Essex Water Default 10 Years Later???

[LondonUser2015]

Hi, I'd like to introduce myself im a new member to the forum but I have been reading for ages as I have a few credit file issues that I would like to get some advice on and I will post them in the relevant sections.

 

My 1st problem on my credit file that I have checked about a month ago relates to an Essex and Suffolk Water Bill dating back to 2003.

 

I moved in with my mother sometime in 2004 when I was 20 years old, and these were the times when you still needed a utility bill to open any kind of account so my mother said as I was living there and of the correct age I could put the water bill in my name. This was sometime in 2004.

 

I then moved out of the house into another place with some friends and set up my own new accounts, including council tax which I still have bills for, and for the last 11 years I have been living at various different rented accommodations.

 

My mother recently moved out of the address and informed me she couldnt remember ever paying a water bill there even though it had been over 10 years since. The last time Essex Water had been contacted by anyone at that address was the name change I done in 2004.

 

And now in 2014 I have a default registered for this address for £3500 with a default date of late 2014. So they have defaulted the account after 10 years. Could someone give me some advice:

 

1) I have not lived there or had any contact with them in over 10 years is this default fair and correct?

 

2) Essex Waters own website says if you dont pay a bill after 90 days they will issue a default, this is some 10 years.

 

3) Should Essex Water have closed this account ages ago after no contact?

 

4) How do I go about sorting this out?

 

I am willing to do all it takes to remove this from my file as it is a joke. I am quite competent when it comes to writing letters or filling in court forms so if I have to take this further legally I am quite willing to do so.

 

Could anyone tell me where I should start, should I start by writing to them directly and asking that they remove the default on various grounds, and re-issue the bill in the correct name which would be my mother. She has health issues but would be willing to pay as it was her house. I think it could be sorted out with a bit of common sense but I know that these companies can be unwilling to even discuss common sense.

 

I also have access to tenancy agreements for myself on other properties at the time I was allegedly liable, the landlords of the said address would be willing to testify that I was not living there, as they were regularly in the house, council tax bills for the address with me not on there as I wasnt living there etc etc.

 

Any advice or info is greatly appreciated...and I look forward to talking to all members who are interested in this....

 

Thanks

[fkofilee]

[email protected]

 

The CEO / MD... Complain to her!

A default after 10 years is EXTREMELY unfair!

[LondonUser2015]

So they should have closed the account after 90 days back in 2004? What do I put in such an email or do I write directly?

[LondonUser2015]

I am going to draft a letter in a bit and post it in here before I send it do you think I should approach it with an amicable tone or a formal tone? Please help if you can, thanks

[renegadeimp]

Full complaint and get the ICO involved too. I would even consider OFWAT

[fkofilee]

Didnt see you reply ... Sorry :/

 

Forceful..! All the way.

[LondonUser2015]

What is OFWAT? And should I send a formal letter to them 1st just to see how they respond before involving anyone else?

[renegadeimp]

Ofwat is the water and sewerage ombudsman.

 

And yes, before you contact them, i would write a stern formal complaint to the CEO. Then depending on their reply complain to the regulators. It might be nothing more than a jumped up CS employee who thought it would be funny to issue a default after all this time, but it could also be a standard business practice.

[Bazooka Boo]

Ofwat tend not to deal with individual complaints, something I've only just found out myself!

A limited number of types of complaint are dealt with by us, rather than by the Consumer Council for Water. For these types of complaint, we would expect you to have approached your water and sewerage company first before submitting a complaint to Ofwat. These complaints include:

 

• those about water and sewerage companies’ powers to lay pipes on private land
  
• concerns that the water companies are allegedly breaking their licence conditions or their main water supply or sewerage duties
  
• complaints about anti-competitive behaviour under the Competition Act 1998, for example colluding on pricing or bidding for contracts
  

https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/consumerissues/complaints/compswehandle/

 

However, it seems it's the CCW who will take an interest should they fail to remove the data when told.

http://www.ccwater.org.uk/

 

ICO will be interested too https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

[LondonUser2015]

But do we agree that they should have closed the account and issued a default years ago, or 90 days after non-payment as their guidelines state, rather than wait 10 years? And should I write a letter to the CEO or an email to the address that was provided earlier? Thanks for the help guys...

[Bazooka Boo]

It did used to be that defaults had to be marked on credit files within six months of the default occurring,

however as with all things, they moved the goal posts and that rule no longer exists, BUT 10 years after the event is definitely taking the proverbial!

 

Have you contacted the credit agency that is processing your data?

Have you told them to remove it due to the age of it?

 

That woud be my first port of call, contact the CRA and tell them to remove the data or face the consequences.

If, as they always do, come back with the standard, ''Our client states the data is being processed correctly'' line, then hit the CEO

with an email/hard copy informing them that if it remains you will take legal action, which will include legal damages (AFAIK is four figures!)

and have it removed.

[LondonUser2015]

Ok I will draft a letter/email an post it here before so you can give me your thoughts and advise if I need to change anything...I should have it done by later tonight....thanks again

[LondonUser2015]

Hi all, I have drafted this letter could anyone recommend any changes if needed and whether I should add/remove anything, here it is:

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I write to you with regards to a default that has been placed on my credit file recently for a water bill that dates back over 10 years.

 

Sometime between 2003 and 2005 I moved into my mother’s flat at XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX due to her ill health and her needing looking after. As an agreement instead of paying rent I would pay the bills and I therefore changed the various bills into my name, including the bill with your company. I lived there for 6 months and sent out letters at the time informing the various utility companies that I was no longer a tenant therefore no longer liable for these bills.

