Credit Blacklisting Of Water Customers

EDM number 1020 in 1990-91, proposed by Alan Williams on 24/06/1991.

That this House notes with concern that in 1990-91 in England and Wales 450,000 judgments, of which 35,785 related to Welsh Water, were given by courts against customers because of water rate debts; is aware that many of these arise from failure to pay monthly instalments which are smaller than the courts charges, but that this financial penalty is completely overshadowed by the fact that these judgements then are recorded by credit reference agencies so cutting off from normal credit purchases or appliance rentals for six years people whose circumstances do not allow them to buy outright the goods, appliances and furniture they may need; notes that too often their only alternative to going without is to fall into the hands of parasite loan sharks who charge usurious interest rates; believes that this combined punishment is out of all proportion to the scale of the debt default, which with elderly people is often the result of oversight rather than deliberate non-payment; calls upon Ministers to consult urgently with water companies, credit reference agencies and OFWAT to see if this blacklisting can be avoided for the non-persistent minor offender; draws attention to the fact that because local authority rates or poll-tax cases have been dealt with in the magistrates courts the additional penalty of blacklisting is avoided; and in the meantime asks water companies to give prominent notice when establishing instalment payment arrangements to the possible blacklist consequences of failure to abide by the instalments.

This motion has been signed by a total of 42 MPs.