A few years ago I was evicted from my home. The water company took out several charging orders based on their legal costs then an order for sale. This was all based on rainwater drainage charges as there was and still is no water connected to the property. they never changed the title at the land registry resulting in me being relentlessly pursued for all the costs associated with the property which I have paid. just over a year ago I tried the back door key and it still worked! Nobody has been in the house my question is whether there is a time limit that to change the title after which it would revert to being my property? The house is in derelict condition and clearly not at all what anyone was expecting.

Sadly, it is now over one year ago, and the house is long gone. Yes, the alleged debt was paid, but huge costs were awarded and the judge agreed that the repossession could be based on these costs rather than the alleged debt that had been paid. I know that the whole procedure should have been started over for this reason, but it was not. The judge reasoned that the money paid could be used for any reason and could therefore be counted as part payment of the costs (which were not yet awarded at the time of the payment) rather than payment of the debt! My barrister was stunned and very ill prepared as he was so completely sure that it would go my way, considering the evidence and disproportionate action. The very hard and expensive lesson I learned is that judges are in a too powerful position so when they have a vested interest, whatever that may be, the law no longer has any meaning at all. I actually suspect that the main motivation for most judges aspiring to their position is power and extreme greed. Also, how is it that judges are allowed to reserve cases to themselves? Do they really have so little faith in their colleagues, or are there other reasons for this? It is obvious to me that the individual cannot stand in the way of big business. the rich will continue to get richer at any cost.

Sorry for the delayed response because of my lack of internet. In court it seems to depend entirely on the judge. Some of them who have actually looked at the details just dismissed the case, but a couple of judges in particular seem so biased in favour of utilities that they granted liability orders than meant I had to pay regardless of anything. I have provided evidence of my new address and really can't understand why bills keep cropping up in my name. I can only guess that if they can manage to get money through court action, regardless of whether the money is owed, they'll just keep on with it? Can I perhaps obtain a court order to force them to take my name off the bill?

Hi, can anyone here help with advice? I moved from a house several years ago but a couple of the utilities refuse to remove me from the bill. In particular, the water company even added a subsequent tenant to my name to create a joint account with somebody I don't even know. They keep taking me to court as well and if it were not for a friendly ex-neighbour who keeps collecting post and sending it on to me, I woudn't even know about it. As it is, I've tried reasoning with the company but they say that it is against policy to remove a name from a bill which is subject to court action, and they keep taking me to court. I did all the right things in notifying them and writing by special delivery etc... How can I get out of this mess? The gas company has behaved in a similar way, sending bills in my name and taking me to court over them but the strange thing is that there never was any gas supply to the property.

They are very devious and employ a large number of solicitors both in house and externally. They have judges who will reserve the case to themselves, and they took out a number of charging orders for their legal costs of recovering a debt which did not exist. My mortgage company even wrote objecting to the charging orders, but the judge just approved them. Then they went for order for sale, after order for sale, after order for sale, and each time the thousands of pounds the judge granted them for the order of sale procedure was made into another charging order and so on down the ever increasing spiral. In the end, it came down to either handing the keys back to the mortgage company, and at least not owing them as much money (It was in negative equity), or letting the house be taken by AW who would have taken it all in administration fees, and still owing the mortgage. AW are not just another utility. With any other utility you can change to a different one. Have you tried changing your water company because they behave unfairly? The other way they are different is that under normal circumstances, you have to either borrow money or buy something and not pay for it to end up in debt. As I found out, AW have the right to charge for something they have not supplied and then have the right to add solicitors fees ad infinitum even though you never chose to do business with them.

AW are an extremely devious and greedy bunch of liars. At this point I would be checking daily with the Northampton bulk claims court as they tend to send summons to a previous address, so you never get to find out about the hearing and they win by default then amazingly come up with your correct address afterwards. In my case, they also spelled my name wrongly in continually changing ways, to make it impossible for me to keep track of anything. My only advice, which isn't worth much since I ended up losing everything to them, is to not pay anything. It's tempting borrow money wherever you can get it, thinking that it will make them go away, but at the slightest sniff of money, they get much much more aggressive, assuming that there's millions more they can squeeze out of you. That is my biggest regret. All my friends told me to borrow money and insisted that even though the money was never owed in the first instance, that it would be easier and less stressfull just to pay it to get them off my back, well the only difference it made was to make them behave even worse, and to end up owing money to others. Sorry for repeating myself again, but I don't want you to fall down the same hole as I did. Just about everyone seems to be under the misaprehension that AW are the "good old honest Water Board" but they are just a private company in a powerful position willing to abuse it to the hilt for a bit more money.

Thank You.

