Remove water bill default

Grandmawild27

Hi all,

I appreciate any help at all you can give me with this issue, here goes:
In December 2018 I moved into a rented flat, my landlord didn't mention anything about water rates and as they are often included in the rent for leasehold flats in the area I lived so I (foolishly) assumed this would be the case with the flat I moved into.
Sometime in May of 2019 my landlord phoned me and said he had received a bill from Welsh Water for the water and sewage rates since I had moved into the flat, I payed the landlord directly and I understand he paid the bill to Welsh Water.
I moved out of the flat in July 2019 and didn't think any more about it.
Earlier this year (around May 2020) I received at my new address a letter from a debt collection agency, telling me that I owed a debt of £69 to Welsh Water, I rang the debt collector and queried why I had received the letter, they said they could provide the bill from Welsh Water and I asked them to send this to me.
Having now checked my credit file I can see that I have an account in default with Welsh Water, the default was entered in January 2020 and is for the £69 amount.
I have telephoned Welsh Water and they told me that I could pay the bill and satisfy the account, but it would still show as a default on my credit file.
I asked if they could remove the default if I paid and they told me they would not 'as the default was recorded accurately and they can't give incorrect information to the credit reference agency (Experian)'.
I consider this to be grossly unfair as I knew nothing about this bill, let alone the default until I received the letter from the debt collector.
I will write to Welsh Water complaining formally and asking for the default to be removed, any advice on this letter would be hugely appreciated!
Also, what are my options going forward, how do I best get this unfair default removed from my credit file?

D3xt3r5L4b

You need to update your creditors/lenders when you move to provide a forwarding address for any final bills etc.

The default is fair and still stands.

[Deleted User]

The default won't be removed unless you can prove the account was fraudulently opened in your name.

Did you not get any correspondence re your account in the time you were living there?

Grandmawild27

I had no contact with Welsh water during the time I lived there, my landlord was the one who paid them

The_Fat_Controller

I think you'll be fighting a losing battle to get it removed, it'll just show as settled once you pay what you owe.

Grandmawild27

I don't see at all how this is fair, I never opened any account with this company and never had any contact with them until I received a letter from a debt collector!  Surely it is not acceptable for my landlord to open an account in my name without ever informing me?

PRAISETHESUN

You'll need to look at your previous tenancy agreement to see whether it was you or your landlord who was responsible for your water bills. It'll be spelt out pretty clearly. If it is you who was responsible, then I'm afraid you're probably out of luck. If it was your landlord who is responsible, then you need to provide evidence to the debt collectors that it is not your responsibility to pay the bill and therefore they need to cancel the default. You may also want to think about getting in touch with your landlord to get back your money for not actually using it to pay your bill as he said he did...

User_101122

There's very little chance of getting it removed. It will be updated as satisfied but will remain for 6 years from the date of entry. 
Always provide a forwarding address to your utility providers so that any bills etc can be forwarded on, it saves your credit file being trashed for 6 years for the sake of £69.00.

D3xt3r5L4b

If you owed the money from your tenancy then landlord probably gave them your name as the tenant