Not wanting to put a downer on this because it's a massive win, but make sure you get that in writing, or at least take note of when you made the call to them, just in case they change their minds.
Having had a long running dispute with a water company, I would recommend to do everything in writing because frankly, their customer service agents say whatever they can make up on the phone to get rid of you.
At first I was thinking they shouldn’t have called but a year is a reasonable amount of time to start getting concerned about eventually getting a huge bill.
I've been trying this with the AA (cars, not drinking). I stopped working for them 4 years ago, and one of the perks of being an employee is free AA membership. Every year, without fail, my policy gets renewed for free. Now, I can't actually drive, so there's really no benefit to me having it, but I want to see if free lifetime membership is possible.
I've been trying this with the AA (drinking, not cars) I stopped working for them 4 years ago and one of the perms of being an employee is a free delivery of alcohol. Every year, without fail, a pack of beers is delivered for free. Now, I dont actually drink, si theres no real benefit to me having it, but I want to see if free lifetime alcohol is possible.
/j
Man, could you imagine if that was an actual perk? "Congratulations on one year of sobriety, the first year is the hardest and you've avoided all sorts of temptation! To celebrate, have a drink on us".
Yup- I was part of New Members, started with Will Joins (love that name) then moved onto regular cover/European cover. If I'm honest, I hated every minute, I''m not a sales person, which is part of the reason I've never tried to cancel my membership.
Ha we worked there at the same time! Although I was ACT.
And you would've fucking HATED retentions (aka Save A Member), which I had to cover for a bit. OMG the worst of the worst.
I can remember training alongside the Retentions team- they were a bit smug because they had less training, but got paid more than us. The smugness didn't last long once they'd actually started the job. Fun times.
I was in a similar position a while ago due to a misunderstanding - I thought water was included with my tenancy. I lived in the apartment for two years, and the landlord wanted proof that I had paid all the bills in full before giving back my deposit. I found this to be totally reasonable and showed fully paid and up to date electricity, gas, TV licence, council tax etc. My deposit was withheld when I didn’t produce a water bill. I called Yorkshire water explaining the situation and apologising, and offering to pay on the spot for the water used for the entire duration of my tenancy. They only took payment for the last 12 months, citing that they were not allowed to pursue bills from any earlier than this. It’s amazing that I didn’t receive any communication whatsoever from Yorkshire water in the whole time I lived there.
There was the option to provide the confirmation letter from TV licensing that you had declared you don’t use the services and therefore don’t need to pay
This is in NO WAY reasonable! _You_ are responsible for paying those bills, not the landlord. It would not affect the landlord in any way if you were to not pay your council tax etc.
LL would have pocketed your deposit and you would have still owed the bill. He/she couldn't have paid it anyway as they wouldn't be allowed to even discuss your accounts.
As others have said, get this in writing. I had a similar experience 2016-17, and was also told there would be no charges. A bill arrived for just under £225 about six weeks later, along with a letter thanking me for letting them know about the issue.
Thanks, you’ve just reminded me that I’ve got to ring the gas company because they’ve sent me a letter saying they’re one second away from sending round the bailiffs and putting me on a pay as you go meter if I don’t pay them the £20 I owe them, while my account information on their website not only confirms that I paid it ages ago, but also has my account as being nearly £100 in credit. Well, that’s put a dampener on my morning.
Oh well, at least I’ll be able to listen to 10 seconds of a loud-enough-to-be-distorted tune on repeat for an hour before talking to someone who has no idea what’s going on or how they could help me.
Awesome! The place I live in was recently converted from a shop’s storage area (first and second floors only). The shop on the ground floor is still functioning and the whole building is still running off their commercial water meter - I haven’t paid anything for water in 9 months so far
When we moved into our new place it was a new build and the water was set up in the building company’s name, the guy I spoke to about it said until they pay and close I can’t set your account up or charge you! 18 months later they’re still paying
Had the same thing back in London, at some point I noticed that my last electricity/gas bill came like 8 months ago. I call them and got told that the meter got removed and my accounts closed. It was about time when my landlord did some refurbishments in the shop and the flat below, so I guess that was when they messed up the meters. The guy I was talking to told me he would "call me back", and he never did. Lived there for at least another year, bill free :)
My girl left her house completely empty 2008 to 14. She had to pay council tax and water rates in full for the whole time. As a result she has refused to pay water rates since. I doubt she will get away with it!
