Legal Question in Consumer Law in Utah

liability for previous

We bought a house and the city is trying to back charge us for water used over a 6 month period that it was supposed to be off, and we did not own the home. Nobody else had a contract for water usage at that time. We forgot to get an account for water and were unaware of the predicament until it was shut off. We paid 30$ to get an account in our name and the water turned on. Our fist bill included 8 months of water usage at billing rates for all the water being used in one month.

Because we forgot to set up the account, we did use water for 6 weeks without a contract or account. We want to pay for that water usage as can be best estimated from the sparse meter readings taken.

Further, they have billed us 90$ for a cut lock and tampering that was discovered after we took possession of the property. However, for the home inspection we asked the seller's representative to make sure that the water was on. We were told that it was on, and the inspection was done including the water fixtures. It was on prior to us taking possession and it was not turned on or tampered with by us or anybody representing us.

Can we be held liable for the water used prior to home ownership and the cut lock?

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