Carter litigation proceeding on behalf of thames water.

[kay000]

Hi ppl just wondering if now is the time for me to prepare a defence against BC claim?? Any ideas pls? been having sleepless nights!!

[AndyOrch]

Timeline is provided in post#4 Kay.

[kay000]

Timeline is provided in post#4 Kay.

 

Ok thanks will try to calm down

[kay000]

Hello good ppl, just wondering if I should wait until the deadline day to put in a defence against claim from BC. in my case the 18/11/2013. pls any advice will be of great help!

[citizenB]

kay, you don't have to submit until the 18th November.

 

If you want to try and draft something yourself and pop it on your thread we can help you tidy it up.

[kay000]

kay, you don't have to submit until the 18th November.

 

If you want to try and draft something yourself and pop it on your thread we can help you tidy it up.

 

Thanks for getting back to me. To be honest, I don't even know how to start drafting a defence and all those legal terms , pls pls pls I need help!

[kay000]

Hi ppl, Looking for any ideas on defence against litigation claim from Bryan Carter on behalf of Thames water, any one been there before? I have to put in a defence by tomorrow,18/11/13

Any ideas/formats will be really appreciated

[AndyOrch]

It does not require legal terms put it in your own words why you disagree with the claim and why you feel you are not indebted.......post up here first and I will cast an eye over it.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Mike_hawk]

Pls

i'm in need of urgent help with a bryan carter litigations proceeding on behalf of thames water( £853.).

 

Received a claim form from Northampton(CCBC) dated 16/10/2013 but received 21/10/2013.

 

I am a novice at this sort of things.

I initially called BC to try and arrange a kind of repayment plan

but they are bullying me into making a monthly payment plan I can not afford.

don't know if that was a good idea.

 

Now stumbled on this forum .

 

The particulars of claim says

" Pursuant to section 142 and 143 of the water industry act 1991

The claimant claims 853.

being part of a debt due for water service charges under acc no .....

.for the period 01/09/2011 to 01/04/2012 .

 

Pls what can I do as

 

i do not want a CCJ and don't like the idea of going to court and also I am really running out of time .

 

Are you sure the dates are accurate? I pay circa 40% of this for a 6 bed house and 30' pool

[kay000]

Are you sure the dates are accurate? I pay circa 40% of this for a 6 bed house and 30' pool

 

Thanks for your response, Yes infact I have had to read the particulars of claim over again and it is exactly as in my post ie

Pursuant to section 142 and 143 of the water industry act 1991, the claimant claims 853.35 being part of a debt due

for water service charges under account no ... for the period 01/09/2011 to 01/04/2012

 

I have actually thought of basing my defence on the fact that I live in a two bedroom property and I do not think they were accurrate in billing me 853.35 for a period of about seven months. What do you think?

[kay000]

In my own words I am thinking of defending the claim like this:

Defence against claim by BC on behalf of Thames Water

I , the defendant am defending the claim made by Bryan Carter on behalf of Thames water for 853.35 as part of a debt due for water service charges on my

two bedroom accommodation for the period of 01/09/2011 to 01/04/2012, ( a period of seven months). I believe this to be inaccurate and far above the average

domestic rate of water consumption. I especially contest this amount as I have not been presented any evidence in the form of a meter reading that justifies I have

exceedinly utilised water services above the average domestic consumption rate for the category of my dwelling.I therefore plead that this claim be struck off and declared

inaccurate and misleading. Pls advice what you think

[Mike_hawk]

I think perhaps you should refer to any dispute you have records of and put it to proof of the total claimed.

 

Did you make any offer to thames to pay x amount or a sum you felt was legitimately owed based on usage?

 

Is this a metered supply?

 

Have you contacted the new tenant or landlord to establish whether they are having the same issues, could this be from a previous tenants usage front loaded on to your account?

[Mike_hawk]

I suppose the account details reconcile with the correct meter number?

[kay000]

I suppose the account details reconcile with the correct meter number?

 

I do not have a meter or meter number, they just send the bill based on some standard rate or something. is it a good idea to defend based on inaccurate bill?

Also does anyone know at what time I have till today to put in my defence? any response is very useful at this point..

[kay000]

I think perhaps you should refer to any dispute you have records of and put it to proof of the total claimed.

 

Did you make any offer to thames to pay x amount or a sum you felt was legitimately owed based on usage?

 

Is this a metered supply?

 

Have you contacted the new tenant or landlord to establish whether they are having the same issues, could this be from a previous tenants usage front loaded on to your account?

 

I am still a tenant at this address and I tried to make a repayment arrangement with thames water but was told that it was no more in their hands.

[AndyOrch]

You can submit up until midnight Kay.

[Mike_hawk]

I am still a tenant at this address and I tried to make a repayment arrangement with thames water but was told that it was no more in their hands.

 

 

Do you have your bill for April 2012 thru 2013 and does it bear any resemblance to the previous 2011 statement?

 

You may need to do some digging to find out if it is in breach of any obligation to you if the bill were disputed. There used to be a guarantee scheme which entitled customers to some redress when the provider got it wrong... not sure if it still exists though.

 

Rather than just defending on the basis that some of the money may be owed [in effect a partial admission] ....... ergo you lose on costs etc as the claim is valid, try to find a position where it is also at fault or has failed to exhaust any ADR remedy prior to filing.