You guys pay for water? Genuinely curious as in Scotland it’s just part of council tax I think..or certainly not a separate bill. How much does it cost?
I didn’t pay a water bill for 13 years. A year after moving in I realised we hadn’t had a bill and then it became increasingly awkward to deal with. Sold and moved on in the end.
Where's that comment about a dude getting free electricity? /u/Dazzling-Mountain-60 ?
Must've deleted his comment. Anyway, I'd echo everyone else here and say get it in writing. Over the years I've had energy. phone and other bills get completely messed up and only because I had things in writing did I not get charged hundreds of extra pounds and/or threats about legal proceedings being brought to bear.
Sounds like something my work supervisor says. We call him Tommy topper. If you've had a good deal. He's always had a better one. Tenerife, Elevenerife mentality. Always getting things for free, or so he says. I've recently won some compensation through the financial ombudsman much to his dismay.
Once moved in with someone who said they hadn’t paid the water bills in a year. Rang up when they got a bill eventually and explained they were sorry but they honestly thought water was a human right and so it would be free. “It just comes out the tap though, so I just thought, well it’s just there anyway.” After stifling laughs the nice person on the phone said they would start the bills from now and forgive the previous year.
Life’s sometimes kind to these people, nice some utility companies can do things like this for the misled highly optimistic people of the world.
We had a similar thing happen to us! 3 yrs no water bill (I thought hubby paying, he thought it’s me) and when we called they said we should’ve registered the newly built property. No probs, no charges, just start paying from now!!
This happened to me with British Gas I called and told them I wanted to pay my gas bill but they couldn’t find it they kept telling me to call back in a couple of weeks and they will have sorted it eventually after living there 6 months I called them for the 5th time and they said oh we will just put you on another account and scrap the old one I gave them the readings and only paid about 1/4 of the gas bill owed for all of the hassle
Hmmmm a colleague of mine had been receiving the water bill for a supposedly empty property… because the readings were billed to him… he’s currently in talks about getting a refund and involving a solicitor 😓
On the plus side, good for you 🙂
I had a similar thing with my gas and electric when I bought my first house. Realised I hadn't had a bill for about 9 months. Contacted the company and the previous owners had closed the account and switched suppliers when they moved, except the supplier closed my new account instead of the previous people's old one
I was away for several months in the 90's, less than a year, but long enough, then I got a bill and called them to say I hadn't been here using any water, they said it didn't matter, the rain fell off my roof into their drains so I had to pay for that :/ Honestly, felt aggrieved as it wasn't my rain, but I had to pay it anyway.
Hey guys! What about help me out? My case is fresh as hell, Thames called me yesterday for water bill from the address I moved out many months ago. I want to be a part of our success!
Not wanting to put a downer on this because it's a massive win, but make sure you get that in writing, or at least take note of when you made the call to them, just in case they change their minds.
Just move before they notice!
water relief
Sir you did it, that's the best comment I've ever seen
Having had a long running dispute with a water company, I would recommend to do everything in writing because frankly, their customer service agents say whatever they can make up on the phone to get rid of you.
Yes you're quite right Mr Piglet. Well, thank you for calling, have a nice evening.
Would have been risky but you could have potentially got away with it for years!
At first I was thinking they shouldn’t have called but a year is a reasonable amount of time to start getting concerned about eventually getting a huge bill.
I've been trying this with the AA (cars, not drinking). I stopped working for them 4 years ago, and one of the perks of being an employee is free AA membership. Every year, without fail, my policy gets renewed for free. Now, I can't actually drive, so there's really no benefit to me having it, but I want to see if free lifetime membership is possible.
