Help Water bill and dont know what to do

[OXO77]

I moved in my property over 10yrs ago, when i moved in i was advised by severn trent my water was included in my yearly service charge
Never received anything from them until this year, a statement backdated. I am a single patent working part time on uc, i know i need to speak to them but am that stressed out and having panic attacks on how much i owe them. The only information i have who i spoke to when i first moved in. What on earth am i meant to do

Contact them and explain you have not had a statement for 10 years and then I imagine you will need to set up some kind of payment plan.

Speak to citizens advice. They have people who can negotiate with utility companies for you. If they haven't attempted to collect the money in an this time, they may be able to discuss writing it off.
Tackle or, don't ignore it, it's likely there is a way through and it's always easier if you deal with it quickly.

Don't panic. Have a look at this page for some guidance on how to handle this:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/water/problems-with-paying-your-water-bill/backdated-water-bills/

If you're on UC you may be eligible for a Social Tariff:

https://www.ccw.org.uk/save-money-and-water/help-with-bills/#social-tariffs

Are you shure you are not being scammed?
Go directly to the company office and discuss options, whether you owe anything given that you were told otherwise.
Is there an ombudsman to contact?

Find the letter stating that your water bill is included in your yearly service charge. As above by user14, go direct to the water company and query whether you do have any outstanding charges. Even if it isn’t a scam, you have the notice from ten years ago and so they should clear all the charges. If there has been a policy change, you should only have to pay extra for water from a date in the future after you’ve had the legal minimum notice period. They can’t just change a policy and apply it retroactively.

Do you have anything in writing from Severn Trent from the time? If so I'd use that as proof as you can even take that to small claims and show it as proof that they told you you didn't owe them anything.

Secondly, they can't usually collect a debt if it's over six years old and they've never received payment. It's called being "statute barred":

Source: moneynerd.co.uk/debt-over-10-years-old/

‘Statute-barred’ – Debts over six years old
If a creditor takes too long to recover the debt you owe and you do not make any admission or payments of the debt, the debt becomes what’s known as statute-barred. Normally, this is if your debt is over six years old. This means that it can no longer be recovered through court action.
The debt is written off under the UK debt statute of limitations; however, it still exists technically. For a debt to become statute-barred, it takes a bit of time.
So if you have a debt over six years old, it may be statute-barred. There are, however, certain rules surrounding this too.

This would suggest at least 40% of the debt can be written off if you make the right argument and follow the right procedure.

Citizen's Advice may be able to help get to the bottom of it all.

Contact Citizens Advice and explain everything.

As you’re will severn trent you can apply to the Severn trent trust fund which can help with repaying some of your debt. Then look at the big difference scheme from them too- reduces your bills if you’re eligible

in my own experience, severn trent’s ‘ big difference’ scheme is crap…..you’re basically just put ona monthly payment plan instead of a 6 monthly bill (which includes threatening letters if you’re late paying), it made my bills increase (i’m £7k earnings below what they quote as qualifying criteria, ie, £22k threshold to benefit from their scheme, plus i’m a single mum with a dependent who works full time and get uc). …their ‘help’ in reducing bills costs more because it’s monthly…plus, since signing up for their ‘BF’ i can no longer see my bills online or my meter readings and the only way i can contact them is via whatsapp or fb messenger …. now they want to be fb buddies🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️😂…. no chance🤦‍♀️

Also, if your water is included in your service charge, then they can’t be chasing you for it (i’m assuming you’re social /shared ownership if you pay service charges)…….but either way, if you’re a private tenant then it’s still not your responsibility if it clearly states in your agreement what is included in your service charges…..don’t make any offer to pay before getting your paperwork in order first…ie checking your original lease documents