Hi Trevor, Not sure how payments work through self service machines at the bank as bills normally have a barcode I think which the counter staff at post office or bank scan so the money gets allocated correctly on receipt so might be worth following that one up with the bank. Also worth checking with AW as if money was forwarded without an account number it may be floating about in their system with them unable to allocate it. As for the particulars of claim it was probably issued through CCBC so the information that can be included is limited using that method and will likely be clarified in the response to Defence if she has had one or in any witness statement ahead of the hearing so it's not a game changer in my opinion and I have seen many claims issued for debts on multiple properties. The POC should contain the amounts due and for the bill year ending dates which should give you an idea of which properties. If she did happen to lose at court then she will not be made to pay anymore than she can afford by the court however if she is struggling to pay her water bill most water companies have a dedicated Debt Advice section offering various schemes to assist as well as independently operated Trust Funds that can award grants towards arrears so be worth talking to them about this.

Water companies do not have T&C's instead "charges schemes" that are raised pursuant to the Water Industry Act 1991 (s) 142 to 144. The bills, when issued for unmeasured charges which these will be, are payable in full upon issue however monthly or 6 monthly instalments are offered as a concession much like council tax which is also payable upon bill issue. This will be detailed on the bill and will be part of the charges scheme which the Defendant will no doubt get a copy of if this proceeds to hearing. If there is no arrangement made upon receipt of the bill or if an arrangement is defaulted then the whole bill becomes payable and in this case the demand for charges up to 31 March 2015 will be correctly included in any claim. As for the old property was there any outstanding charges when the OP vacated?

I am guessing that acceptance of payments AW would be the basis of this type of Defence however water bill are payable on demand and acceptance of monthly (or 6 monthly) payments is a concession similar to council tax which is also payable on demand. If the other party has not arranged this when the bill has been issued then there is no agreement I am again guessing AW have made a claim for remaining charges for the full billing year although any company will not refuse payments agreed or not. My suggestion is only to save the Defendant exposure to additional potential costs as AW will probably accept the court fee (probably £15 through CCBC) in settlement of the claim though it would be interesting to see full details of the suggested Defence as only seen estoppel used once before for water bills but this was slightly different and caused by an under reading meter which was then re-billed.

The debt has been paid after claim issue so the amount they are claiming will be the costs. Suggestions of a Defence such as estoppel will fail in my opinion, though of course it is down to the judge, and further costs will be incurred in the shape of a hearing fee if this matter is allowed to progress to hearing. My advice is to offer payment of the court fee to AW and ask they waive the claimed solicitors costs in full settlement of the claim as I would take that to conclude the matter rather than proceed with a claim for costs only but again this is of course my opinion and the choice is of course the Defendants.

Original posts states bills/statements sent direct to SW so it is likely all pre-action letters including LBA were sent to the same person so does she still have these? The original post does not state claim amount and dates of outstanding invoices is it possible some of these were pre 2012 when the SW set up the SO as if so payments would firstly be allocated to the oldest invoice first. Did these payments at least cover the ongoing usage at that time?

I have to say I am somewhat surprised that this would be their position and certainly is not the way this would be handled within the Water Company I work for. Copies of documents would be provided as part of the hearing papers if it goes that far but it is always preferable to try and obtain resolution long before that stage purely from a costs perspective if nothing else. Perhaps these can be obtained from the automated line as per their website (below) You can call our automated service on 0800 032 6237 to request a copy of your bill. Please note, you'll need your Anglian Water account number to hand. Aside from that I can only assume from the information provided that the payments being made are not part of an agreed plan and do not cover the outstanding sums as well as ongoing usage hence why they are intent on the claim proceeding. Hard to see a Defence if this is the case as legislation holds them liable and this will be a major factor if it goes to hearing which will incur further costs plus a CCJ if AW win. Perhaps a Tomlin Order may be a possibility to avoid this and it is something I would certainly consider strongly as an outcome to proceedings.