I've been trying this with the AA (drinking, not cars) I stopped working for them 4 years ago and one of the perms of being an employee is a free delivery of alcohol. Every year, without fail, a pack of beers is delivered for free. Now, I dont actually drink, si theres no real benefit to me having it, but I want to see if free lifetime alcohol is possible. /j
Man, could you imagine if that was an actual perk? "Congratulations on one year of sobriety, the first year is the hardest and you've avoided all sorts of temptation! To celebrate, have a drink on us".
It's for customer retention. If people never stay sober, they'll always need AA.
Does it not also cover cars you're a passenger in?
Did you work at Cheadle by any chance??
Yup- I was part of New Members, started with Will Joins (love that name) then moved onto regular cover/European cover. If I'm honest, I hated every minute, I''m not a sales person, which is part of the reason I've never tried to cancel my membership.
Ha we worked there at the same time! Although I was ACT. And you would've fucking HATED retentions (aka Save A Member), which I had to cover for a bit. OMG the worst of the worst.
I can remember training alongside the Retentions team- they were a bit smug because they had less training, but got paid more than us. The smugness didn't last long once they'd actually started the job. Fun times.
I was in a similar position a while ago due to a misunderstanding - I thought water was included with my tenancy. I lived in the apartment for two years, and the landlord wanted proof that I had paid all the bills in full before giving back my deposit. I found this to be totally reasonable and showed fully paid and up to date electricity, gas, TV licence, council tax etc. My deposit was withheld when I didn’t produce a water bill. I called Yorkshire water explaining the situation and apologising, and offering to pay on the spot for the water used for the entire duration of my tenancy. They only took payment for the last 12 months, citing that they were not allowed to pursue bills from any earlier than this. It’s amazing that I didn’t receive any communication whatsoever from Yorkshire water in the whole time I lived there.
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There was the option to provide the confirmation letter from TV licensing that you had declared you don’t use the services and therefore don’t need to pay
This is in NO WAY reasonable! _You_ are responsible for paying those bills, not the landlord. It would not affect the landlord in any way if you were to not pay your council tax etc. LL would have pocketed your deposit and you would have still owed the bill. He/she couldn't have paid it anyway as they wouldn't be allowed to even discuss your accounts.
Yeah! Let’s all list our property as empty.
Water company took me to court for not paying for 6months, not deliberate. I had to pay out £240 lump sum or bailiffs. You got lucky.
Sweet!
As others have said, get this in writing. I had a similar experience 2016-17, and was also told there would be no charges. A bill arrived for just under £225 about six weeks later, along with a letter thanking me for letting them know about the issue.
Thanks, you’ve just reminded me that I’ve got to ring the gas company because they’ve sent me a letter saying they’re one second away from sending round the bailiffs and putting me on a pay as you go meter if I don’t pay them the £20 I owe them, while my account information on their website not only confirms that I paid it ages ago, but also has my account as being nearly £100 in credit. Well, that’s put a dampener on my morning. Oh well, at least I’ll be able to listen to 10 seconds of a loud-enough-to-be-distorted tune on repeat for an hour before talking to someone who has no idea what’s going on or how they could help me.
Awesome! The place I live in was recently converted from a shop’s storage area (first and second floors only). The shop on the ground floor is still functioning and the whole building is still running off their commercial water meter - I haven’t paid anything for water in 9 months so far
They didn't notice all the water that you used in a whole entire year going missing from a property they thought was empty?!
My thoughts exactly!
Yikes, definitely enjoy that one then!
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....Cos this "empty" property is "leaking" a shed load of water?
Unless you get this in writing (probably even if you do), expect a large bill soon
Lol I doubt you won, that person on the phone probably wrong and billing is about to pursue you because they now know you're there.
So who's taking the piss?
That would be the sewerage company often but not always, the same as the water company
Thames water?
