Water bills cost cutting article

deanos

fussell wrote: »

And of course we've paid for the installation via our purchase price... :mad:

You have also paid for everything else on the estate, including footpaths, sewers, telephone, roads etc it all come from the purchace price

fussell

Cardew wrote: »

Sorry but I wouldn't agree that you are doing any of Thames Water's work for them.
....
Many old houses convert their basements to apartments. They have exactly your problem and have to fit special toilets that pulverise and then all sewerage(including waste water from baths etc) is pumped up to the level of the main sewer.

So the precedent is that it is your responsibility to get the sewerage to the mains sewer.

Thanks for the reply... But, I think you missed my point...
There are 14 houses on this new estate, not just a converted basement...
That's 14 houses all paying full sewerage rates to Thames Water and still having to pay for the installation and upkeep of the pumping station...:mad:
I'm wondering if anyone out there has been in a similar situation... Whether there are any presidents set... ie. for the Water Company to take over the new infrasture and any costs in mantaining it...
After all the new road that was constructed has now been adopted by the local council, and comes under their responsibility as far as maintenance goes...
Hoping for a more insiteful reply...
fussell

PS this whole site is brilliant... Keep up the great work!!!:A

deanos

fussell wrote: »

:
That's 14 houses all paying full sewerage rates to Thames Water and still having to pay for the installation and upkeep of the pumping station...:mad:

The first part is irrelevant, as the infrastructure of the new estate will be paid by the people living there in the purchace cost of the house.

As for maintenance of the pumping station I'm not sure, but i would take advice from a solicitor as it could cause trouble and large costs in a few years if anything goes wrong and you are all liable.

Cardew

fussell wrote: »

Thanks for the reply... But, I think you missed my point...
There are 14 houses on this new estate, not just a converted basement...
That's 14 houses all paying full sewerage rates to Thames Water and still having to pay for the installation and upkeep of the pumping station...:mad:
I'm wondering if anyone out there has been in a similar situation... Whether there are any presidents set... ie. for the Water Company to take over the new infrasture and any costs in mantaining it...
After all the new road that was constructed has now been adopted by the local council, and comes under their responsibility as far as maintenance goes...
Hoping for a more insiteful reply...
fussell

Why do you feel I have missed the point? Because I don’t agree with your appreciation of the situation?

Your point is very clear to me. You feel that it is the responsibility of Thames Water to get your sewerage to the mains sewer and take some responsibility for your pump. I, and presumably Thames water, think that it is your responsibility.

The full sewerage charge is for maintenance of the main sewer infrastructure and treatment of the sewerage.

There are many many thousands of converted basements(not just 14 houses) – particularly in London – who pay full sewerage, yet it is the responsibility of the occupants of the basements to pump their sewerage up to a level where gravity takes it to the main sewer.

Some houses in rural situations find that it is impractical to get their sewerage to the mains sewer, so use cess pits.

If you expect Thames Water(a private company) to take responsibility(adopt) for your pumping station, shouldn’t they take responsibility for those basement pumps? Or for that matter the sewers in every persons property.

I assume your definition of a “more insiteful” (sic) reply is to agree with you that Thames Water are responsible; and anyone disagreeing with you therefore lacks insight.

AndyMurray_2

Having moved into the house 4 years ago and grumbling about water charges. 2 neighbours AND a previous occupant told me I had soakaways for surface water. After contacting my supplier (Anglian Water) I was told a)they don't have my premises on record and b) I wasn't going to get 4 years refunds as "they hadn't been informed I had soakaways." This appears very wrong that they can just charge "carte blanche" for a service which they don't provide. Anyone got any templates so I can complain properly or do I go to CAB an get some free legal help? We're talking 1prox 4 yrs at 30 quid a year.

And to top that - they want ME to draw a map of where the soakaways are, which means spending a large amount of time digging holes (and filling them in) as they don't have them on record. They didn't have a plan of where the external stopcock was either and dug 3 trenches on my property over a 3 week period to find the inlet pipe, which shows their maps aren't up to date anyway.

Cardew

AndyMurray wrote: »

Having moved into the house 4 years ago and grumbling about water charges. 2 neighbours AND a previous occupant told me I had soakaways for surface water. After contacting my supplier (Anglian Water) I was told a)they don't have my premises on record and b) I wasn't going to get 4 years refunds as "they hadn't been informed I had soakaways." This appears very wrong that they can just charge "carte blanche" for a service which they don't provide. Anyone got any templates so I can complain properly or do I go to CAB an get some free legal help? We're talking 1prox 4 yrs at 30 quid a year.

And to top that - they want ME to draw a map of where the soakaways are, which means spending a large amount of time digging holes (and filling them in) as they don't have them on record. They didn't have a plan of where the external stopcock was either and dug 3 trenches on my property over a 3 week period to find the inlet pipe, which shows their maps aren't up to date anyway.

Welcome to the forum.

If you do a search on this 'Water' section of the forum you will find lots of threads on 'Surface water drainage'.

To be fair to the water companies(which I am loath to do) when the industry was privatised, the default 'position' imposed on them was to charge for Surface Water Drainage.

As you point out the maps are totally out of date and they would have no way of determining who had soakaways or not.

If the default position was no charge for surface water, lets face it, who would volunteer the information that their surface water entered a sewer; and it is clearly not feasible to carry out an inspection of every property in the land.

Clearly the whole surface water charge issue is a fiasco, and nobody should have ever been charged it. You can have people charged because a small amount runs onto the road from their property when there is heavy rain. While others can pay less when all their water runs into the sewer.

All the companies and the Regulator are culpable in that they do not bring this charge, and possibility of not being liable for it, to the attention of customers.

Personally I would just draw a map and 'guess' where your soakaway(s) is situated.(A previous owner told you;) ) They will probably just accept that without an inspection. If they inspect - so what.

I believe most people do not get the refund backdated; although one person claimed they did.

However search the threads for more info.

Ridersbolt

When with Anglia Water several years ago, I had a meter installed and diverted my bathwater to a but outside. After a visit from them, Anglia reduced the sewage element of my bill to 12% of my metered water.

BeerBelly

We are on shared Water supply (6 in the terrace), but they fit the meter inside the house.

teddyco

Cardew,

I just helped my father-in-law get a discount on his flat because the property has a 'soak-away'. What angered me is that the same company, Southern Water was not charging the previous owner for 'surface water drainage' because of the 'soak-away' and then when my father moved in, it showed up on his bill.

Are the water companies responsible for keeping any records of which properties are eligible for this discount, or does each owner have to file for the discount?

I wonder how many other folks pay for something that they are not using?

Cardew

teddyco wrote: »

Cardew,

I just helped my father-in-law get a discount on his flat because the property has a 'soak-away'. What angered me is that the same company, Southern Water was not charging the previous owner for 'surface water drainage' because of the 'soak-away' and then when my father moved in, it showed up on his bill.
Are the water companies responsible for keeping any records of which properties are eligible for this discount, or does each owner have to file for the discount?

I wonder how many other folks pay for something that they are not using?

That is an excellent point.

Once it had been established that surface water drainage charges were not applicable to a property, consumers could reasonably assume that new owners of that property would also not have that charge levied.

Indeed a phone call to a contact I have in Severn Trent Water assured me that the 'exemption' from surface water drainage should pass automatically to the new owner.

He did suggest however that it would be wise to confirm this exemption had transferred when giving Severn Trent their details(name, setting up DD etc)

No idea if this is the poilcy for other companies - but well worth checking.