When Glenn and his wife moved into rue Opper in Nieuwerkerken in Limburg five years ago, their house had not one number but two. “The house was at number 197, the driveway was at number 199,” Glenn told our colleagues at HBVL.
The municipality then asked the couple to register at number 197, which Glenn Alenis and Lyanne did directly, but a problem then arose. “The water dispenser told us that there was no drinking water tap at 197. On the other hand, there was one at number 199,” explains Glenn. “Although our residential address is at number 197, we had to sign a contract at number 199.”
Two years ago, the couple decided to move. If at first everything goes well, in the summer of 2021 things get tough. Indeed, a new invoice arrives and, this, concerning the extraction of water at number 197 of their old house. For De Watergroep, water was extracted via a well and discharged into the sewer network. Water that must be treated, which therefore represents costs that the Water Group will collect before paying them to the Flemish Society for the Environment.
“But we did not extract any water or use a well at number 197 at all, let alone enter into a water extraction contract, as De Watergroep claimed,” Glenn reacted.
Despite numerous phone calls and emails, De Watergroep stuck to its guns: Glenn and Lyanne had to pay for the well they had allegedly used at the time.
“Eventually, we just transferred those first 123 euros,” says Glenn. But unfortunately, the story does not end there… “Last summer, we received another invoice for 2021 (then) for 2022. There are even threats from bailiffs”, specifies the Belgian. “It’s surely too crazy to pay for a service that we have never used, at a time when we no longer live there. We can therefore continue to pay until eternity”.
The situation is all the more incomprehensible since, in the meantime, the dwelling has been rented by the CPAS of the municipality, which does not seem to have received an invoice. Tossed from one organization to another, the couple ended up winning their case and their situation was resolved. The contract was terminated on August 3, 2020 and the invoices for 2021 and 2022 are no longer payable.
