks for all the replies guys!

dan3811991119

zudecke wrote: »

- No water metre
- Never received any bills or ANY contact from Thames Water whatsoever
- 1-bed property in a new(ish) build (8 years old)
- Tenant agreement makes no reference to water bill at all

Thanks for all the replies guys!

As there is nothing in your contract this bill is YP.

Did you not think to phone when you did not get a bill?

Cardew

zudecke wrote: »

- No water metre
- Never received any bills or ANY contact from Thames Water whatsoever
- 1-bed property in a new(ish) build (8 years old)
- Tenant agreement makes no reference to water bill at all

Thanks for all the replies guys!

I really find it surprising that a property built only 8 years ago does not have a meter.

Post 1990 it was mandatory to have a water meter unless special dispensation was granted by the water company. Building Regulations would have stipulated a meter.

What does the bill say?

macman

zudecke wrote: »

- No water metre
- Never received any bills or ANY contact from Thames Water whatsoever
- 1-bed property in a new(ish) build (8 years old)
- Tenant agreement makes no reference to water bill at all

Thanks for all the replies guys!

If the STA makes no reference to it, then of course the charges are down to you, as occupier. It's your job to register for water and other utilities when you move in-the water utility have no idea when a tenancy changes, unless you tell them.
So, if the billing is correctly calculated, you'll have to pay it.

zudecke

How can I verify I've been "billed" correctly? They just sent a letter with a final amount on it and said that if they don't hear fro me by 28th March, they're going to bill me at the 3-bed rate (mines a 1-bed).

macman

zudecke wrote: »

How can I verify I've been "billed" correctly? They just sent a letter with a final amount on it and said that if they don't hear fro me by 28th March, they're going to bill me at the 3-bed rate (mines a 1-bed).

Yo haven't been billed yet. They've just made an estimate of your arrears. If Cardew's assessed charges theory is correct, once you confirm the no. of bedrooms you'll then get a bill based on that. So you've got 4 days left to contact them before they bill you based on the default 3 b/r basis.