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URGENT MATTER - HMO Licensing, Thames Water, Property issues and disputes with owner
Good morning,
I have been in living in the UK for about 8 years from 2014 until 2022. I left the UK last year in February 2022. I am not living in the UK anymore.
The issue relates to the property I lived in for 5 years. From 2018 until 2022 I was living in a shared house (the above address I wrote) with other 5 people. Sometimes it was more than 5 people sharing the house.
The problem is that there is a water bill in my name without a reason. I found a few letters in my name in 2019 (I do not know how) & 2021 because I was in the electoral books of the council for the election of the London Mayor. The problem is that Thames Water is chasing me for water for about 2 years since the autumn of 2021 and I am not the owner of the house. The bill is over 1700 pounds from October 2021 to December 2021.
Very important information: Thames Water does not know who the owner is and does not have information about how many tenants had been living over there. They have reported to me that the property is unlicensed for HMO and there is excessive usage of water for the past 4-5 years. This is what Thames Water wrote in their response letters to me.
The owner probably did not register the property for the bills and or never informed the authorities such as Lambeth Council or Thames Water. In fact, the owner might have kept secret all this and kept using different old names, perhaps passing bills to other people from older owners, and therefore the Water Company thinks I am responsible for paying the bills. Also very important the owner did not contact Thames Water to take responsibility as it seems. Now Thames Water has passed my details to a credit debt collection agency (Avantis and LCS) that is chasing me to pay the debt.
The owner claimed that she has a mortgage. The documents show evidence that the property is probably unlicensed and that the name registered on the property does not belong to the owner. The situation is complicated as the owner has 3 letters with different names for Thames Water as well as a gas bill that says the owner. The owner claims she has paid the water bills but in fact, this is not true. I have high doubts that she complies with the law and I am not sure whether she pays correctly and on time the bills (e.g. gas, electricity, water) or if she pays tax in the council. She also takes the rent in the bank without getting taxed. That means she can charge as much as she wants. She was getting paid with bank transfers from all tenants at least what I remember until 2022.
I had a contract with the owner that I never signed. She sent a bad-quality scanned contract via email a few years ago. She told me that all the bills are included in the rent. I was transferring money to her bank account each month from 2018 until January 2022. The owner has a mortgage and from my investigation, it's not licensed to rent out to many people, especially for over 4. She had problems with many tenants that left the house because of problems and another one who she had to call the police a lot of times.
She was also changing locks in the property constantly preventing access to a housemate in the bathroom and to use the washing machine because he did not pay the rent. She also changed bank for mortgage and she told us a few years ago to leave the property for a moment because the bank was visiting the house. She claims is a family house but in fact, it is not.
I never gave my details to Thames Water Company but they found my electoral vote details through the council I guess. I suspect the owner was lying to me. I consulted a lawyer in 2022 but she has failed to help except for a letter that she prepaid and she did not do anything else after that. I have also contacted CCWater company https://www.ccw.org.uk/ but they also did not help me.
I have been to Mertons Citizen advice bureau, but they could not help me. They advised me to call a few solicitors. Most of these solicitors did not want to help me or they told me is too expensive for me. Also, a lot of solicitors do not have the capacity I have contacted Lambeth Council about the illegal property which is not licensed for HMO and this is my main hope as I can provide this evidence to Thames Water and somehow find a solution. They are doing an investigation at the moment.
I don't know where to ask for help. As the water company is chasing me and is clearly the fault of the owner. Thames Water is not able to help. They keep repeating the same stuff the owner needs to call us and the owner is not calling. They do not reply to my complaint and in general, they keep recycling the issue to avoid removing my name or they tell me to go to AVANTIS. Avantis is not helping me at and they ask me to provide an address which I do not have in the UK. Then they cannot help me due to security reasons.
I am about to make a new complaint with https://www.ccw.org.uk/ to provide all the evidence and to provide all the documentation to the Water company and collection debt agency as well. I have contacted by phone both the water company and credit agency, but they are unable to help me because they do not believe me, and they need proof. At the moment everyone I ask just does not help me seriously. All they provide me with logical explanations that it should not happen and because of the fault of the owner then I do not have to pay the water bill of the other 5 people.
I would like to know if I should take legal action against the owner who "cheat" me and get a refund for all the rent I have paid in the past 5 years and for all the trouble she caused me or solve this directly with the Thames Water Company.
