Water Bill?! CCJ?!?

DHR

DHR

DHR

Soldato
Joined
30 Apr 2003
Posts
3,613
I'm fuming.

We got landed with an absolutely massive water bill around four weeks ago, we were unable to pay the full amount so contacted united utilities explaining this was the case expecting them to assist.... remember the "Help with paying your bill" section on the letters, just don't ever bother trying.

We paid over half of the bill there and then, notes were apparently left of the account and we were told we wouldn't receive anymore letters with an agreement the final amount would be paid between the 27th July and the 1st August. No problem right?

I come home tonight to find a letter from solicitors saying that a CCJ will be registered against my name within the next 7 days. Ironically this letter was dated the 16th July - 8 days ago.

I phoned the billing line and was greeted with some Muppet who said "like" more than anyone else I’ve ever spoken to on the phone. Apparently no notes had been left on the account, the "debt action date" hadn't been changed meaning that it’s like we haven't paid them a bean. I then asked if I will now have a CCJ registered against me..."uuuurrrr don't know".

So he made the changes, I hung up, then rang back to make sure the changes had been made which this time they had. I asked the new person I had on the phone if I now had a CCJ registered against my name..... "uuurrr don't know".... well who do I find out from?? ..... "urrrr don't know".

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? Will a CCJ have been registered against my name or not?

I'm so fed up with this massive oversized utility companies taking the **** and hiding behind call centre staff on either the other side of the world or suffering from an extreme case of stupidity
 
I hate water companies.

Because they are the only privatised utility where you can't change your supplier they invest nothing in customer services.

Contact www.ccwater.org.uk.

I had a dispute with Thames Water on the grounds they said my house didn't exist and then sent me a bill 2 years later. The Consumer Council for Water were very helpful. Ofwat directed me there after I called them.
 
It used to be the case that as a CCJ was paid within 1 month of issue, it would not appear on your credit file. I hope for your sake this is still the case!
 
Try Experian to check your credit report a CCJ will show up on there, they do a free 30 day trial but make sure you cancel it otherwise they automatically start charging you.
 
Wicked, thanks guys, as usual you've calmed me down a little. I just can't get over it I really can't. I have never not paid a bill in my life, if i'd have ignored it or just left it and not contacted them about it etc etc i could understand but I / WE have spoken to them on numerous occasions.

I hate putting trust in people because 9/10 you can't rely on them.
 
iirc they have to take you to court to get a ccj, and you get a chance to have your say.
the court is unlikely to issue one if you can show you were ready to pay and had made arrangements (a bank statement/receipt showing you'd made a large payment goes in your favour).
 
mosehn said:
i would pay it as they will end up cutting you off
Click to expand...

No it wouldn't, water companies cannot cut domestic supplies of water off ;)

The problem sadly is the way in which the water companies structure their customer service.

The person you speak to is a big standard call handler, the guys who handle the debt recovery will be in a different room/building/county :)

The other problem is that a lot of the time the call centre is outsourced or ran in partnership with another company, the staff they get in these places are, well I'd say 'interesting'. The turnover rate in our call centre is stupid imho as it's a horrible job!

The trick is to have a system that gives someone all the info they need whilst you are on the phone.

As for companies not investing in customer service, granted compared to the silly profits they make it's not a lot, but there has been some major restructuring of the customer services process recently in a number of companies.

Even working for a water company I can't stand to call them as the monkeys there always get it wrong, they moved us into the house next door when we moved house :rolleyes: And in doing so they cancelled the guy next doors direct debits! They had to call him up and aplogise and set them all up again. It's shocking that the only reason we got it sorted was just wondering over to one of the managers (I mean manager/team leader in the loosest term possible!) to get them to sort it, and give the guy who did it a telling off at the same time (he'd made a string of cockups...) :)
 
Most companies have equally appalling customer services. (See my 3 thread further down). I usually keep writing to them and posting by recorded del, as well as recording my phone conversations so that I know I have proof that I have always done the right thing and it is usually the muppets in customer services who don't have a clue.
 
You've probably received a 'fake court summons' or 'official notification' or final final notice from some no mark debt collection agency.
 
Werewolf said:
iirc they have to take you to court to get a ccj, and you get a chance to have your say.
the court is unlikely to issue one if you can show you were ready to pay and had made arrangements (a bank statement/receipt showing you'd made a large payment goes in your favour).
Click to expand...


Exactly .....
 
Thanks :) I always feel like a right tool letting off steam here, it’s interesting to see the number of people who have had similar issues though.

I will be contacting the Consumer Council for Water as [DOD]Asprilla suggested. It’s their fault we've ended up in this situation in the first place and instead of "helping" us as they advertised they would they've made the situation so much worse.

I'm fortunate to have the money available, it does make me feel very sorry for those people who struggle with normal bill payments, it must be near impossible for them to deal with these Muppets.

Once again thanks, I'll keep you posted :p
 
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