Query on a water bill (new build)

stuhall1973

HI,

I am currently in receipt of a £800 water bill from my water company due to an oversight of the bill not being paid since i moved in to my new property which was built in December 2011.

I eventually realised this bill wasn't being paid the other day so i contacted my water company to advise them, they advised me that Bovis Homes never gave them a meter reading of the property on handover to myself, so they had no knowledge of this property being built, nor do they have a meter reading logged on their system for my property on handover from Bovis Homes for what they used. when i moved in I was told there needs to be an external reader on the outside of the property fitted and was told it was being sorted, but still after many phone calls this work was never done, nor has it still been done to this date. The water company have advised me that Bovis Homes should have provided a final meter reading and contact them with the owners details on completion as it's them who hold the meters in stock and fit them, so i am puzzled to why this never happened? I have also telephoned Bovis Homes and they also cannot provide me a meter reading from handover.

The bill itself is very excessive, and as i didn't really live in the property very much for the first 15 months, only living there on a regular basis since February 2013, so the house was barely used, so my conclusion is some of this bill belongs to them.

Does anyone know where I stand with this, as my emails to Bovis Homes seem to be ignored.

Any help appreciated

Stu.

macman

It's your job as occupier to register with the water utility on moving in, and submit an opening reading. Never rely on a third party to do this for you. You are liable for all usage since you moved in, so check the current reading and calculate what the bill should be from that.
If you didn't take a reading at handover, then you are on a hiding to nothing, as neither party can prove the actual usage, and so it has to be estimated.
You'll still be liable for all standing charges since handover, even if you didn't move in: this will account for some of the 'excess'.

Cardew

Unlike gas & electricity, there is no restriction on back-billing with water.

You are in a third party dispute with Bovis Homes, and the water company are entitled to their money.

samsmoot

Unsurprisingly, I completely disagree with the advice given so far.

If I were you I would ask Bovis to split the bill. They pay £400, you the same. I would write to the water company explaining that you dispute that you owe the whole amount, and also ask for detailed evidence of the charges purported to be owed. Tell them what you are prepared to pay and supply details of the joint debtor. Ask them to accept the £400 in full and final settlement.

What comes next may not be for you - it's something that carries a little risk. If the water company refuses to negotiate, and still want the £800 from you, then they can only force it from you by way of a civil claim in the County Court. Before they make the claim, however, they must notify you about it (letter before action). When they do that you should write to Bovis explaining that you are going to ask the court to add them as Defendants to the claim. The point of doing this is to get Bovis to either fork out the £400 to save them the expense and bother of defending a claim, or to get the judge to make an order against Bovis for half the amount - or whatever the judge decides. They definitely owe something.

In fact I would tell Bovis that if it goes to court you will be getting them Joined as Defendants in the event of any claim by the water company.

samsmoot

You could pay the water company half the money now. If you did that, and a court decided that that was all you were liable for, no judgement would need to be brought against you.

stuhall1973

Macman, i have been told by my water authority with it being a brand new build that it isn't my responsibility to inform them, that lies with my house builder.

Samsmoot, thanks for the advice and i will go down the route of writing to to water authority offering 50% payment as you stated, Bovis Homes are still ignoring all my emails so i feel i need to find out the name of the top man and give him a call to get this sorted.

Someone told me that the average water consumption per person is around 55 cubic meters a year of water on a meter, i've lived there properly for approx 8 months and with a few weekends the year before and the meter is reading 277, now by my reckoning that meter should be somewhere around the 55/60 mark, so to me Bovis homes should be liable for a good 75% worth, but if i offer them a 50% payment i don't think i'm being unfair, so thanks for the advice and i'll get onto this straight away.

I'll post back any outcomes.

Stu.

Cardew

stuhall1973 wrote: »

Bovis Homes are still ignoring all my emails so i feel i need to find out the name of the top man and give him a call to get this sorted.



I'll post back any outcomes.

Stu.

Write a recorded delivery letter to Bovis with a copy of emails.

State firmly that you will pursue the matter in the Small claims court if they don't settle their side of the account with the water company.

Bear in mind that, as said earlier, the dispute is between you and Bovis and not the water company.

samsmoot

Cardew wrote: »

Write a recorded delivery letter to Bovis with a copy of emails.

State firmly that you will pursue the matter in the Small claims court if they don't settle their side of the account with the water company.

Bear in mind that, as said earlier, the dispute is between you and Bovis and not the water company.

If you Join Bovis to any claim from the water company, or are able to get them Substituted as Defendants, you won't need to make any small claim - the judge will decide on who is responsible at that hearing. If he finds them not culpable then, another claim won't succeed.

The dispute actually will be between Bovis and the water company if you go this way.

matelodave

I suggest that you do regular weekly meter readings and record the results - that would give an average usage which could be used to demonstrate what you normal usage might be. You could extrapolate that backwards to when you purchased the property which would give an estimate of what your overall use might have been - the fact that you haven't lived in the place for all that time might be difficult to prove (unless you've got evidence), however you'll still have to stump up for service charges for the whole period.

stuhall1973

Absolute result. Many thanks to everyone for your advice, especially Samsmoot. Wrote to the water company today as you advised and they will accept £360 as full and final settlement (i offered £300) so that is a good result, and fair play to the water company for listening.

I really hope this helps someone else because clearly if you have q valid case they do listen.

Thank you

samsmoot

Brilliant!