Water Utility chasing for a previous address

[Meg888]

Hi. My partner is being hounded by Northumbrian Water for outstanding amounts from his ex marital home. He left the property almost 8 years ago and his ex wife still resides there, the home is hers entirely. It was a bitter split and she f/w a lot of her bills on to him for a couple of years after. However, the first water bill came around 4/5 yrs ago when we were living at a previous address - it was addressed to both my partner & his ex wife. He contacted them, stating he did not live at the address etc etc. I think this particular bill stopped coming. However, 3 yrs ago they started chasing him again, this time in his own name. He was never the sole name on any bills at the marital address - it was always either in his ex's name or shared. The periods of the outstanding amounts are after my partner left. He has tried to contact them, but they insist he is responsible for these bills - (one is £445 and the other is £1539!!) As he moved back with his mother after the split in 2003, and then on to me at my residence, he has no proof of the year he left the marital home. He was unemployed for a period and the earliest correspondance from solicitors in connection with his divorce is early 2005. I don't see how they can insist he is responsible for these bills, when always has and still does reside at the property. ps - there would be no point in trying to reason with her, as they don't communicate at all.

Any advice will be appreciated - thainks in advance.

[themas]

He could be jointly & severally liable for the bills for any period when he was lving there. They could chase him for those whether his name was on the bill or not, unless their charges scheme made it clear that only the person named on the bill was liable.

His problem is proving when he moved out. Presumably he didn't tell them at the time but did tell them when the first bill arrived 4/5 years ago. Therefore if any of the bills they are chasing relate to periods after 4/5 years ago he should not have any problem getting them to accept he is not liable for those (unless they didn't keep a proper record of what he told them!).

If he has solicitors letters from ealry 2005 addressed to him at an address other then the ex-marital home then a copy of those should convince them that nothing after the date of the earliest letter is his responsibility.

Both his mother & you could do statutory declarations confirming the dates he was living with you. These should satisfy them about the date he moved out. You will need someone with some legal knowledge to draft them & they have to be signed before a solicitor who is a commissioner for oaths & witnessed by him/her.

If they still don't accept it just refuse to pay & let them take him to Court, where all the evidence can be decided by a judge.

Whatever he does, send it to them by recorded delivery & keep a copy - don't do it on the phone.

[factor-fiction]

It just shows that these things need to be sorted out at the time - unpaid bills like this don't tend to go away. The debt may well have been sold on to another organisation who are unlikely to write the money off.
I'm not sure how his partner managed to get her name off the bills- has he asked the creditors?

[Meg888]

Thanks both for the advice. I'm not sure either how his ex-wife's name has been removed, this has been niggling at me so I think I'll ask him to get this explained. The debt has not yet been sold on to a collection agency, as the letters / warnings etc still come from the water company.

[themas]

The fact they are chasing him does not mean his ex has been taken off the bills. If they think (wrongly in this case) that the two of them are jointly & severally liable then they can chase either for the full amount. It could well be that she hasn't paid & they are having a go at him to see if they can get their money. But I agree he should ask about this & see what they say.

[nilet19742]

The Water Utility's relentless pursuit of a previous address has left residents baffled and frustrated. Here you check https://rainsoft.pissedconsumer.com/review.html and get more helpful tips for Utility. Despite repeated attempts to update their records, the utility seems fixated on an outdated location. This inefficiency not only inconveniences customers but also raises questions about the effectiveness of their system. Amidst the confusion, individuals are left wondering if the utility has considered the accuracy of their data, especially in light of rainsoft reviews highlighting similar issues.