Bill too high, no help from Ofwat

paganuspaul

I live in a 3-bed terrace, and am paying over £500 per year for water, whereas my neighbour in a similar house pays about £320 and thinks it's too high! I've asked several other people with 3-bed houses and their bills are all much less than mine, yet when I tell Southern Water this, or Ofwat, I get no sense and certainly no help from them. Can anyone tell me what to do, as things are so tight now I'm getting desperate to save money!

milliemonster

are you on a meter or rates? we are on rates and pay £270 a year for a 3 bed house

withabix

paganuspaul wrote: »

I live in a 3-bed terrace, and am paying over £500 per year for water, whereas my neighbour in a similar house pays about £320 and thinks it's too high! I've asked several other people with 3-bed houses and their bills are all much less than mine, yet when I tell Southern Water this, or Ofwat, I get no sense and certainly no help from them. Can anyone tell me what to do, as things are so tight now I'm getting desperate to save money!

Are you on a meter? If so, have you got as leak? Do you use a lot of water? How many adults and kids in your household?

Are you on rateable value billing? If so, it's nothing to do with Southern Water (as the bill is proportional to rateable value) and you probably should consider a meter.

paganuspaul

I'm not on a meter, there are 3 of us and when I used a calculator online it worked out even dearer on a meter, though I might end up going to one. We do use quite a lot of water, but I suppose we could try to cut down and just not bathe much! Ofwat did talk about rateable value, which is obviously not the same as the current council tax bands, but I know my house is worth about the same as our neighbours and don't see why I pay more.

withabix

As you are on rateable value, it's got nothing to do with Ofwat or Southern Water I'm afraid.

The water bill for your house has ALWAYS been 67% more than your neighbours who pay £320.

Your only option is to get a meter and hope that your bills will be lower.

See other threads:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=359475

Rateable value determines your water bill.

There is an annual charge per pound of rateable value:

https://www.southernwater.co.uk/DomesticCustomers/aboutYourBill/default.asp

That is constant for every property without a meter.

The other houses you refer to have a lower water bill because they have a lower rateable value, not becuase Southern Water charge them less.

The only way you may pay less is by getting a meter.

Rateable values haven't been open to appeal on domestic properties since 1990.

Personally, I think water meters should be compulsory for everyone. That would make it fair. Pay for the water you use. It should be rolled out along with the Smartmeters for gas and electricity.

paganuspaul

Ok, that's totally ridiculous but thanks for the clear reply, a much better explanation than I got from Southern Water or Ofwat! Looks like it's a water meter and shared baths!

butler_helen

this really is ridiculous, our bills are around £400 for two people to be in a smallish 2 bed flat each year. less than my parents in their 3 bed semi who have three showers a day and use the hose pipe! thanks to each poster for their info

withabix

butler_helen wrote: »

this really is ridiculous, our bills are around £400 for two people to be in a smallish 2 bed flat each year. less than my parents in their 3 bed semi who have three showers a day and use the hose pipe! thanks to each poster for their info

Get a water meter fitted. It's free.

bobwanderer

When I first moved into my 2 bed flat we contacted the water company due to a bill that seemed unfeasibly high and were asked if we had a hot tub!? Admittedly myself and my flatmate have a shower a day each and use the washing machine on the eco cycle occassionally, but we're both very conscious of wasteful use of power and water. Could it be a problem with the meter?

withabix

bobwanderer wrote: »

When I first moved into my 2 bed flat we contacted the water company due to a bill that seemed unfeasibly high and were asked if we had a hot tub!? Admittedly myself and my flatmate have a shower a day each and use the washing machine on the eco cycle occassionally, but we're both very conscious of wasteful use of power and water. Could it be a problem with the meter?

How much is 'High'?
Are you actually on a meter?
Does your meter suppky the whole building? (Turn off at the meter and wait to see if anyone complains...)

lee12_2

If you are not on a meter then it must be that your house has a higher rateable value than your neighbor's , the next thing I would do is ask your neighbor what c/tax band they are if your house had something ie extension before the last valuation in the 90's that could be the reason you could be a higher band. And water company's use that to work out the rates.
The best thing you could properly do is get switch over to a meter then you would know you pay for what you use. We have been on a meter for 8 yrs and save appx £300+ a year ageist the water rates for our house, Worth having a think about it.