Water Bills questions and comment

Cardew

Neillgb wrote: »

Amazes me that there are so many people that pay by direct debit when there is little or no incentive, stop your DD's and teach these greedy monopolies a lesson!!!!

How does it teach them a lesson?


It doesn't matter to the water companies how people pay as their revenue and profit is regulated by Ofwat.


Most of us pay by Direct Debit purely for the convenience of not having to pay a bill 'manually' (on-line or post etc) twice a year.


If you are not metered you have to pay a 6 month bill up front, so actually lose money if loss of interest is your concern.


If metered, the loss of interest is what? £1 a year?

Keen_Young_Learner

I really hope that someone can help me with this

I've just moved in to a new flat with no housemates (I've lived alone abroad before but this is my first time in the UK).

I recieved a water bill a few weeks after moving in - I owe £79 a month! I am employed and earning a good wage for my age but simply will not be able to pay this amount. When I said as much to the woman in the call centre, she told me that there was nothing that could be done to change the amount and that to assist me with the costs would harm my credit rating!

I arranged to have a meter fitted but now, 2 months later, I still don't have one and the pressure is mounting.

The plumber from Anglian Water has just been and can't find the stop tap to fit the meter - I have a horrible feeling that it won't be possible to fit one at all.

What are my rights with this? Can I appeal against my water bill? £79 a month for a single person is objectively ridiculous and surely would be unaffordable for anybody.

I'd really appreciate anybody's help or advice on this.

Thank you!!
KYLxx

Cardew

Without a meter you pay in advance to 01 April of next year(2015). It doesn't matter if you are a single person occupant or there are 10 people living in the flat - you pay the same.


I doubt that your bill would normally be £79 a month. However if you haven't paid any water bills since??? the £79 will include paying off arrears.


Are Anglian aware of the date you moved in?(or became responsible for the Flat?)


If a meter cannot be fitted, as often happens in flats, then you will be offered a single person assessed rate.


The charges are normally backdated to the date of your application for a meter.

MerlinMags

I had a neighbour in a similar situation: they wanted a meter to be fitted, but the water board said it was not possible. As they were a couple with no kids they were offered a reduction in the "rateable value" instead, so their fixed-rate bill was lower than the other houses in that street.

Cardew

wrote: »

Hello everyone, thanks for this resource - it's a life saver.

I suspect I have a problem that there won't be an answer for. It's to do with the water meters. We've recently had them forced upon us in Tyne and Wear - so there wasn't any choice here. