Watet bill letter

victoriav · 23 January 2020 at 7:48PM

My water company keeping sending a letter saying we missed a payment. But we havent. Each letter says we must pay a larger sum than what is stated in our monthly payment slip. Anybody had the same incident? We are keeping on paying the payment slip amount but the letters keep arriving. It says the installment monthly will be cancelled if we dont pay the higher amount. But we just keep paying as normal. It seems odd. Could it be a scam?

MovingForwards · 23 January 2020 at 8:06PM

Have you telephoned them to ask what is going on? Are you paying after the payment is due for the month? Have you not got it set up on direct debit to avoid any issues?

victoriav · 23 January 2020 at 9:16PM

Hi i do not use direct debit for any bills whatsoever due to banks allowing higher sums than agreed to go out, then charging for overdrawn. So unfortunately when i complained to lloyds bank they shut my account down. So, no bank account. This happened several times and no satisfactory outcome. I have rang but no body seems to know what is happening. Also no call back as promised, has materialised, hence asking on here. Also its paid on the day its meant to be, even when i had an operation my neibor paid it and on time, as i am aware that being in hospital ill is no exvuse for not paying your bills....Thanks for reply movingforwards.

elsien · 23 January 2020 at 9:20PM

Do the payment slips tally with the amount payable for the full year?
Which payment do they say you've missed and can you evidence otherwise.
You need to contact them in writing asking them to evidence where the missing payment is from. Use their formal complaints procedure if you need to.
Which water company is it?

MovingForwards · 23 January 2020 at 9:37PM

I do not use direct debit for any bills whatsoever due to banks allowing higher sums than agreed to go out, then charging for overdrawn. So unfortunately when i complained to lloyds bank they shut my account down. So, no bank account.
-- how do you pay them if you have no bank account?

Also its paid on the day its meant to be, even when i had an operation my neibor paid it and on time,
-- this this is where your issue is.
If it's due on the 1st if every month and you are not paying until the 1st, the payment will be late as it takes time to process your payment.
-- on their bills / payment slips it says how long each payment method takes.

victoriav · 24 January 2020 at 11:15AM

Hi movingforwards, there is an alternative to paying direct debit and this is where they send you a payment booklet or payment slips, sometimes duplicate booklets, sometimes booklets and also payment slips. So this is how a person can still manage to have access to a method which allows them to be able to pay if they cannot have a bank account. For about 14 years i have used this method. Until now thete has been no problem. The slips/ booklet says the payment due date. This is the date it gets paid on. For 14 years this has been fine. No issue. I cant understand the reason for the letters. I have all my payment proofs and booklets for the entire time.

victoriav · 24 January 2020 at 11:22AM

With regard to paying it a week before its due, surely that would count as not paying it in accordance with their instructions? ie say for arguments sake my payment day is the 5th of every month. For more than a decade i did just this, as my booklet instructed. Via payzone. Does anybody else pay a week before its due i wonder? With technology advancing all the time i really cannot see how a cash payment would not be instant and would need clearance.? I can't quite get my head round that.

MovingForwards · 24 January 2020 at 12:24PM

I had a payment book years ago, the payment due date is the date it has to be received and allocated to your account by the water company, therefore as you are paying it on the due date, your payment is late.

The cash payment is not instant as it goes through a third party payment system, before reaching the water company's bank, it then needs to get allocated from their bank to your account.

victoriav · 25 January 2020 at 12:40PM

Thanks movingforwards, so then, for 14 years ?...approx ? i have been using payzone and paying my waterbill on the date it says it is payable on..it doesnt state that this is the date it must reach them by.....and only now are they sending letters saying i have missed a payment, and no payment has been missed ...i have followed their instructions. I would be interested to know what the additional £10 is..why it was added and what for. Something doesnt quite add up here. ...

MovingForwards · 25 January 2020 at 12:57PM

The additional money will be to spread your water bill over the remaining months, before the new bill is due.

victoriav · 25 January 2020 at 2:42PM

Ah..so the installments that have been calculated from the sum owing for the year which have been divided into 12 - one for each month, have not been calculated accurately? But that makes no sense....? Because if its say for instance i owe for their water for a year £1200, so a hundred per month..then they say i missed a payment and must pay £110 the following month..where has the extra £10 come from,.what would it be for and if it hasnt already been included in what i owe then what is it for? Bearing in mind no payment has ever been missed...

Watet bill letter

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