I have recently sold my 2 bed flat in Apr but got a water bill for Nov 2014 to Apr 2015 from the mgmt company, which showed I used 92 m3 water and charged me almost £240! But I paid only 104 for Nov 2013 to Nov 2014 and I don't use much more than usual water. How can it jump so much! I forgot to take the meter reading when I moved out. Actually not read it for years. So I can not really argue the meter reading with them. Anyone can have some good advice on what I should do?

Last month I received a bill from Advantis Ltd. (collectors) on behalf of Thames Water (as stated in the bill letter). I was really surprised to get a bill for an apt. I left a year ago (and at the time of moving out from that flat we left deposit to the landlord to fulfill all the outstanding bills for water/electricity for the last month. On the actual bill, the date stated is the very same date of the end of the tenancy at previous flat. I called them up and the guy was extremely useless and annoying, I ran out of patience when he was repeatedly trying to "learn more about my financial circumstances" so he could find the best way for me to pay the bill. Even tho the only reason I called for was to know How it is possible that I'm getting this bill in the first place after a year later and even if there is a single chance we had an overdue it couldn't be as much as £126. The only explanation he found was that maybe they didn't know where I moved thus it took a year to find me. BULL****! I'm officially registered in the borough council center (which is the same as we moved within the local area) and I've updated my address there. Plus I left my university as a secondary point of contact, where they also could get in touch with me. So I don't think it would actually take a year for Thanes Water to find my current location. After I refused to give my card details (for the payment of course) to the Advantis, they started to call me every morning at 8-9 a.m. with attempts to get some personal info about me, which I haven't provided. I contacted my previous landlord to ask if he has any idea of why we're getting this bill now, unfortunately he doesn't. What should I do? Should I go to the council center to make sure that there is an outstanding bill for the period I lived in that flat and that it equals to £126? Will Advantis or Thames Water actually add commissions if I will not pay the bill asap? And how to get rid of those annoying morning calls from Advantis? Cheers!

In 2011-12 I was in a house share with a girl who turned out to be incredibly bad at paying bills and I've since found out has bailiffs chasing her for a substantial amount of debt. I had the electric and gas bill with NPower in my name and she was supposed to have the water bill with Yorkshire Water in her's. My DD to NPower was always paid on time, but we had a lump sum to pay at the end of the tenancy as we'd been under paying. I paid my half off and she set up a payment plan for her remainder of the bill. A few months passed and I received a letter from a DCA, not surprisingly the ex-housemate had made a one off payment for £5 then did a runner, leaving me to settle the rest. I checked my Equifax report and couldn't see a default, but there were a few tracking searches from a couple of DCAs . I've just received a letter from Westcott demanding payment of £150 for the water bill. I challenged this, as I didn't consent to my name being on the bill, but it seems she must have given my details and had me added and then intercepted the unpaid water bills so I didn't see she hadn't been paying. They stated my name was on the bill and they don't get involved in third party disputes. It does seem odd that Yorkshire Water would do this as I've been told in the past by utilities companies that they can't add another party to a bill without speaking to them or having a signed letter. We were on a joint tenancy, so I'm guessing I have no recourse to have my name removed from the bill and have Westcott chase her for the debt? I will pay the bill off in full if this is the case, but I'm concerned about the affect this might have on my credit score. I was planning on applying for a first mortgage next year but fear I may get defaults from Yorkshire Water and NPower because these accounts were in collections through ex housemate not paying/hiding correspondence. Is it correct that defaults can only be placed 6 months after the first missed payment? Is there anything I can do to appeal if they decide to issue a default given the circumstances. Otherwise my credit record is pretty good, I've always paid bills on time and don't have any other outstanding debts. I realise all mortgage lenders look at different criteria, but is it generally really damaging to have tracking searches showing?

Hi, I have been on the forums before and got some good advice on a water bill debt that went to court. I am paying a CCJ for that debt. I now have another bill and they are saying I owe about 2k and are saying I have a year to pay it off. I have tried to come to a payment arrangement with them, but they are asking for silly amounts that I can not afford. They have said unless I come up with what they want they are making me appear in court. Is their anyway I can stop them taking me to court after I say I can't afford that amount they are asking and will pay a certain amount. They seem to be very pushy for the debt. Thanks In Advance leeward30

I am in the later stages of a CCJ with welsh water and I need to submit my defence ASAP. I have agreed to some of the debt but not all, as over the past several years I have requested a meter on 3 occations which they say they never had the forms but have the requests. I am suggesting I pay the current rate of £23 per month over the course of the 7 years totalling approx £1,500 which is 50% of what there demanding. Any help much appreciated

Hi all, Apologies if this is the wrong sub-forum for this, but unsure as to exactly which one to use. I received a letter from a water company yesterday, from their Credit Control department. It stated that they are currently going through an audit and found that there was a balance outstanding for water charges at my previous address, and they politely asked that I give this matter my immediate attention. They have asked that I contact them should I have any questions, or require a bill copy etc; all very polite and non-threatening. I left that previous address in July 2005 and have had no contact with this water board since (my present address comes under a different provider). My question is, does a utility bill (specifically water), come under the statute of limitations umbrella, inasmuch as the alleged debt is unenforceable after a period of 6 years (assuming the usual other conditions have been met)? Thanks in advance for your advice on this. Cheers, AG

Hi, This winter one of the pipes to our outside toilet froze, and literally fell off the cistern. We were not here at the time, so couldn't turn the supply off until much later on when we got back to university, and noticed the garden was flooded. We just received the water bill for that period, and were shocked at the £700 bill, which is roughly £500 more than our usual usage for the 6 month period. Who is responsible for this bill? The pipe to the toilet was not lagged very well, and was only covered by a thin piece of insulation. There was a tap at the bottom of this, but we didn't know about it, as the pipe from the ground to the tap was lagged very well with glass fibre insulation, upto, and including the tap. Also, we were not informed about turning the supply to the toilet off, only leaving the heating on in the house. We are no longer tenants at this house, and moved out 2 months ago. Thanks for your help.