Back-dated Water bill from 4 years ago.

KLW

Hi guys,

In need of a bit of help from some one that has been in the same situation I guess. In 2009 myself and another girl rented a two bedroom flat and obviously split the bills and rent in half and most importantly always paid our bills and rent in full and on time!

We rented the flat for 6 months but were only actually there for 5 months in total as we had both moved back into our parents homes. We gave a months notice on our tenancy so the flat stood empty for at least a month.

Part of the terms of the end of our tenancy meant we had to be able to prove that all bills etc were paid and the property was left in good clean condition to ensure we would get back our deposit which we did in full two months after the end date of our tenancy.

Today I got a call from my mother who tells me a water bill had arrived for £360... Obviously I was shocked.

I live over 200 miles away from my parents now so I haven't seen the letter yet but have been told that it's just my name on the letter, I don't even know the girl I once lived with anymore and wouldn't know where or how to find her.

I also have no letters or bills or anything from a flat I lived in 4 years ago for 5 months, I barely remember living there. I've lived in 4 different homes since then in 3 different cities.

Even if it does turn out that I owe money to the water company £360 seems a lot for 5 months in a very basic flat, we didn't have a washing machine or dishwasher or anything like that.

Would appreciate any help on how to tackle this from people that might have had a similar situation before.

Thanks!

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

I think this would have been better posted in the The Water Bills Board.

macman

You are both jointly and severally liable for the bill, not for half of it-and-the water co. will come after whoever they can find first, and that's you. Any division of the bill between you is a third party matter and not the concern of the water co. They can back bill you up to 6 years, so 4 years is quite valid.
Even if the flat was empty, you are still liable for standing charges and RV charges during that period, as you were still the tenant.
Basics: does the bill correspond to the period of occupation?
Did you register with the water co. and make payments on account while you were there?
Was the property metered or billed on rateable value (if the latter, your usage is not relevant)?
Did you notify the water co. of your end of tenancy date (and give final readings if metered)?

KLW

Oh I see, to be honest it was so long ago I really don't remember anything about the flat or the bills or the meter but I'm 100% we would have paid after all we got our full deposit released to us.

I'm going to ask for a bill break down and take it from there afterwards

macman

Hmm, major misunderstanding here. Unless your rental agreement included the water, your LL has nothing to do with your water (and other) utility bills. They're the responsibility of the tenants, both to register for and to pay. He/she wouldn't (and indeed couldn't) retain part of your deposit in lieu of any unpaid utility bills, not would he/she need to, as it's not his/her bill to pay.
If you didn't register upon arrival and then inform the water co. when you ended the tenancy, then you may well be paying someone else's bill. So you need to get the full billing info, and you can then work out if the calculation is correct.

Cardew

The situation is as macman states.


Assuming your water was metered, you will have a hard job proving you didn't use all the water. If you can PROVE your dates of occupation you might get relief from the standing charges - but they tend to be a small proportion of the total bill.


If you were not metered, and again you can PROVE your dates of occupation, you could get a considerable rebate.