What happens if you don't pay your water bill?

A question about : What happens if you don't pay your water bill?

Nothing apparently. Or that's what this article suggests - https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5050048.stm.
The article also says that those who do pay are paying an extra Ј10 per year to subsidise those who don't pay. But maybe it's more - if 15% don't pay that means that 15% of what the rest of us pay is to cover the non-payers, so about Ј30/year on a Ј200/year bill. That's not on.

So what's to stop me from deciding I'd rather not pay too? Will the water company sue me? It sounds as if they wouldn't, otherwise how do these 15% of people manage to get away with it for so long? If the bailiffs were knocking on their doors, they'd be paying.

I'm sure that if everyone was to now refuse to pay, the situation would be resolved in no time, and we'd all see a healthy and fair reduction in our bills. I'm certainly tempted to do so. What do you think?

Best answers:

• I heard this and thought the same. There is certainly a case for refusing to pay the EXTRA.
  The best solution would be to change the rules and allow water companies to cut off the water to non-payers. A solution might be to allow them to cut off the in-house supply and fit an external standpipe to shame these people into paying! I believe they also want to be able to fit trickle valves to allow for health and hygeine but not power showers!
• I know someone who once boasted to me that she hadn't paid her water bill for 3 years! Her excuse? Being a single Mum on income support.
  Fine you may think but this is the same woman who has at least one foreign holiday per year, spends Ј600 each on her kids at xmas and used to go out partying every weekend.
  Let's just say she worked cash in hand and had generous parents.
• next year they'll get the full amount minus that £10. It's not my problem they have bad debters.
• We recive bills here for the last person who lived here and at last meansure with charges on top they owed £4,500 each had a threat of bailiffs blah blah blah.
  I havent had any knocking at my door yet :confused:
• can't cut you off for non-payment.....all to do with the Water Act apparently
• We waited 3 years for a bill from thames water..goddam them..and had to pay it all in one go when they finally got their act together.
  ad no we can't help people wanting to move to the south east, but something could be done about the governments plan to build 100'000 new homes here in the next couple of years..silly plan!
• there is a loophole to the cant turn you off scenario so dont think they will get away from it forever.
  the water comapny sends a represenative to the property as they have no one listed as a bill payer at the property they are entitled to turn off the supply to the property.so there inspector etc turns of the supply at the boundary.
  they then knock on the door and if there is someone in they recover there details explaining that the property is supposed to be empty you will find 10/10 will give there details when they are confronted with there water being turned off
  if there is no one home the supply is left of and a form put through the door telling them what to do when they move into the property.there usually on the phone the same day giving there details for billing purposes.however there water usally isnt turned on until two days later
  water companys are finding this a great success to find out who should be paying the bill.and they are prosecuting more an more people once they find out there details and they can also back bill legally for six years.
  so they are coming after the non payers so beware
• Thats not true..it's illegal to turn off water supply to an inhabited property..and there are many procedures they have to go through to legally do it.
• starlite
  please believe me when i tell you that there is a legal loophole that allows them to treat the property as empty.
  they have no one on there billing register and also they are getting no reply from letters that are sent to the property weeks before the procedure i have mentioned above.
  there not saying that is habited there treating it as a property that is empty due to lack of response from the occupant and THEY are doing it
• As far as we are told, it's illegal to turn off the water supply. Bills paid or not. End of.
  who gave you that information
  The leakage issue needs to be sorted, maybe taking a slice of the water companies profits and plonking it into the 'find and fix the leakage' pot should be done
  dont you think this is already the case in one form or another ....!!!!!!!!
• I knew someone who worked for a water company and he said for people that do not pay they do not cut them off, but they reduce the water down to a minimum so it trickles out of the taps.
  and I'm not sure if they still do it, but they also employed doorstep debt collectors to collect arrears
• I work for a water company and can confirm that disconnection on empty properties does take place.
  Usually a letter is sent out stating 'we think property is empty and will disconnect to prevent leakage and damage to the property in 21 days - please contact us if this is not the case.' (or to that effect).
  It is a very effective way of getting the correct details of the occupier - or disconnecting to prevent leakage if no one is there.
  Otherways are doorstep debt collection agencies / external debt collection agencies / solicitors and court action. Customers going through court action are usually resolved before court (final notice stage) where they decide to pay up.
  DJ
• Of all the creditors I come across (I work for the CAB) South West Water are the fastest to issue a County Court Judgement. And if you ignore the judgement and are a property owner they have no hesitation in applying for a charging order.
  On the other side of the coin, if you play ball with them and negotiate a payment plan for paying off the arrears, you can then apply for Special Assistance, which usually wipes off half the arrears from previous financial years.
• I heard on the news the other day that if you don't pay your water bill then the water company can turn your water down to just a trickle. So that in the end you will pay the bill.
• My sister has never paid a water bill in her life and she has never even been chased for it