Do I still have to pay water rates on an un-occupied house?

[oneofthosedays]

We have a sale going thru on our old house, we have already moved and told United Utilities the new address etc and received the new payment schedule/DD amounts for the new property. However, DH was at the old house checking on it and found a letter addressed to 'the occupier' requesting payment for the period from when I told them we had moved until the end of the financial year.

Do we have to pay this even though we're not living there? Obviously the new people will be responsible for the cost from when the sale completes, but what about the period before this when the prop has been empty and no water/sewage services have been used?

Did you tell them the property was unoccupied and unfurnished? If not, then they won't have actually closed the account, just assumed someone else was moving in. You need to explicitly tell them the property is empty and remaining so until further notice.

Right, I'll give them a quick ring then I think!