Someone put my name on the bill without my consent

[abyz]

Hi everyone, i have this situation:

i was renting a room at a house from october 2015 to march 2017, never paid any bills there wasnt any agreements on paper or anything like that my name was not on any of the bills, now i came over to pick letters for me and found 2 letters from thames water, 1st dated 16 June 2017 saying this is new account, thank you for letting us know etc. and 2nd is actual bill for £500 for a period from november 2016 to april 2018,
i phoned ThamesWater and they said that 3rd party have legal right to put my name and until date i move out its mine to pay, also in case i did not lived there i would have to prove that to them
is it really like that ? seems bullhsit

i also spoke to person whos behind all this ( hes pretending hes not) and he told me to give him this bill or send a copy or photo so 'he could see what to do with it'
what are my options here? and should i give him this bill ? i dont want to play myself here even more..

[des8]

Re: Someone put my name on the bill without my consent

Hi and welcome.
Was this a house in multiple occupation?
If so I believe the landlord is responsible for paying for the utilities

Tagging [MENTION=15129]Crazy council[/MENTION]... he'll know!

[abyz]

Re: Someone put my name on the bill without my consent

Yes Up to 9 people lived there at one time,
i wonder if i did right thing by taking this letter (bill) instead of leaving it there, like maybe now landlord does not have to pay as he don't have the bill .. anyway thanks for a reply

[des8]

Re: Someone put my name on the bill without my consent

I would write (recorded & not phone) to Thames Water, advising them the house was an HMO and you were one of nine occupants.
The landlord was responsible for paying the utilities, and his name and address are XYZ.
You anticipate no further contact from Thames, except to confirm they have removed your name from the bill.

[wales01man]

Re: Someone put my name on the bill without my consent

Was this HMO registered with the council?

[Crazy council]

Re: Someone put my name on the bill without my consent

Hi,

They not entirly liying when they say that, but all you have to do is notify them. to start the process.

Your tenancy contract owuld be your defence, unless it implies you pay the bills, In a HMO ( mulitipul occupancy ) , the LL,Owner id responcable for all bills that are not contracted out within the origional agreements. but the supply companies can bill anyone that have indication that lived there in there period.

Water Cos are the worse for this, and my recomendation is deal with it by recorded deliver letter with them, if you try deal with it over the phone or by email, you will just get spunn round and round by them.

what are my options here? and should i give him this bill

Yes, let them sort it out, but send recorded delivery notice to the water co at the same time.

[abyz]

Re: Someone put my name on the bill without my consent

Thank you you all for your advices, I appreciate it

The landlord was responsible for paying the utilities, and his name and address are XYZ.

and if I don't know his address ? Should I just put the address that's on the bill as his address ?
oh and is it better for me to say in the letter from when to when I lived there or just that I never did ? Because there's no tenancy agreement or anything

Is there specificdepartment or the way to address this letter?

Is it better to send the bill to water company along with the letter or give it to landlord or should I just keep it ?

Was this HMO registered with the council?

im not sure , but I would bet that it was not since even the electricity was stolen..

sorry for for so many questions, it's just really unfortunate time to deal with that and my credit rating is really important thing now..

[slainte caragh]

Re: Someone put my name on the bill without my consent

Hi sorry I have been manic at work and have literally just seen this, or I would have replied earlier.

I can confirm that a water company can take name information from a 3rd party as they have said.

Some ideas of how

Landlord
Electoral Register
Credit Reference Agency
Spouse
Managing Agent/Estate Agent
Previous Occupier (in the case of a move in/out)
Doorstep team- literally knock on the door of an "empty" property and ask for the person's name


Due to DPA they cannot specify which (would you believe it's against the person advising's privacy?)

If this bill should have always been in the Landlord's name, Thames Water need the Landlord to call/write in themselves and accept the responsibility. They cannot and will not change a thing until this is done. Likewise if a flatmate should have been responsible, they need to physically speak/write in and ask for this to be changed.

Until this happens they will continue to chase you for the amounts.

If the Landlord refuses it is classed as a tenant -landlord dispute and they will not deal with that.

PLEASE NOTE: If this is done from an email it HAS to be the person taking responsibility's email address, and if they only take responsibilty part way, you will be liable for the charge!

Good luck

[slainte caragh]

Re: Someone put my name on the bill without my consent

Thank you you all for your advices, I appreciate it


and if I don't know his address ? Should I just put the address that's on the bill as his address ?
oh and is it better for me to say in the letter from when to when I lived there or just that I never did ? Because there's no tenancy agreement or anything

The letter will not be dealt with until it comes from the landlord him/herself. No action will be taken on a letter from anyone claiming it was part of the rent.

Is there specificdepartment or the way to address this letter?
Just good ol' customer services, but again this MUST be the Landlord or no changes will be actioned.

Is it better to send the bill to water company along with the letter or give it to landlord or should I just keep it
I would suggest giving it to the landlord, but if he refuses to pay it, that is up to him. Unless he formally takes responsibilty nothing will change sorry.

im not sure , but I would bet that it was not since even the electricity was stolen..

sorry for for so many questions, it's just really unfortunate time to deal with that and my credit rating is really important thing now
If the Landlord takes the responsibilty from the start of the account then any reports will be wiped within 30 days, if not then any reports will stand as they are correct to the best of the company's knowledge and this becomes a landlord/tenant dispute.

My answers are in purple/violet, sorry to be a bit negative but it's in the Landlord's hands now.