Water Bills questions and comment

Pnutter

[Thanks for the tip! I checked it. The property is listed as a whole (shop and premises), no distinction is made between flats and shop. The quoted rateable value is 100x what is quoted on my bill, is this the standard way of calculating rateable value?

juls101

Hi


Hi I am just about to move into a pre- war property ( not listed). Having informed the water company of this they have told me that i must have a water meter fitted. I do not wish to have the meter fitted and have told the water company so but still they insist. I do not have pond, sprinkler, power shower etc. Is it legally right that the company (south staffs water) can fit a meter without me agreeing to it? I have 3 children one of whom has to have a bath in oil every night due to excema and do at least 3 loads of washing every day.

There is currently no meter fitted. If the value of the bill exceeds the value of the rateable property (like the neighbours)can i insist that it is removed?

I dont mind paying for my water but as long as I dont have to pay more than my neighbours without a meter does.

emz78

Right i have just moved into my partners property - 4 years ago he had work done to connect the water supply with a meter and paid this. BUT he hasnt had a water bill since this date. WHAT DO I DO??? Do i phone the water company and get a DD set up for the date i moved in?? Can they back date to when the supply was connected?? Obviously Im not going to highlight the issue to the company first as i do not want a 4 figure bill landing on my doorstep!! I understand that water compaines can chase for upt 6 years, but is this still the case if NO bill has ever been issued?

hmc

hi, mine has just gone upto £30 a month with anglia water which i cant believe
it is a 2 bed on a meter with ust me and a 7 yr old in
i rang but the man was quite vague and said he didnt think we were using too much and prices had gone up
when i asked how come my parents pay £19 a mth and are in credit he said they were on a different tarrif?
im struggling to pay this . do they have any different tarrifs for low earners/benefits? thanks

Gothicfairy

emz78 wrote: »

Right i have just moved into my partners property - 4 years ago he had work done to connect the water supply with a meter and paid this. BUT he hasnt had a water bill since this date. WHAT DO I DO??? Do i phone the water company and get a DD set up for the date i moved in?? Can they back date to when the supply was connected?? Obviously Im not going to highlight the issue to the company first as i do not want a 4 figure bill landing on my doorstep!! I understand that water compaines can chase for upt 6 years, but is this still the case if NO bill has ever been issued?

They can legally chase for past 6 years so to be honest it might just be worth approaching them now with the meter serial number and reading and asking that they look at a gesture of goodwill and reduce the bill due to non billing and time taken to get it sorted out.
I wouldn't be surprised if they reduced the bill to just get a payment .
Which company is it ?

stjohn42

Slightly off topic, but just received my latest assessed charges bill from Southern Water. Was gobsmacked to see I am being charged £314 for the year despite living in a 1 bedroom flat. Have tried to get a meter installed as I am away 50% of the time for work but they are unable to because I live in a block of flats. Was just wondering if that amount is normal for 1 bedroom properties in the Worthing/Brighton area? It seems exorbitant to me and in fact, is £100 more than my bill 5 years ago. Any advice, information would be gratefully received.

d_dean_d

Hi, I've recently paid my water rates with Welsh Water, I was away from home and asked a family member to pay the bill for me, the house I paid the rates for is not being lived in and hasn't been lived in for the last 3 years, there is no toilet, sinks or taps of any kind, any water I use is kindly supplied by me neighbour, I spoke to Welsh Water to explain my situation that Im paying for something that Im not actually using and there response was that the water is there if I did want to use it so basically I have to pay the charges and that there is no chance of a refund. The rate is split up into 2 parts, one water charge of £237-99 and the sewerage charge of £330-22, I have no problem with paying the sewerage charge but totally object to paying for water that Im not using, could anybody please advise me if there is anything I can do?? Thanks very much

Cardew

d_dean_d wrote: »

Hi, I've recently paid my water rates with Welsh Water, I was away from home and asked a family member to pay the bill for me, the house I paid the rates for is not being lived in and hasn't been lived in for the last 3 years, there is no toilet, sinks or taps of any kind, any water I use is kindly supplied by me neighbour, I spoke to Welsh Water to explain my situation that Im paying for something that Im not actually using and there response was that the water is there if I did want to use it so basically I have to pay the charges and that there is no chance of a refund. The rate is split up into 2 parts, one water charge of £237-99 and the sewerage charge of £330-22, I have no problem with paying the sewerage charge but totally object to paying for water that Im not using, could anybody please advise me if there is anything I can do?? Thanks very much

Welcome to the forum.

Get a meter, it is free.

Taadaa

juls101 wrote: »

Hi


Hi I am just about to move into a pre- war property ( not listed). Having informed the water company of this they have told me that i must have a water meter fitted. I do not wish to have the meter fitted and have told the water company so but still they insist. I do not have pond, sprinkler, power shower etc. Is it legally right that the company (south staffs water) can fit a meter without me agreeing to it? I have 3 children one of whom has to have a bath in oil every night due to excema and do at least 3 loads of washing every day.

There is currently no meter fitted. If the value of the bill exceeds the value of the rateable property (like the neighbours)can i insist that it is removed?

I dont mind paying for my water but as long as I dont have to pay more than my neighbours without a meter does.

Unfortunately I don't think that you have a choice here. As soon as someone requests water is put back on or register, they know you are a new occupant and they put a new meter in if there isn't one already. It has been standard practice for several years now - it happened to us in 2007.

John1951

Please excuse me if I've missed this in previous replies or other threads - I'm new to forums. I was amazed and annoyed by a telephone call I had with my local water company, whom I shall not name, but I suspect this applies to all of them. I had noticed that my rate per cubic metre of water had increased on 1st April, and on 1st April last year as well. Are they taking the ****....!!?? I was sure I had not had any notification of the price increases, and rang to ask what was their normal notice method. With the arrogance borne of an area monopoly of supply, I was told that they only use the press - TV and papers - to notify price increases, and do not send letter direct to their customers, nor print notifications on bills. When I questioned this in the light of gas and electricity companies being forced into greater clarity and openness by telling customers of their best tariffs, I was just told, rather bluntly, "We don't have tariffs." I am amazed that OFWAT allows this high-handed approach. Has anyone had any experience trying to change the rules, or can they get away with daylight robbery - +4.2% this year, +7.0% last - without having to tell customers first, as other utilities have to?