Not Paying Your Water Bill

A question about : Not Paying Your Water Bill

I moved into a property owned by a family member about 2 or 3 years ago. The guy who lived here before seemed to owe some on his water bill, probably half a years worth of money.

The last letter they sent was a few months ago now, asking for like 500 and something quid. I haven't paid them anything since i moved in.

Technically i probably owe them between 3 or 400.

They address the letters to the guy who used to live here.

Do i have to pay them anything?

If i ignore them for say another year or so, and then moved out, they would be non the wiser and still send letters addressed to the old guy wouldn't they?

From the looks of it the old guy who lived here has a bad credit history anyway so any debt on his file would be irrelevant, he owed the energy company 1800 quid on his prepayment meter.

Best answers:

• Basically you are asking how can i steal from the water company .
• You are liable for the water bill from the day you moved in.
  If you chose not to inform the water co when that was then you might end up paying for the previous tenants water as well.
  Hopefully you've got proof of the day you moved in (signed tenancy agreement etc) and a meter reading if you've got a meter, otherwise you could be in for a nasty shock.
  Trying to evade payment could end up with you being taken to court and ending up damaging your credit record.
• Just tell them when you moved in, they will send you a bill, you pay it, job done. No adverse credit ratings.
  If you ignore it you don't know what will happen. Maybe they'll start poking around to see who lives there. You're currently on a deemed contract, they just don't know it yet.
• After so long with no payment they may do a search with credit agency to see who there.
• Hi Nicholas.
  No, you don't have to pay them anything.
  Worst case scenario is:
  They find you;
  Then they ask for payment;
  You then pay up or not;
  If not, they will send a letter before a court claim giving you X days to pay;
  Then you'll probably have to pay to avoid added court costs.
  A claim could get you a CCJ, but if you settle it before or upon the letter before court action you shouldn't lose out in any way. Just ignore them is my advice.
  Odd how some on this board imply that avoidance of this potential and unproven civil debt is a criminal offence. FYI: failing to inform a water company of your occupancy of a property is not unlawful.
• You are correct but using water without paying for it is theft and in my view should be treated as such especially when there's no intention of paying the bill.