Student chased for water bill despite paying through bills company

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My student DS is getting harassed by a major water company for outstanding bills of £500.

He and his flatmates signed up to a bills management company and each paid a monthly direct debit amount to cover utilities including water.

The water company contacted my son and told him he still had to set up an account with the water company. He did, and he received a bill for £100 which confused and naive, he paid.

According to the bills management company, they’ve paid the water company. According to the water company, they haven’t. Bills management company not forthcoming with evidence saying it’s sensitive.

Anyone else come across this or ideas how to solve?

Your son will need to contact the companies involved and get the information/evidence that they have.
From that he should be able to prove that the company paid the bills for the address that he was at.

I'd first make sure that water was included and not separate,
Find the evidence that he has paid the bills company (if they are disputing that), give them the water company details and vice versa and let them sort it out between themselves.

Ask for a subject access request from water company to see if it throws up useful documents or reference numbers

And bills company

Thx for useful advice.

What a nightmare this is. He’s definitely not using a bills company again.

I just don’t understand why the bills company cannot provide evidence that they’ve paid Thames Water. Why would it be private? They took my DS’s money, and are then meant to have paid them. What’s private about that?

They are also really harassing my son. He’s really stressed.

They can provide evidence but only to the account holder.
Otherwise it will be a data breach.

You will also need to look at the accounf numbers.
The one that the management company paid into is likely to be different to the one that your DS set up.
What will be the same is the address and what you need to show is that the dates paid by the management company match the dates requested by the water company.

It may be worth your DS cantacting the student union an dteh university as they have likely dealt with this beofre and will probably have someone that can help with this.

Probably best he gets help from CAB.

The company are refusing to show your son evidence they paid the bill on his behalf? That's ludicrous. Tell him to demand they do so. Else what on earth is their purpose? And what is he expected to do when utilities are hounding him for bills he has entrusted to this shitty management firm?

Presumably his flatmates also paid towards this supposed water bill in advance? They all need to get together and complain.

Hi, just need a bit of further guidance please.

Since this post, 2 weeks ago, my DS has spoken to Thames Water and told them about his contract with the bills company. They backed off. He contacted the bills company and they said they were dealing with it.

Despite follow ups, my DS has heard nothing from the bills management company, and they have not responded to his emails. The amount is still outstanding too.

What can we do now to escalate this?

The director of the bills company? An official complaint to the bills company?

If the bills company have said they are dealing with it I would just leave it for Thames Water to sort out with them now.

Threaten to take legal action against the bills company, maybe? Sit down with your son and make a time line of all contact with both the bills company and Thames Water, including anything that might be part of a paper trail. Run that by the CAB, as a previous poster suggested, and they should help you figure out next steps.

It's great that you're supporting your son with this fight, OP. Try not to lose sleep over it, you will get there. I had never heard of bills companies before I read your post (long time since I went to uni!) but when I googled it I got the sense that it's the sort of 'service' that could be exploitative in the wrong hands. Even if the one in question is trying to pull a fast one, the law will be on your side ultimately, although hopefully it won't come to that.

Are Thames Water chasing him themselves or are they using a DCA (Debt collection agency). The debt industry is corrupt and rotten to the very heart.

Begin from the premise that your son doesn't have to prove that he doesn't have a debt with the company. They have to prove that he HAS. They will have to take him to court and produce the paperwork.

He needs to make a formal complaint to the bills company stating that if they do not resolve within a reasonable time he will refer the complaint to the FOS. (Check the FOS website for the guidance on timing and the v process.)

It sounds like total bollocks that the bills company say they've paid bills in his behalf but can't/won't evidence this because it's "private". They're his bills with TW and he has a contract with the bills company for the service. He is entitled to the information. It may be private from third parties but not him.

I'm confused about the £100. Is this in addition to what the bills company say they've paid TW? What is the outstanding balance?

It's possible that the bills company haven't paid what they say they have (hence being so cagey about evidencing it). Or possibly they have but used the wrong reference or something so TW hasn't properly allocated it to the account. But if so that can't be resolved unless bills company provides the bloody information.

Good luck.