backdated water bill

[tali122]

friend of mine recieved his first water bill from 2003 to present for �900 - is it his responsibility to pay?- why should he pay for the water companies mistake -what is the legal situation?

[snapdarlich]

Yes, he'll have to pay. Unfair I know, but he should contact the water company to discuss paying it over a longer period.

[rojash]

Surely he's not paying for the water company's mistake, he's paying for water, and he's had 3 years of free credit!

[Sammy Snake]

Where is the mistake? Why did he not query the fact that he had not received a bill since 2003?

[BillyBB]

Generally companies can backdate six years.

[mattfox]

If you know you're due a bill it's always best to contact the company in case this situation happens.

[tali122]

the water companies have multi million pound computerized systems - they have all the info (or do they really expect people to contact them??-yeah as if )- so why should any user pay for their obvious incompetence?

[mattfox]

The users are paying for the water they have used!!!

If a user doesn't bother to call the company to ask where their bill is (computerized systems can run into problems too and companies do all they can to make sure they run efficiently) then the user is to blame as much as the company.

The best thing to do is ask the company that, due to the error, they negotiate some sort of payment plan as it is unreasonable to ask for that sort of money in one payment....

[dzug]

Yes they do expect people to contact them. The fact that they have multi-million pound computerised systems doesn't mean they know everything.

And I fail to see how he is 'paying for their incompetence'. Exactly the opposite - he's had a three year interest free loan which if he plays his cards right he'll get longer to pay off. He's profitted from their 'incompetence', not lost out at all.