Advice please: large unexpected bill

tizzype

Evening!

Today my partner has received a debt letter for an outstanding water bill, this is a little over £4000! He lived in his two bed flat about 3/4 years with a friend and moved out nearly 3 years ago. He told me some time ago the water company demanded this amount from him which he refused as how can he use that much water even for the whole duration of the time he was there. They apparently said they were going to do investigations as on reflection did seem high and 5 years down the line this is the first he’s heard about it! Apparently in the flat there was a slight leak for a couple of weeks but even then surely it can’t be that high? The flat was private rental which he no longer has the tenancy agreement to check anymore and thought water was inclusive with the rent. 

He is going to call the debt agency tomorrow and request copies of bills (he cannot recall if the original letter had his flat mate on there too). Yes, he probably should of chased this years ago with the water company when he didn’t hear back...

Any suggestions or advice on what he can do? I can understand maybe a bit is owed if he was responsible instead of the leaseholder but that amount is just ridiculous!

Thank you in advance.

Theroadtoruin

Did this flat have a swimming pool? That's an insane amount for water. 

Get the facts, gather as much information as possible which will be more difficult to do than a few years back. Don't make any payments to the debt at all at this point though, communicate and work out what has happened, who is liable and then decide what to do. Is he in contact with his flatmate and are they a reasonable person? Surely if they are and he is liable they'll agree to pay their half.

monetxchange

That sounds completely wrong amount wise, but it's important your partner tracks down if he was the account holder. If the water was included in the rent, why would it be in his name rather than the landlords and why would he be communicating with the water company directly back then? Sounds like he had an account with them at some stage. Can he try and search through his emails to see if there was anything in there relating to the tenancy? Is there anything on his credit file? It's only three years ago so shouldn't be too historic yet. Then hopefully he can get this ludicrous bill investigated properly!

Galloglass

One of the places to start is the Consumer Council for Water and their estimates for water use. This should be the basis of a calculation of use. The second issue is to track down (with the water companies help) if there is any leak that would mean you are using more that the CCW average. The occupier is responsible for excess water use on their side of the water meter.
https://www.ccwater.org.uk/households/using-water-wisely/averagewateruse/

Water meters are accurate as they are manufactured to a standard so you can [usually] rule them out. Leaks on the consumer side are far more common. Another common but unreported source of error is the internal plumbing in places of multiple occupancy where one flat has a meter for all the other flats and the use if not apportioned. Perhaps a word with the landlord on that one.

Lastly, if you can't come to an agreement, then use the complaints system and escalate to the CCW if need be. I'm going to put my money on one meter and multiple homes.

Andyjflet

I suspect this debt would include costs from the collection agency etc ?

monetxchange

Galloglass said:

One of the places to start is the Consumer Council for Water and their estimates for water use. This should be the basis of a calculation of use. The second issue is to track down (with the water companies help) if there is any leak that would mean you are using more that the CCW average. The occupier is responsible for excess water use on their side of the water meter.
https://www.ccwater.org.uk/households/using-water-wisely/averagewateruse/

Water meters are accurate as they are manufactured to a standard so you can [usually] rule them out. Leaks on the consumer side are far more common. Another common but unreported source of error is the internal plumbing in places of multiple occupancy where one flat has a meter for all the other flats and the use if not apportioned. Perhaps a word with the landlord on that one.

Lastly, if you can't come to an agreement, then use the complaints system and escalate to the CCW if need be. I'm going to put my money on one meter and multiple homes.

Would this still work if he no longer lives in the premises? Would be good if they could get an investigation, but it sounds like this all happened three years ago and not sorted then, and now the debt is being chased rather than the cause being determined.

Galloglass

and now the debt is being chased rather than the cause being determined.

A good point if this is a historical debt. Perhaps the OP will come back and confirm. In the absence of fact, the CCW figures can be used to challenge it should it go to court. 

tizzype

Thanks all for your responses. My partner called the debt agency today and they advised that the water company instructed them to close the case as they sent it in error. They are not sure why they have though and confirmed the account was in a joint account with his flat mate and the amount demanded from the water company was £4,432. Would it be worth calling the water company to ask why? We and the debt agency are unsure of bill dates but my partner thinks the original discussion with the water company was about 2015 after a year or so living in the flat (he moved out in 2017). My partner is very hesitant to call though! My feeling is monetxchange is right with it being one meter for all six flats; I know quite a few leaseholders pay a service charge to the freeholder which includes a proportionment for water... 

Galloglass

my partner thinks the original discussion with the water company was about 2015 

You can get the information you need indirectly by doing a Subject Access Request. You can search for the contact details here:

https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Search?EC=1

You could also ask the debt collector for their information too. See what was passed to them and what they passed back.

ryanm8655

One thing...

I once had a similar bill but for electricity. I had only just moved in to the flat and for some reason they sent me an electricity bill, which was meant for the leaseholders. It was several thousands and pretty daunting. Had I not just moved in I’d have panicked. I called them and resolved it though, didn’t just ignore thinking it’d go away on its own.

I wouldn’t assume anything and make sure you get a resolution. I wouldn’t take the DCAs word, the water company may just pass it to another. That does sound crazy even with a leak...

A lot of flats have one metre for the block, most flats I’ve lived in have included water. Doesn’t explain why it’s in your partner’s name though. 

monetxchange

I once had similar with electric in that the meters had simply been labelled wrong for every flat in a 50 flat block. Ours was two floors up in an electrical cupboard for no apparent reason! Took me ages to get the right bill estimated.