Water Bills questions and comment

Gothicfairy

ruffman66 wrote: »

Hi, Can you give me a little advice. I called up south west water as they are trying to put my direct debit up by about £30 a month. I am on a meter and can see no real reason that they are doing this other than to have my money in their bank making interest for them.
When I told them i didn't want them to put it up they said they are and they will not enter into any discussions over it. it is to go up that much. I said that it is only the way they have oredicted it but some of my circumstances have changed, they said they would reduce the amount they want to put it up then by £5.

What can I do please? Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Regards.... another person being robbed by the 21st century highway dandyman...

Are they putting it up because your payments are not covering your consumption and you are falling behind ?
If that is the case then they will put it up. You could of course cancel the payment plan and pay the bill when it arrives and that way the monthly amount would remain in your bank account.

wholahey

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Are they putting it up because your payments are not covering your consumption and you are falling behind ?
If that is the case then they will put it up. You could of course cancel the payment plan and pay the bill when it arrives and that way the monthly amount would remain in your bank account.

if i'm not mistaken the company will need to review your payment plan either once or twice every year. in that sense you will not accumulate debt. check with the company whether they have done so. if not, you have the caused to complain. my neighbour did this before and he managed to get the company to reduce his bill into half, which was quite good.

Kaulew

Gothicfairy wrote: »

As you applied for a meter and was unable to have one fitted you would be asked if assessed charges were better for you. However you old rate of charge would still apply up until the date they went out and tried to fit the meter (some go back to the date you applied)
You did not clear you rateable value bill so it will be due and the amount is a set amount for your property so to be honest it really doesn't matter how high it is there is nothing anyone can do to change it other then the option you have already taken.
You would have been better off applying for a meter last year but I am wondering how come your arrears are so high for one year. Did you not pay anything towards your bill at all ?

Thanks for the reply Gothicfairy,

Ok here's an update,

I contacted the Consumer Council for Water
http://www.ccwater.org.uk/index.php and filled in their enquiry form asking them if they thought the amount was correct. They contacted Thames Water for me and the amount I owed was reduced to £297.56.
After that I contacted the Thames Water Trust Fund
http://www.twtf.org.uk/ and applied for a grant, which I got, for the amount of £289 leaving me just £7.75 to pay..which I did..immediately!

I have now set up a payment plan so that I don't get in a mess with my water bill again.

Thanks to everyone on this forum for all the info posted in here, I wouldn't have known anything about any of these services if I hadn't come in here. My advice to anyone in the same position who is wondering whether to apply for these grants..go for it! These people are here to help, and they certainly helped me :T

Kaulew

Murdoc_2

Hello,

I'm going back to university to study a postgraduate MA.
Do you know if water companies offer any kind of student discount?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

WinnyWoo

Due to accident of geography - I live in Norfolk, but have my metered water supplied by Essex & Suffolk water, and my sewage service by Anglian water.
E & S accidentally sent us a leaflet with our last bill showing the prices that their consumers in Essex paid (per unit ,for the same product) which were considerably less than we are charged!
Of course, I have no alternative, but to accept whatever they want to charge me.
I also have 3 soakaways to disperse the rainwater which falls onto my roof, but on enquiring about a rebate for this, was informed that because the water from my driveway drains onto the road (and therefore public sewer), I am not eligible!

misswalsh

i moved into a property in april this year.
shortly after i recieved a large bill for water.
i wasnt really bothered with it, as when i lived in london, i never had to pay water bills as a student.
but when the bills kept coming,i had to call the company and they stated no one was exempt from paying water bills. after more letters, i called the company and they checked the water, they said everything was fine.
i told them i had just moved in and this should not be getting such a high bill.they said they would sort it out.
in september, i got a bill for about £600 for my bill,
i called them and they said the bill was from the august of the last year.
told them there was no way i would be responsible for that as i moved into the house in april.. they said they would look into it,bla bla bla.
in october i got a warning asking me to pay.i called them and they requested to see my tenancy agreement. i sent a copy off to them.
they then said they would send me an approximate bill but the approximate bill was the same amount. just the dates were changed on the letter.
i just saw a new letter, with a billing date from april, with the exact same aount i had being charged from august last year.
i had a flatmate for 3 months but have lived alone since late july.its a 2 room house and there is no way on earth i can consume that much water.
they say they want me to carry out a meter reading.
surely the meter reading will read the same thing as it did last august.
im so confused. im a student there is no way i can afford that, especially when its not right.
please help

samuela66

Hi

I moved into my flat 1st October last year, I informed the waterboard who wrote back saying they had my details and there was a water meter in the property (I dont know where) and they would be in touch, I havent heard a thing not a letter bill or anything....
How often am i supposed to be billed



thanks

Cardew

samuela66 wrote: »

Hi

I moved into my flat 1st October last year, I informed the waterboard who wrote back saying they had my details and there was a water meter in the property (I dont know where) and they would be in touch, I havent heard a thing not a letter bill or anything....
How often am i supposed to be billed



thanks

You really should have noted the meter reading when you moved in, otherwise you might find yourself paying for the previous occupant's water.

In a flat, the meter would normally be where the mains water enters the flat - often under the kitchen sink. It could be outside as well.

I suggest you ask a neighbour. When you have the reading speak to the water company and get it sorted - confirm in writing.

You are normally billed in April and Oct. If you elect to pay by monthly Direct Debit they will estimate your consumption and base the bill on that figure. They will of course adjust the DD if the estimate is wrong(either way).

Pounds

Hi,

My water bill for 6 months on average is always around £500....looking through this forum that seems ridiculously higher than what everyone else pays...or is that reasonable for a family of 7 in a 4 bed house?
I'm beginning to wonder if I'm paying my neighbours water use too!!!

Cardew

Pounds wrote: »

Hi,

My water bill for 6 months on average is always around £500....looking through this forum that seems ridiculously higher than what everyone else pays...or is that reasonable for a family of 7 in a 4 bed house?
I'm beginning to wonder if I'm paying my neighbours water use too!!!

Welcome to the forum

Depends how much water you use and where you live! Water charges in the South West are well over double some other areas.

A family of 7 with average consumption will use approx 420 cubic metres per year.

That consumption could cost up to £1,800pa in the SW.

In the Midlands(Severn Trent) around £1,000.

In London approx £800

Charges are affected by surface water drainage -