huge water bill

susieanne

We have been struggling to pay our water bill after getting a huge bill they wanted us to pay £147 per month there was no way we could afford this so for the last 6 months we have buried our heads in the sand .

We have now received court papers saying they are going for a CCJ against us . Im not bothered about our credit rating as its bad anyway but what exactly does this mean ? I have put on the court papers we will pay back £30 per month do you think they will agree with this amount what if we cant keep up this agreement what next for us ?

Also can they make us have a water meter fitted ?

Cardew

With water bills based on Rateable Value(RV) you should know in advance exactly how much you have to pay in the forthcoming year(April to March) . So a huge bill can only be because you defaulted on payments.

Why would they force you to have a water meter(they probably can) if you cannot/will not pay your water bills based on RV?

If you are not bothered about your credit record, the good news is they cannot cut off your water supply.

With a court order they can of course send in baliffs to seize goods. However you are better seeking advice on that issue in other sections of MSE where they have turned avoidance of debts into an art form.

macman

Since £30 pm will probably not even cover your ongoing usage, let only your arrears, it's hardly likely to be acceptable.
Since you are on RV billing, you must know what your annual charge is, and how much you are in arrears. So how come a 'huge bill'?
You might actually be better off with a metered supply.
A CCJ on your file will last for 6 years and pretty much put paid to any form of credit during that time. Can you really afford that?

samsmoot

If I weren't bothered with getting a bad credit rating (which I'm not) I'd not bother paying anything at all (which I don't). If a judgement was made against you they'd have to find a way of enforcing it, which they can do by various means including attachments from wages or a charge on your property. I wouldn't worry too much about bailiffs. If you are not working and don't own your property they have little by way of a comeback.

An alternative (which they don't often tell you about) is to ask for the claim to be held up whilst you apply to the water company's Charitable trust for help with the charges. Or you could agree the payments (if they also agree), then seek help from the Trust after. But if you do pay some of the charges it might look as if you can afford them - perhaps £2 per week would be sensible, as the Trusts like to see you are at least trying.

Turtle

You have a good chance of being better off on a meter anyway - our monthly rates were £52, on a meter we pay £25 (2 people, 3 bedrooms, out at work all day).