Water Bills questions and comment

carol_a_3

They probably bill us quarterly because a six month bill would give too many people heart attacks!!

The sewage is charged at 95% of the units used to allow for drainage etc. (That's on the bill) The south west water website probably answers a lot of other questions.

I also read my own meter every month, we usually use around 12 to 13 units, then it's easy to multiply this by the unit price (add together the water charge per unit plus the swerage price per unit) then add on one twelfth of the annual standing charge and it gives you your approximate monthly cost. I transfer this amount every month into a separate savings account and have the money all ready to pay online by debit card when the bills arrive. You can of course pay them by monthly direct debit but I don't think there's any bonus in doing this so I don't see why they should have my money in advance.

jaxster1

deanos wrote: »

Water is billed twice a year not 4 times

You said you had it installed in July and you have just got a bill April so thats 9 months useage you are being billed for ?

This bill is from December 28th 2007 to April 2008. 3 and a bit months.

jaxster1

Thanks for your replies. At least it seems we are not being overcharged. Will be interesting to see what difference having a shower fitted makes. Same as you Carole a, we don't leave taps running, use a water butt for the garden and our car would probably fall apart if we washed it!

stefcol

hello there

i moved into a new flat two months ago. when i recieved my first water bill i saw that it included a rebate for non connection for surface water drainage. it was also ridiculously overestimated ( sixty pounds for one week! ), so i asked for proper meter reading.

the revised bill has come and its much better, but now i'm been charged for surface water drainage as well. my rebate seems to have disappeared! can i find out from the water company if the previous tenant was recieving this, because if so, i assume i should be as well!

Cardew

stefcol wrote: »

hello there

i moved into a new flat two months ago. when i recieved my first water bill i saw that it included a rebate for non connection for surface water drainage. it was also ridiculously overestimated ( sixty pounds for one week! ), so i asked for proper meter reading.

the revised bill has come and its much better, but now i'm been charged for surface water drainage as well. my rebate seems to have disappeared! can i find out from the water company if the previous tenant was recieving this, because if so, i assume i should be as well!

A couple of people have posted that they have been charged for surface water drainage as new occupants, when the previous occupants had established that they were exempt from that payment as their water entered a soakaway.

Presumably the computer 'defaults' to that charge in some cases; or the water companies are just 'trying it on'.

tobys_mummy_2

if you ring up the water board do they tell you whether you will save money by staying as you are or switching to a meter?

PasturesNew

tobys_mummy wrote: »

if you ring up the water board do they tell you whether you will save money by staying as you are or switching to a meter?

They can't tell you that because without a meter nobody knows how much you're using. But they can estimate how much the average person in your situation might use; you can also find online calculators for this though. They ask things like how often you shower, if you have a dishwasher etc.

PasturesNew

Ihad a water meter fitted yesterday. I am interested to see how much difference that makes. I am in a studio/bedsit and my fixed bill was £40/month.

I am with Welsh Water, so phoned them this morning to ask how much their charges are and they said:
£101/year standing charge
£2.71/cubic metre (1000 litres)

So now it's just a question of watching the meter and seeing the savings.

At £40/month I was paying about £1.33/day.
Since the meter was fitted yesterday I can see I've spent just 27p!

qwerty32

A friend of mine was living in London in 2006/2007. During that time Thames water came and installed a meter but never sent a bill. Having not had to pay water charges in previous rented accommodation she assumed the Landlord was paying it and never questioned why no bill arrived during that time. She moved out of the property in summer 2007 assuming the Landlord would change the details on the water bill. Now a year later, a final demand has turned up on her doorstep (in Southern Ireland) from Thames Water saying she owes 247.00 and that Thames water will take her to court for it. Where does she stand legally? Can Thames water actually take her to court if she lives in another country, when the mistake, as I see it, was theirs in the first place? How did Thames water even get her foreign address?

notwithit??

hi there,

i'm new to this board so sorry if this is in the wrong place. hope someone can help me sort out my water bill because i dont understand it!!!

my water bill from apr 08 to mar 09 was £448.39. (RVC£202 x £0740 on water and on waste £202 x £1.257)

so i had a meter put in to see if it would save me any money. we live in a two bed house 2 adults 1 child, mostly out all day, water with united utilities.

after the meter was installed we got a new bill estimated for £503.81 but the direct debit had dropped from £45 to £36.

how can they give us a higher estimate and then a lower monthly payment?

thanks