That would be right as per Data Protection however if the SW phones while with the Defendant who then gives permission to discuss this should negate that issue and copies of the bills can be requested then. It would be best to get these as soon as possible however if they are addressed correctly then claiming non receipt will not constitute a vaild defence as I would also expect their to be additional payment reminders and an LBA that have been sent (ask for these too and an account statement would be helpful as well in order to see how the debt has accured as well as being satisfied all payments made have been received and allocated correctly)

I am unfamiliar with the department set up within AW but by the sounds of your call Customer Services have confirmed one exists and quite honestly I find it shocking that they refused to put you through to them as in my role once a claim is issued all communications are then directed to legal services. Worth requesting a copy of the LBA from AW as this may have a direct number to legal services rather than the main contact number plus a full account breakdown to see payments and charges. Also the bills/reminders as suggested by Rebel just to check they are being addressed correctly however if the claim has been received I would expect AW to have the correct address and consequently any prior communication sent to the same address by general post would be deemed as recieved by the court in my opinion. Personally if there is a chance a claim may be incorrect or inappropriate I would want to know as soon as possible purely from a costs perspective and even if correct i would want to hear any mitigating circumstances or to discuss potential resolution. Deductions from benefits can be an option and is usually and amount towards ongoing usage plus some towards the debt but this action is usually taken as an alternative to court action without consent if needs be however the DWP will reject this as an option if there are already (2 I think) deductions being made in respect of other debts and AW would need to have their NI Number. Regards the claim itself the Defendant can always file and Admission with an offer of £1.00 per month although this will result in a CCJ being registered against them. With regards to the appliances you could of course lauch your own action however this is not relevant to the claim and the matters should be treated as such. All water companies operate a guaranteed standards scheme (GSS) http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/consumerissues/rightsresponsibilities/standards/ so worth checking this to see if your situation is covered.

The CEO did not respond to issues regarding damage to appliances however the OP stated that AW provide wastewater services and if the said damage was as a result of the supply being turned off this would likely be nothing to do with them instead the fresh water provider (whoever that is I am not familiar with that area) More info regarding the payments made and SO that were set up would be useful as at the moment, and with no disrespect to the OP, this is a third party account, also from a third party. Bottom line is that statute holds the occupiers liable however a phone call to AW legal services, perhaps by the Support Worker, may make them reconsider and refer the matter to other parts of the business which would be a sensible outcome for all parties.

Agreed there are other avenues however at present the court claim is obviously a priority and no complaint to either of these bodies will overide this or lead to the case being withdrawn hence urgent contact with the claimant to re-iterate the Defendants circumstances being the suggestion. Certainly once the claim is resolved then I would agree this is an appropriate action but for now but I cannot see a Defence to the claim unless they are not the occupiers, which we know they are, or there was an agreed payment plan making the claim incorrectly issued, which it appears not to be the case, then appealing to AW to withdraw, is in my opinion (based on my experience working for legal services at another water company), the best option at least in the here and now.

Were the payment plans set up by the Support Worker less than the monthly amount required to cover the bills? If this was the case I would guess AW would argue that this was not an agreed arrangement, hence the court claim, but of course they would continue to accept payments towards the account. Can you confirm this is wastewater only as if this was the case any interuption to supply would probably be the responsibility of whoever provide fresh water services and nothing to do with AW which may be why you have had no response to kitchen appliance claims. At the end of the day the Water Industry Act 1991 makes the occupiers of the property liable for water services charges and this will be the legislation that AW will rely on meaning liability is not in question. I am however surprised that they have chosen to litigate if they were aware of the individuals circumstances as I would have thought the better place for a situation like this would be their internal debt advice department (which I am sure they will have) or Trust Fund https://awaf.app.charisgrants.com/ rather than litigation. Personally would call them and explain all this again, explaining the defendants are vunerable customers, asking they withdraw the claim and refer the matter to one of the suggested departments in order to resolve the matter.

I think you have hit the nail on the head with your question as if this is a breach of the DPA then why is the court service not overwhelmed with claimants suing every single utility company, bank, high street store, HMCTS, DWP (the list could be endless) as these all use DCA's? The market would be massive like PPI and to date I have not seen any adverts on TV for "we'll help you claim your DPA breach compensation....." Personally cannot see how you have a claim for breach of DPA but millions of others would love to know to so perhaps someone can specify what the cause of action is and what legislation your claim will rely on.

Try contacting the Thames Water Trust Fund as he may be entitled to assistance depending on his circumstances, details of this and how to contact them are below: In 2011, Thames Water changed the way in which it helps customers who are unable to pay their bills by introducing the new 'Thames Water Customer Assistance Fund'. The Customer Assistance Fund will provide support for Thames Water customers facing hardship and experiencing difficulty in meeting their water charges. Thames Water Trust Fund will continue to provide organisational grants to support money advice, debt counselling and financial literacy and in exceptional circumstances will consider help with other essential household bills or costs. This change provides closer links between the billing team at Thames Water and ourselves; Auriga Services Limited, who will continue to administer both funds. For more information about the Trust Fund or to apply to the Customer Assistance Fund you can contact us on 0845 456 6863. Alternatively go to www.thames-water.com to download an application form. Registered Charity Number: 1126714

There are a number of water companies reporting to credit reference agencies and have been for a while now in the same way as energy providers do and presumably there is no contracts with them either which enables people to switch when they wish to.