I have been in living in the UK for about 8 years from 2014 until 2022. I left the UK last year in February 2022. I am not living in the UK anymore.
The issue relates to the property I lived in for 5 years. From 2018 until 2022 I was living in a shared house (the above address I wrote) with other 5 people. Sometimes it was more than 5 people sharing the house.
The problem is that there is a water bill in my name without a reason. I found a few letters in my name in 2019 (I do not know how) & 2021 because I was in the electoral books of the council for the election of the London Mayor. The problem is that Thames Water is chasing me for water for about 2 years since the autumn of 2021 and I am not the owner of the house. The bill is over 1700 pounds from October 2021 to December 2021.
Very important information: Thames Water does not know who the owner is and does not have information about how many tenants had been living over there. They have reported to me that the property is unlicensed for HMO and there is excessive usage of water for the past 4-5 years. This is what Thames Water wrote in their response letters to me.
The owner probably did not register the property for the bills and or never informed the authorities such as Lambeth Council or Thames Water. In fact, the owner might have kept secret all this and kept using different old names, perhaps passing bills to other people from older owners, and therefore the Water Company thinks I am responsible for paying the bills. Also very important the owner did not contact Thames Water to take responsibility as it seems. Now Thames Water has passed my details to a credit debt collection agency (Avantis and LCS) that is chasing me to pay the debt.
The owner claimed that she has a mortgage. The documents show evidence that the property is probably unlicensed and that the name registered on the property does not belong to the owner. The situation is complicated as the owner has 3 letters with different names for Thames Water as well as a gas bill that says the owner. The owner claims she has paid the water bills but in fact, this is not true. I have high doubts that she complies with the law and I am not sure whether she pays correctly and on time the bills (e.g. gas, electricity, water) or if she pays tax in the council. She also takes the rent in the bank without getting taxed. That means she can charge as much as she wants. She was getting paid with bank transfers from all tenants at least what I remember until 2022.
I had a contract with the owner that I never signed. She sent a bad-quality scanned contract via email a few years ago. She told me that all the bills are included in the rent. I was transferring money to her bank account each month from 2018 until January 2022. The owner has a mortgage and from my investigation, it's not licensed to rent out to many people, especially for over 4. She had problems with many tenants that left the house because of problems and another one who she had to call the police a lot of times.
She was also changing locks in the property constantly preventing access to a housemate in the bathroom and to use the washing machine because he did not pay the rent. She also changed bank for mortgage and she told us a few years ago to leave the property for a moment because the bank was visiting the house. She claims is a family house but in fact, it is not.
I never gave my details to Thames Water Company but they found my electoral vote details through the council I guess. I suspect the owner was lying to me. I consulted a lawyer in 2022 but she has failed to help except for a letter that she prepaid and she did not do anything else after that. I have also contacted CCWater company https://www.ccw.org.uk/ but they also did not help me.
I have been to Mertons Citizen advice bureau, but they could not help me. They advised me to call a few solicitors. Most of these solicitors did not want to help me or they told me is too expensive for me. Also, a lot of solicitors do not have the capacity I have contacted Lambeth Council about the illegal property which is not licensed for HMO and this is my main hope as I can provide this evidence to Thames Water and somehow find a solution. They are doing an investigation at the moment.
I don't know where to ask for help. As the water company is chasing me and is clearly the fault of the owner. Thames Water is not able to help. They keep repeating the same stuff the owner needs to call us and the owner is not calling. They do not reply to my complaint and in general, they keep recycling the issue to avoid removing my name or they tell me to go to AVANTIS. Avantis is not helping me at and they ask me to provide an address which I do not have in the UK. Then they cannot help me due to security reasons.
I am about to make a new complaint with https://www.ccw.org.uk/ to provide all the evidence and to provide all the documentation to the Water company and collection debt agency as well. I have contacted by phone both the water company and credit agency, but they are unable to help me because they do not believe me, and they need proof. At the moment everyone I ask just does not help me seriously. All they provide me with logical explanations that it should not happen and because of the fault of the owner then I do not have to pay the water bill of the other 5 people.
I would like to know if I should take legal action against the owner who "cheat" me and get a refund for all the rent I have paid in the past 5 years and for all the trouble she caused me or solve this directly with the Thames Water Company.
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