 

This does of course assume that you addressed the matter at the time and can substantiate some record of the dispute.

[kay000]

From my current bill sent to me for the period from 01 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 it show that

My account activity:

Amount due at last bill(dated 07 february 2012)------£500.55

Total new charges for this period---------------------- £402.80

Total amount due------------------------------------------£903.35

Arrears excluded- with collection agency

or subject to legal action---------------------------------£500.55

Total amount due by 1 April 2013-----------------------£402.80

 

So I am thinking, if amount excluded - with collection agency or subject to legal action

is £500.55, how did BC come up with 853.35? and also for the period 01/09/2011 to 01/04/2012

could interest have accrued on this amount?

 

Also from the break down on how they worked out my bill charges from 01 april 2013 to 31 march 2014(365 days),

Chargeable value of my property--------------- £262.00

(chargeable value assessed by inland Revenue based on many factors including size of home, amenities, number of rooms

and location of address.but not on amount of water used.

To supply fresh water, they charge 80.00pence for each £1 of chargeable value.

They also charge a fixed amount for supplying water----------------------£31.00

total----------------------------------------------------------------£240.60

Waste water services

Chargeable value of my property--------------------------------£116.20

To supply waste water services, they charge me 44.35pence for each £1 of chargeable value

They also charge a fixed amount for supplying waste water services-----------£46.00

 

Pls. I have put this up to see if a second review from some one else could establish my defence that there is

inconsistencies with the claim amount.

[Mike_hawk]

From my current bill sent to me for the period from 01 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 it show that

My account activity:

Amount due at last bill(dated 07 february 2012)------£500.55

Total new charges for this period---------------------- £402.80

Total amount due------------------------------------------£903.35

Arrears excluded- with collection agency

or subject to legal action---------------------------------£500.55

Total amount due by 1 April 2013-----------------------£402.80

 

So I am thinking, if amount excluded - with collection agency or subject to legal action

is £500.55, how did BC come up with 853.35? and also for the period 01/09/2011 to 01/04/2012

could interest have accrued on this amount?

 

Also from the break down on how they worked out my bill charges from 01 april 2013 to 31 march 2014(365 days),

Chargeable value of my property--------------- £262.00

(chargeable value assessed by inland Revenue based on many factors including size of home, amenities, number of rooms

and location of address.but not on amount of water used.

To supply fresh water, they charge 80.00pence for each £1 of chargeable value.

They also charge a fixed amount for supplying water----------------------£31.00

total----------------------------------------------------------------£240.60

Waste water services

Chargeable value of my property--------------------------------£116.20

To supply waste water services, they charge me 44.35pence for each £1 of chargeable value

They also charge a fixed amount for supplying waste water services-----------£46.00

 

Pls. I have put this up to see if a second review from some one else could establish my defence that there is

inconsistencies with the claim amount.

 

 

How much have you paid in total since 2011?

[kay000]

sorry I missed out that they charged me £209.60 out of chargeable value of £262.00 for fresh water supply in the earlier post. so total is

£209.60+ £31.00=£240.60. I hope it is not too mingled up.

[kay000]

How much have you paid in total since 2011?

 

To be honest I'm not too sure, but I remember making some payments when it was with fredrickson international maybe three instalments totalling about £60.

[Mike_hawk]

I think perhaps that answers any question of the sum claimed, 2011 thru to April 2013.... Its claim period may be subject to a slip [typo] in the dates but beyond that its not far out from the figures you've posted - Do you think you may possibly have paid £50.00?

 

You may have a valid dispute for the intial period and quantum which I woud think should knock circa £200.00 off the partial 2011 bill

 

Have you paid anything towards this years bill yet?

[kay000]

Do you have your bill for April 2012 thru 2013 and does it bear any resemblance to the previous 2011 statement?

 

You may need to do some digging to find out if it is in breach of any obligation to you if the bill were disputed. There used to be a guarantee scheme which entitled customers to some redress when the provider got it wrong... not sure if it still exists though.

 

Rather than just defending on the basis that some of the money may be owed [in effect a partial admission] ....... ergo you lose on costs etc as the claim is valid, try to find a position where it is also at fault or has failed to exhaust any ADR remedy prior to filing.

 

This does of course assume that you addressed the matter at the time and can substantiate some record of the dispute.

 

Unfortunately, i can not find a bill for april 2012 thru 2013, not very sure if i had received one as a matter of fact, I had more correspondents with Fredrickson/carter than with thames water that period.

Digging to find out breach of obligation, ADR,. and those legal terms will only give me nose bleed! pls i really need help in these area.

[kay000]

I think perhaps that answers any question of the sum claimed, 2011 thru to April 2013.... Its claim period may be subject to a slip [typo] in the dates but beyond that its not far out from the figures you've posted - Do you think you may possibly have paid £50.00?

 

You may have a valid dispute for the intial period and quantum which I woud think should knock circa £200.00 off the partial 2011 bill

 

Have you paid anything towards this years bill yet?

Yes I am sure I have paid up to £50 through Fredrickson, I have not paid towards this years bill, but I am willing to pay something. I called thames water hoping to sort of reconcile the bills and

set up a repayment plan with the arrears but it was declared out of their hands!

[kay000]

should I call thames water and ask about making some payments towards this years bill now?