Could this be right? 21 March 2009 at 6:02PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Water Bills 6 replies 665 views

Choc

Ive just moved from a 2 bed semi to a 4 bed detached.
2 bed semistill there £335 per year
4 bed detached £771 per year
I called Yorkshire water whom said the price goes on band,but still there are only 3 people using the same ammount of water as before so how can they justify doubling my bill?

Mark

cally6008

larger house, further for water to travel round the pipes ?

Choc

Come on folks,any help?

domcastro

They're not helpful on this utilities board. I just got seriously abused for questioning why I pay twice as much for water and 3 times more for my sewerage than my sister.

I'm confused too - the water rates here are double anywhere I've ever lived. It's not fair but I don't think there's anything we can do.

Cardew

Water charges based on Rateable Value(RV) and not meters are a complete nonsense.

To be fair to the water companies(not easy!!) they have no discretion in the matter; the Water Privatisation Act 20 odd years ago laid down how the companies would charge for water; i.e. based on the RV or by the metered amount used. The Regulator ensures that they comply with this Act of Parliament.

Similarly, different areas of UK have greater expenses inherited under privatisation and some(e.g Devon and Cornwall) pay double the charges of other areas of UK.

If you want someone to blame then it will be Maggie Thatcher's Government.

All anyone on this Board can do is tell you the facts - the RV charging system is unfair, unjust, stupid etc etc - write to your MP/ofwat and complain and you will be told to get a meter and pay for what you use.

Choc

Cardew,yes ive told them to put me one in, ive got a year to decide if its cheaper or not. Just cant believe its more than double than my previous house with the same people livin in it.Will it ever be diregulated to you think?


Mark

Cardew

Choc wrote: »

Cardew,yes ive told them to put me one in, ive got a year to decide if its cheaper or not. Just cant believe its more than double than my previous house with the same people livin in it.Will it ever be diregulated to you think?


Mark

The intention of the Water privatisation bill was that eventually all properties would be metered.

To ensure that existing occupants did not face a big jump in their water charges, provision was made in the Bill for them to remain on the RV charging system.

The water companies had(and have) the power to force all new occupants of a property to have a meter, and indeed some companies strictly enforce this condition.

So had you lived in a different area, your move to a 4 bed detached(or indeed if you moved to a tiny grotty flat with a very low RV) would have meant you would have got a meter, without the option to refuse.

Personally the only change I see coming is that the Regulator will force all companies to fit meters on change of occupant, and it could be retrospective.

Indeed, in certain areas, there is already provision to force all households to have meters fitted, even if they have lived it the house for 30+ years.

It really is nonsensical that people can be charged for their water on the basis of a notional rental value(i.e. the rateable value) of a property assessed as long ago as 1973.

This can lead to a situation where a household of 10 people pay less water than a single person.

The answer is make everyone have a meter.