 

I admit that there may have been a bill outstanding at the time as due to my mother’s ill health I wasn’t keeping tabs on what had been paid and what hadn’t. However having recently seen the default on my credit file I have done some investigating and it would seem the account has been left open in my name for over 10 years without any payments being made or any contact being made. I find this very distressing and highly unfair considering I haven’t even been living at the property.

 

I have taken some legal advice with regards to the matter and I have been advised to try and sort this out amicably, before elevating it to the water council, Information Commissioners Office, and finally through the courts with legal action.

 

I can provide tenancy agreements and council tax bills for periods over the last 10 years which show I have not been living at the address in question, and have in fact been living elsewhere.

 

I have spoken to my mother who recognises that she is liable for the debt as she was living there, and is willing to pay the debt in full, minus the period of 6 months that I was liable for.

 

I must demand that you remove the incorrect information from my credit file immediately, and re-issue the bill in the correct name details of which I will provide.

 

I have also read your own guidelines with regards to non-payment of bills at the following address:

 

w w w.eswater.co.uk/_assets/documents/Managing_Debt_ESW_2014.pdf

 

I quote, “If you have not paid your bill or reached an agreement with us for payment within 90 days of the bill being issued a notice will be sent to you advising you of Essex & Suffolk Water’s intention to share information regarding your non-payment with a credit reference agency (CRA) in 28 days. This is known as a default. This may affect your ability to obtain a mortgage, personal loan or other types of credit, more information on defaults is given in step 5 on the next page and in the section ‘Sharing payment defaults’.

 

By your own guidelines you state that an unpaid bill will be acted upon after 90 days and a default placed on file a further 28 days later. This makes it 118 days. As there has been no contact between myself and your company for over 10 years this would mean you have placed a default some 3650 days later which is wrong. Also, if the account had been closed and defaulted on the correct date the amount of the default would be much closer to £350 not £3500.

 

I again demand that this incorrect information be removed from my credit file immediately, and after listening to legal advice I have been advised I have a very good case for damages and compensation if I were to take it through the courts, something I’m hoping we can both avoid. I await your response, and if there has been no response within 28 days I will be forced to commence legal action.

 

With Regards

 

 

What do you all think? What am I missing and would you word the letter like this, also should I send it by email to Heidi Mottram and a hard copy or should I just send a hardcopy to their customer services. Any help is greatly appreciated I need to get this incorrect default off of my file asap. Thanks

[dx100uk]

so you did inform them you had moved out and you have documentary proof?

 

 

just playing devil advocate here.

 

 

and remember your mother is only liable for 6yrs back dated too.

 

 

dx

[LondonUser2015]

When you say documentary proof I can dig up the generic letter i sent to all the utility companies on an old hard drive but I have no proof of postage and I have no letter of acknowledgement from them so would be very hard to prove I sent it wouldnt it? And as for my draft letter would this be a good starting point or should I ammend this at all? Any thoughts please?

[dx100uk]

I think whichever way you go

your mother is ultimately only liable for 6yrs worth

from the date of the letter

not 10yrs that for sure.

 

 

don't think they can pin this on your at all to be honest.

 

 

dx

[LondonUser2015]

So would you say go ahead and fire this letter off? And who should I send it to? I know she is only legally obliged to pay 6 years but maybe the offer of the full 10 would make them take a more lenient view on resolving this.

 

And as for the wording of the letter would you say this is a good place to start? Any opinions?

[dx100uk]

the letter has too much data and is a bit waffly.

 

 

I'd simply be asking them to remove the default forthwith

 

 

it has been registered XX yrs after the debt entered a defaulted state.

 

 

see what they say.

 

 

let them explain themselves away not you.

see what they know/think first before firing your arrows

[LondonUser2015]

Ok that makes sense, i will ammend the letter and post here soon. Thanks again

[LondonUser2015]

Ok how does this sound? I want to get the 1st letter sent off asap to see what theyre response will be and to know how much of a battle Im facing, ive kept this a lot simpler but could you advise on whether its suitable and recommend any changes to it.

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I write to you with regards to a bill at XXXXXXXXXXXX.

 

This bill was put in my name sometime in 2004 when I lived at the property for a period of about 6 months.

 

Having recently checked my credit file I have noticed that you have registered a default against my name with a default date of November 2014.

 

I must demand that you remove this default on the grounds that:

a) The account would have been put in default over 10 years ago and the default date is incorrect.

b) The amount of the default equates to over 10 years of billing, for which I am not liable as I was not a tenant at the property for that time.

 

Having read your ‘Managing Debt’ PDF file freely available on the internet and which can be found at:

www.eswater.co.uk/_assets/documents/Managing_Debt_ESW_2014.pdf, I quote from this,

 

“If you have not paid your bill or reached an agreement with us for payment within 90 days of the bill being issued a notice will be sent to you advising you of Essex & Suffolk Water’s intention to share information regarding your non-payment with a credit reference agency (CRA) in 28 days. This is known as a default. This may affect your ability to obtain a mortgage , personal loan or other types of credit, more information on defaults is given in step 5 on the next page and in the section ‘Sharing payment defaults’.

 

In accordance with your own guidelines an account should have been defaulted 90 days after non-payment and a default marker placed a further 28 days later.

 

I have had no contact and not paid a bill in over 10 years yet you have kept the account active and placed a default on my file over 10 years later. This is wrong.

 

If this matter is not resolved I will involve the water council, the Information Commissioner and may finally be forced to proceed with legal action.

 

 

I await to hear your response.

 

With Regards

[dx100uk]

adapted

[LondonUser2015]

adapted

 

What do you mean?

[dx100uk]

last line changed around

 

 

dx

[LondonUser2015]

Ok thanks so much DX so do you think this is a good starting point? And who should I fire this off to the heidi.mottram email and/or hardcopy but who do I send the hard copy to? Thanks again so much

[dx100uk]

email ceo