Help with a water bill complaint

cagey76

Hi,

We are a household of 2 with a water meter, water is from 3Valleys water.

Annual bill is around the £260 mark, which to me is just over £20 per month .. easy.

Last year I was paying £37 each month, now this year its been dropped to £30. I do seem to have a credit on the account, yet they tell me its actually a debit because I need to accumulate credits for the next bill. I presume they just want to acrue large credits off everyone.

What doesn't help is that the annual bill is split water usage is calculated from Oct to Mar, whilst sewerage is calcualted Jun to Dec, I presume this is to confuse me whilst backing up whatever excuse they try to come up with.

I know its only £6 per month less that I want to pay, its just they have ****** me off. To justify everything I have been given bad information, told I have a debt, and generally been fobbed off.

Am I being unreasonable ?

cagey76

here is the letter I received after making a formal complaint;

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Thank you for your recent email regarding your water services charges, from which I am sorry to learn of the concerns they have caused you.


I can explain a payment plan is designed to build up a credit balance sufficient to pay the next bill when it is issued. This way, you pay for water as you use it and should not build up either a debit balance or too high a credit balance – please note your payments will be automatically reviewed after every 6-monthly bill with details sent to you each time.


Having reviewed your file, I agree with your calculations on your usage of around £23/24 per month however, that amount does not address the balance of £73.23 that remained after the recent bill had been produced. Once the extra £6 per month over 12 months has paid off the residue, there should be scope to reduce them – the other alternative is for a lump sum reduction to be made whereupon we can reduce them much sooner.


I hope this has clarified why payments need to be £30 for the time being. I have left them at they are pending either an interim payment or your confirmation that you still want them reduced. However, should they be reduced, it is likely that at the next review in June, the system will raise them again in line with the above policy.

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Cardew

Water is not like gas and electricity where you get credit meters.

With water you pay in advance! You can either pay 6 months in advance for April to October. and in Sept for the period October to March.

Or you can pay by Direct Debit.

So I don't understand what you mean by having a credit on your account. i.e. if your annual bill is £260, in April you are £260 in debit and you are not in credit until you have paid that sum.

It is really just the same as the Council Tax - as of April you owe for the year ahead, however they will let you pay by DD - but you are never in credit.

cagey76

Thanks for the mail, so I pay for it in advance, not as I use it as per their claim.

If I cant get them to stop me paying less than £30 a month for something that on paper should cost me 23/24, then I'll attack it from another angle ....... use less.

Cheers.

mouseymousey99

Hello cagey - have you considered deleting your direct debit? I pay each month like a d/d, (but do it electronically and I decide how much I pay). My water co wanted to put my charges up by 50% -multiply that by the thousands of customers they have!!! Best wishes

deanos

Cardew wrote: »

Water is not like gas and electricity where you get credit meters.

With water you pay in advance! You can either pay 6 months in advance for April to October. and in Sept for the period October to March.

Or you can pay by Direct Debit.

So I don't understand what you mean by having a credit on your account. i.e. if your annual bill is £260, in April you are £260 in debit and you are not in credit until you have paid that sum.

It is really just the same as the Council Tax - as of April you owe for the year ahead, however they will let you pay by DD - but you are never in credit.

The OP has a meter so they dont pay in advance

The letter says you still owe £73.23 so thats where the £6 a month overpayment comes from.

Having reviewed your file, I agree with your calculations on your usage of around £23/24 per month however, that amount does not address the balance of £73.23 that remained after the recent bill had been produced