Totally agree that monthly is the way to go, metered or unmetered however there are no T&c's rather a Charges Scheme raised by water companies pursuant to section 143 of the Water Industry Act and also approved by OFWAT therefore to challenge these requires a challange to the legislation itself. You are correct that water companies will use the courts for non payment and CCJ's are issued simply because the legislation supports the charges scheme which outlines how payments can should be made. Other options are the DCA as in this case and most water companies now report to CRA's so defaults are a distinct possibilty too.

Nope there is no contract when it comes to water rates, these are payable by statute pursuant to the Water Industry Act 1991 (s) 142, 143, 144, hence my point regarding breach of contract. Having re-read the thread the OP has stated he paid the full years bill in September which would indicate they are on an unmeasured supply (no water meter) perhaps this could be confirmed? If this is the case it would explain why a DCA was involved as in the case of unmeasured bills these are issued between Feb and March with options of payment as follows, half in April and the other half in October, full payment for the year in April or by monthly instalments starting again in April. If the OP did not make payment till September then this is why the DCA was involved as payment of the bill was then 5 months overdue so just trying to see a cause of action as to the OP's potential legal action as the water company, and for that matter any other company or sole trader, has every right to take steps to obtain payment of an overdue amount including using a DCA.

There is not a contract when it comes to water rates as these are payable by statute so wondering how the OP would show a breach of contract and how this can be evidenced in any subsequent action??

Have read this over again a couple of times to clarify are you saying you at your new property are using 25% less water than the relative now living in what was your old property? If this is the case the simplest explanation could be they are just using more water than you maybe?

Since a m3 of water is 1000 litres even attempting to measure a small amount would require a lot of empty bottles and if the meter is the same as ours the reading only goes to one decimal place so that is 100 litres. I cannot see how, other than paying the charge to have it tested, this suggestion would be conclusive as how does the OP evidence the results to the water company? Nothing to lose by paying this charge if the OP is convinced the meter is faulty as it will be waived if the calibration test shows this (these are independently carried out by the meter manufacturer) May be worth an email to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) as the water company may choose to exchange it if they become involved though.

A tap test does not require any water to be drawn or measured. Simply turn off all water using items within the property and check whether the silver "wheel" (usually in the centre of the meter) is moving then turn on tap and re-check. If the wheel is still when water is off and then moves when you turn the tap back on then the meter is fine. As stated if no usage was recorded when property empty then this would suggest meter is ok.

If the meter does not record any usage when the property was empty then I would suggest the meter is working correctly. If there was a leak from the meter itself this would be constant and consumption would have been recorded during the unoccupied period you refer to. The meters are calibrated before installation and the charge you mention to have it re-tested should you wish is standard. The tap test suggested in the previous post is your best and cheapest option in this case as a leak on the meter would likely result in a huge jump in consumption and not the 25% you mention.

And they would look stupid doing this on the specific request of the OP in the letter of complaint that you are suggesting I assume? Trust me, and I have very specific experience in this area, there will be no scheme where the OP pays less per year for water services than the figure they quote, which shows very minimal water and wastewater usage, however the service/standing charges will not be waived or reduced as everyone pays these even if there is no consumption.

OP pays £98.62 for a year according to original post and I would be very surprised if any fixed or assessed charges scheme will work out less than this so might be worth finding how much these are before asking to be put on a scheme where they may end up paying more...

Sounds like you are on an unmeasured supply (no water meter) so bills run from April to March each year. Of course you will not have to pay for months you are not in occupation and annual unmeasured bills can either be paid in full on receipt, paid in two halves (April and October) or paid in monthly instalments. I would therefore suggest you contact them to set up monthly plan which will be cancelled when you vacate and you will only pay for the months you are in occupation.

It's worth bearing in mind that it is far more economical to use tap water then bottled water for the tasks you detail above bearing in mind you are paying £1.28 per cubic metre of water which is 1000 litres. Dunno how much 1000 litres of bottled water would be but I would guess a few hundred pounds as opposed to just over a quid. It is also worth remembering that while you may not need the water supply you would of course still be using the wastewater services every time the toilet is flushed so unless you were planning on a septic tank you need that service. Of course you can use as much water as you deem fair but remember you are paying for a measured supply and the more consumption you use the more it will cost you ultimately on your bill.