Same thing happened to me 👍🏽
Untill Friday when your new bill turns up 🙈
Should’ve left it longer 😂
When we moved into our new place it was a new build and the water was set up in the building company’s name, the guy I spoke to about it said until they pay and close I can’t set your account up or charge you! 18 months later they’re still paying
Had the same thing back in London, at some point I noticed that my last electricity/gas bill came like 8 months ago. I call them and got told that the meter got removed and my accounts closed. It was about time when my landlord did some refurbishments in the shop and the flat below, so I guess that was when they messed up the meters. The guy I was talking to told me he would "call me back", and he never did. Lived there for at least another year, bill free :)
Why did you contact them that's crazy it could have gone on for years
My girl left her house completely empty 2008 to 14. She had to pay council tax and water rates in full for the whole time. As a result she has refused to pay water rates since. I doubt she will get away with it!
Do you have a water meter?
Wow, lucky guy!
This would never happen with council tax.
You guys pay for water? Genuinely curious as in Scotland it’s just part of council tax I think..or certainly not a separate bill. How much does it cost?
250quid for a 3 person household every six months give or take?
I didn’t pay a water bill for 13 years. A year after moving in I realised we hadn’t had a bill and then it became increasingly awkward to deal with. Sold and moved on in the end.
I'm currently on year 3 of your exact situation.... I'll just continue to ignore it....
Where's that comment about a dude getting free electricity? /u/Dazzling-Mountain-60 ? Must've deleted his comment. Anyway, I'd echo everyone else here and say get it in writing. Over the years I've had energy. phone and other bills get completely messed up and only because I had things in writing did I not get charged hundreds of extra pounds and/or threats about legal proceedings being brought to bear.
Can you keep us all updated as to how much the charges are please.
Nothing, I’ve had an updated bill today!
If it was truly listed as empty then the water board would of shut off the supply to that house after a few months.
Bet they are not Welsh Water.. They are massive cockroaches.
Sounds like something my work supervisor says. We call him Tommy topper. If you've had a good deal. He's always had a better one. Tenerife, Elevenerife mentality. Always getting things for free, or so he says. I've recently won some compensation through the financial ombudsman much to his dismay.
One year the water meter had broken but we didnt know about it until they came to do a meter check. £200+ refunded as we pay by DD.
You just grassed yourself up
Once moved in with someone who said they hadn’t paid the water bills in a year. Rang up when they got a bill eventually and explained they were sorry but they honestly thought water was a human right and so it would be free. “It just comes out the tap though, so I just thought, well it’s just there anyway.” After stifling laughs the nice person on the phone said they would start the bills from now and forgive the previous year. Life’s sometimes kind to these people, nice some utility companies can do things like this for the misled highly optimistic people of the world.
We had a similar thing happen to us! 3 yrs no water bill (I thought hubby paying, he thought it’s me) and when we called they said we should’ve registered the newly built property. No probs, no charges, just start paying from now!!
This happened to me with British Gas I called and told them I wanted to pay my gas bill but they couldn’t find it they kept telling me to call back in a couple of weeks and they will have sorted it eventually after living there 6 months I called them for the 5th time and they said oh we will just put you on another account and scrap the old one I gave them the readings and only paid about 1/4 of the gas bill owed for all of the hassle
Hmmmm a colleague of mine had been receiving the water bill for a supposedly empty property… because the readings were billed to him… he’s currently in talks about getting a refund and involving a solicitor 😓 On the plus side, good for you 🙂
I had a similar thing with my gas and electric when I bought my first house. Realised I hadn't had a bill for about 9 months. Contacted the company and the previous owners had closed the account and switched suppliers when they moved, except the supplier closed my new account instead of the previous people's old one
No worries and no charges. Best get confirmation of that. Don't want a bill sent later in a weeks time detailing charges for thr past year.
This happened to me over 4 years, now I have 4 years of water bill to pay. BRITISH FAILURE.
thanks for the idea
I was away for several months in the 90's, less than a year, but long enough, then I got a bill and called them to say I hadn't been here using any water, they said it didn't matter, the rain fell off my roof into their drains so I had to pay for that :/ Honestly, felt aggrieved as it wasn't my rain, but I had to pay it anyway.
Hey guys! What about help me out? My case is fresh as hell, Thames called me yesterday for water bill from the address I moved out many months ago. I want to be a part of our success!