Never had to pay for water before- is £930pa normal?

Abitlost · 26 November 2015 at 7:20PM

Just moved into a puny studio flat in Cornwall with no dishwasher, no washing machine, no bath and no garden. (edit- wrote this first time round on my mobile)

Was greeted by a south west water bill for £340 from now until March , great start to the day.

I'm assuming I ant have a meter installed as there's 3 flats here so what amount should I expect to pay for water bills if they are assessed down?

The two current options if I cannot pay close to what I actually use unmetered are to leave the flat entirely or turn the street into a public swimming pool. If I'm feeling especially generous I'll open up a charity launderette for the homeless and run 10 machines 24 hours per day.

Am I screwed?

Cardew · 26 November 2015 at 10:14PM

South West Water have the highest water charges in UK - even with the Government £50pa rebate.

If your flat is unsuitable to have a meter fitted, you can get an 'assessed charge' - you can look up the charges on-line.

deanos · 26 November 2015 at 10:15PM

you can still have a meter in a flat, £930 seems very high for a year for a flat , do you owe them any money from old property ?

Abitlost · 26 November 2015 at 11:54PM

No I don't owe them money, Ive never paid for water before, always lived with my parents or shared with friends.

The bill today was only for £340 but that runs until March, the £900+ figure came from phoning them.

I was expecting to pay about £200 a year at most, not almost 4 times that much.

I dont know anything about what they can do, should I just pay the £340? According to their site (southwestwater.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/132/session/L3RpbWUvMTQzMjEyMDM1MS9zaWQvS0hROEpPbW0=) the most a single person should be paying is £325.60 per year.

deanos · 27 November 2015 at 7:19AM

apply for a meter now , you will need to pay something but not the full amount, give them a call

Cardew · 27 November 2015 at 9:24AM

Abitlost wrote: »

No I don't owe them money, Ive never paid for water before, always lived with my parents or shared with friends.

The bill today was only for £340 but that runs until March, the £900+ figure came from phoning them.

I was expecting to pay about £200 a year at most, not almost 4 times that much.

I dont know anything about what they can do, should I just pay the £340? According to their site (southwestwater.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/132/session/L3RpbWUvMTQzMjEyMDM1MS9zaWQvS0hROEpPbW0=) the most a single person should be paying is £325.60 per year.

You have misread that, or rather taken it out of context.

As I said in my earlier post, you only get the single person 'Assessed Charge' if you have applied for a water meter and it cannot be fitted.

Assessed Charges for water and sewerage services will be offered where a domestic customer has applied for a meter but the cost of installing a meter would be unreasonable or it would not be practical to install a meter and where no agreement has been made for a single meter to serve more than one property.

So you must apply for a meter first.

macman · 28 November 2015 at 5:11PM

What's the rateable value? Studio flat, one occupant, SWW prices; metered billing is a no brainer.

chelseablue · 2 December 2015 at 2:28PM

I live in a flat and pay £440 a year.

MallyGirl · 2 December 2015 at 5:23PM

not your area but I have dishwasher, power shower, 2 big muddy dogs, 2 adults and a teenager, washing machine, etc, etc and I pay £24 pcm on a meter. I would try to get one fitted ASAP

HappyMJ · 2 December 2015 at 5:27PM

MallyGirl wrote: »

not your area but I have dishwasher, power shower, 2 big muddy dogs, 2 adults and a teenager, washing machine, etc, etc and I pay £24 pcm on a meter. I would try to get one fitted ASAP

South West would easily be double that for exactly the same usage.

Never had to pay for water before- is £930pa normal?

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