Water Bills questions and comment

Mykidsmum

Hi Scully, glad my post has been of help. If you wait until about a week to ten days after the water meter is fitted to allow your account to be updated with your new meter details then ring up UU to see if you are due a credit. If you have set up a monthly payment plan for your current RV charges there may not be a credit as the monthly payments may have just covered your monthly RV charges upto your meter is fitted. As they say, don't count your chickens before they are hatched. Good Luck in your new home:)

[Deleted User]

I had a water meter fitted by Southern Water in Febrauary .They returned in August and replaced it ??? no idea why. I am still paying £28.00 per month water rates as I always have done and have just received a bill saying I am 152.00 odd in credit. do I keep paying the £28.00 per month or what ? It seems as though I will be permanantly in credit for the next three years according to my bill as it says my bill will be eventually £76 per year I live alone and am very careful with water as I don't like to waste it I live in southern England where water is always in short supply

Gothicfairy

Jackie, if it were me I would leave the credit in the account and pay the £28 per month ( if you can afford it) until your next bill arrives and is charged on an actual meter reading because at least that way if it were to be a mistake or your bill is higher that time you will not have the shock of trying to find extra cash but if the credit is the same or more and the bill looks right then you can ask for a refund and get the plan reduced.

lillady1989

How much on average does it cost on average for a single person in a one bed flat for water with and without a meter installed?

I live in the south west. I am moving into a property in a few weeks time but i forgot to ask the agent whether the property is metered or not.

Thanks

Cardew

lillady1989 wrote: »

How much on average does it cost on average for a single person in a one bed flat for water with and without a meter installed?

I live in the south west. I am moving into a property in a few weeks time but i forgot to ask the agent whether the property is metered or not.

Thanks

SW Water have the highest charges, for both metered and unmetered water and sewerage, in the country.

With average usage on a metered tariff(55-60 cubic metres pa) expect a bill of £350 to £400 pa.

It is impossible to hazzard a guess at an unmetered tariff as it depends solely on the Rateable value(RV). However it is unlikely to less than the metered charge.

If you property was built post 1990 it is almost certain to have a meter.

amr547

I'm feeling a bit silly but hope someone can shed some light. We moved into a house (rented) at the end of February.
The letting agency doesn't know if there is a meter fitted but we received a bill from Anglian Water and have been paying £50-ish each month.
Does this sound about right? How would you know if you have a meter or not? Again, I feel silly but hoping someone can point me in the right direction... For un-metered usage, how do they work out how much you have to pay exactly?

Cardew

amr547 wrote: »

I'm feeling a bit silly but hope someone can shed some light. We moved into a house (rented) at the end of February.
The letting agency doesn't know if there is a meter fitted but we received a bill from Anglian Water and have been paying £50-ish each month.
Does this sound about right? How would you know if you have a meter or not? Again, I feel silly but hoping someone can point me in the right direction... For un-metered usage, how do they work out how much you have to pay exactly?

A metered bill will have the meter readings and amount of water used in cubic metres

e.g. date at beginning of period with meter reading, date/ meter reading at end. xx cubic metres @xxxpence = £yyy

Separate entries for supplied water and used water(sewerage)

Without a meter it is based on your Rateable Value(RV). Bill will show RV in £££s.

The charge will be xxxpence per £1 RV

amr547

Cardew wrote: »

A metered bill will have the meter readings and amount of water used in cubic metres

e.g. date at beginning of period with meter reading, date/ meter reading at end. xx cubic metres @xxxpence = £yyy

Separate entries for supplied water and used water(sewerage)

Without a meter it is based on your Rateable Value(RV). Bill will show RV in £££s.

The charge will be xxxpence per £1 RV

Thanks. I'll have to dig out the bill and take a closer look

Obliqu

Is this right? I live in a small 3 bed terraced house with my hosbznd built around 1905. We had a couple letters from SE Water regarding getting assessed for a meter but as the water supply is at the back of the house with no access & the mains supply into the house is 2feet under with no internal stopcock we assume it is not possible to fit one so we ignored the letter & a couple of subsequent letters.

A few months later & a revised water bill arrived, the original bill was £183, the revised bill if we cannot get meter will be £320 & the current bill now before meter review is £389. The current bill is not based on the rateable value but is based on an estimated metered bill for a 5 bedroom house. We are totally shocked by the increase.

We have spoken at length with SE water who state that this is the way is & most water companies are moving away from rateable value to calculate bills & baseing new bills on the number of bedrooms.

I haven't had a chance to speak to OFWAT but I suspect it's perfectly legal to do hike the bills like this.

Has anyone else had a similar experience or offer any advise.

Thanks

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Not sure I understand the situation fully.

If you have recently moved into the house, then SE water have the power to enforce fitting of a meter. In some cases they can enforce a meter regardless of how long you have been in the house.

If a meter cannot be fitted, then they can put you on an assessed charge. The scale of assessed charges is shown here:

http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/pls/apex/f?p=101:2318:3245386723637559

I cannot see how they are going to charge you more than £290 for a 3 bed house after they have assessed your property. I also cannot see a figure of £389 or £320 on the scale.