Hi, I've had an account with EDF for several years with a standing order of £120 per month which was always fine until earlier this year when without notice, they tried to take nearly £2000 which the bank stopped (and charged me for stopping). I'm not a heavy energy user, and the £2000 was an estimated amount. So, I tried to transfer to another engergy provider, but EDF refused to let the account go until this estimated bill was paid. I provided readings to both EDF as well as the new company and these showed that there was no outstanding amount, however EDF persisted and I wrote numerous letters disputing the amount and reminding them of the actual meter reading. I contaced Consumer direct who were very nice but easily fobbed off by EDF claiming that I had not provided a meter reading and also claiming that they had written to me and received no reply. I have been writing on a weekly basis to try to sort this out, and now their solution is to hand it over to a DCA. Are they allowed to do that to an account in dispute? Are they allowed to send esitmated bills to a DCA when there is a meter reading available? These privatized utilites seem to get crazier and crazier. Is it just me, or did these kind of problems never ever arise with the good old electricity board? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

No, I didn't receive a new card (still haven't) and no notification from Citi at all. I just phoned to make my regular payment and was met with a message saying the Citi office was now closed and all enquires should be directed to Opus. Opus have still not replied to my formal complaint, nor my request to close the account and repay at the old rate, and now they have passed my account to a DCA! Is it now time for court? And yes, I've sent all correspondence recorded and kept copies/receipts.

The court should not have made final an application based on a statute barred debt, but the problem is that British County Courts are like the Wild West. Whatever the judge says goes, and in my experience, the law means very little to the judge and there is practically no way to complain about County Court judges who do not follow the law. In your case, if the house is sold or remortgaged, the debt will now have to be paid, or they can apply for an order of sale which is bad news. In my case they applied for an order of sale several times in rapid succession, each time being granted costs by the judge, so the debt increased twenty fold. There may be a way to challenge this and others here with more constructive advice are sure to answer shortly, although I followed the advice here, and if the judge (same one every time) had followed the law, things would have turned out fine for me, but instead he just took the opportunity to award the claimant a huge amount of extra costs, so think carefully about taking any action.

No reply or acknowledgement to my complaint but they sent me a statement including over £1500 interest at the increased rate for the time it's taken for them to reply to my first letter. I did however receive a response declining my full and final payment offer of the full amount of the account at the time they took over, not including their interest. It seems they're determined to get their incredibly high interest. Btw they still have not addressed my request to close the account and pay off the balance at the old rate. Unfortunately, this huge increase in interest has made the loan unaffordable to me. Sorry I realized that I already mentioned the letter declining my offer in the original post.

So you're joining me in the rocket after all?

Mrs. E. Blackadder, I know it seems really bad, and it is really bad, and to be honest, alot of the time the British legal system just stinks. I've also lost my home, although in my case the housing market is so bad and the house is in such poor condition (I was trying to do it up whilst staying with friends) that the mortgage company has agreed to rent it back to me until I can get somewhere permanent to live sorted. I also have almost no income and have to keep it together for people who rely on me... This is the second house I've lost - the first to an ex and now this one to a water company. Sorry there's precious little I can do to help you except let you know you're not alone. Just try to have faith that something good is just round the corner, otherwise you're welcome to join me in building a rocket and jetting out to space!

Thanks, I'll give it a go.

I have had a Citi card for a number of years and have never been late with a payment. At the end of Last November I tried to make my payment as usual over the phone to be met by a message saying that all enquiries should be directed to Opus. I phoned the Opus number and was told I'd have to pay a late fee and to make matters worse, in the statement that arrived a couple of weeks later, the interest rate had risen from 17.5% to over 38% for some of the balance and over 48% for the rest of it. I phoned again and was told that they were just estimated rates and not to take any notice but just keep paying. It isn't so long since the rate went up from 14% and since the current base rate is 0.5% is seems unreasonable to increase them by so much. So I wrote by registered post asking that following the December 2008 UK Cards Association Statement of Principles on Repriceing, that my account be closed and the balance repaid at the old rate. I received no reply, so after three weeks I wrote again, by registered post again and enclosing a copy of my previous letter. Having received no reply after another month, but just a threatening letter stating that unless the whole amount was cleared my account would be handed to debt collectors, I wrote again and again my letter was ignored, so I wrote offering a full and final settlement and enclosing copies of statements showing the old interest rate. Finally a reply arrived to this letter stating that they would not accept my offer or anything that did not include the interest that had been added since I had first written (around £1400). I wrote enclosing £1 and asked for a true copy of the credit agreement and they replied with the letter backdated two weeks before the postmark, enclosing their current interest rate and terms and conditions, suggesting that the rate had not risen and quoting Regulation 3(2)(b)(ii) of Consumer Credit Regulations 1983 saying that is all they are required to provide. What is the best way forward from here? All I want is to not be trapped into paying their new extortionate rate of interest and to not have to pay the interest they have added during the time it has taken for them to address my request. I have been a good customer, and now Opus have taken over they seem intent on screwing me over. I have had to write seven letters before getting any reply from Opus.