Help water debt

wobblybobbly66

not sure if im in the right place but looking for some advice i have recently been recieving letters from a company called uk search limited for a water debt of 5,592.00 im not denying that the debt isnt mine but would like some advice back in 2012 i had a letter from a debt collecter known as eos-soulutions for an outstanding balance of 891.93 i contacted them with a proposal and never had a reply so the debt has grown and grown i tried to contact southern water and they would just reply that i needed to contact the debt collecter it also says on my bills for information only the debt collection agency will collect these charges how when i havent heard anything in nearly 6 yrs up until recently when i started recieving letters from Uk Search Ltd i have today recieved a letter from someone called Shulmans a LETTER BEFORE COURT ACTION it says in the letter that the charges are from 1/04/2010 to 18/04/18 and that i have 30 days to reply my question is it possible from this information to get the debt statute barred as its over 6years and if so how any advice would be great my apologies for the long winded confusing post

Westie983

Hi,

I dont have any answers for you but I would suggest you write to the debt collector not ring so you have a paper trail, asking how the debt is broken down.

The letter sating letter before court action is from a different company? does it relate to the water debt or is that another issue?

You mention about finding out if the debt is statue barred, have you made any payments or acknowledged this debt within 6 years? if the answer is no then you may well be okay, but if its yes then the clock starts from that payment date.

Hopefully someone else with more knowledge will come along and give you the guidance and information you require.

Westie983

Fireflyaway

I'd contact the company and see what arrangements you can come to. Even if a debt is statute barred it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it just limits what methods can be used to enforce. Write and explain you are willing to pay the debt but feel the charges are disproportionate and see what they say.

-taff

If it could be statute barred then find out first. I wouldn't offer to anything just yet, and if it's statue barred defnitely not.


When did you last actually pay them anything? When did you send the letter in 2012?

Willing2Learn

wobblybobbly66 wrote: »

... i have today recieved a letter from someone called Shulmans a LETTER BEFORE COURT ACTION it says in the letter that the charges are from 1/04/2010 to 18/04/18 and that i have 30 days to reply my question is it possible from this information to get the debt statute barred as its over 6years and if so how any advice would be great my apologies for the long winded confusing post

Hi, you need to reply to the Letter Before Action within 30 days. I think you have a reply form enclosed with the LBA. If you don't respond, then you will have a court judgement made against you.

It is my understanding (I'm not an expert), that only a part of your bill could be statute barred as it is a rolling bill. There are also rules about back-billing that may apply to you. I advise you to contact CAB or a equivalent for further advice.

National_Debtline

Hi there and welcome to MSE,


This is quite a complicated situation, and it may be best to contact one of the free debt charities to discuss in more detail. Under the limitations act a debt can be statute barred if there has been a 6 year block of time since it fell due, with no payment, no written acknowledgement and no court action started. The start of limitations period for water is when the bill is first received by the consumer.


So, it is possible that some of this debt 2010 - 2012 may be statute barred, however, anything after 2012 is very unlikely to be as this seems to be the water bill for your current home, and that is why it has increased so significantly because no water has been paid since 2010/2012. You should've received a water bill twice a year, but according to Ofwat you will still owe the money even if no bill was sent.


You must reply to the Letter before action, you have 30days and must use the reply form. You have several choices, one of which is to state that you are seeking debt advice. The creditor should allow time for this and if you cannot get advice within the 30 days you should say why on the reply form and the creditor should allow reasonable time for this. The creditor should not start court proceedings within 30days of the reply form or 30 days of sending documents requested by the individual, whichever is the later.


Laura
@natdebtline

Maria0680

wobblybobbly66 wrote: »

not sure if im in the right place but looking for some advice i have recently been recieving letters from a company called uk search limited for a water debt of 5,592.00 im not denying that the debt isnt mine but would like some advice back in 2012 i had a letter from a debt collecter known as eos-soulutions for an outstanding balance of 891.93 i contacted them with a proposal and never had a reply so the debt has grown and grown i tried to contact southern water and they would just reply that i needed to contact the debt collecter it also says on my bills for information only the debt collection agency will collect these charges how when i havent heard anything in nearly 6 yrs up until recently when i started recieving letters from Uk Search Ltd i have today recieved a letter from someone called Shulmans a LETTER BEFORE COURT ACTION it says in the letter that the charges are from 1/04/2010 to 18/04/18 and that i have 30 days to reply my question is it possible from this information to get the debt statute barred as its over 6years and if so how any advice would be great my apologies for the long winded confusing post on water

Found any solution to the above issue?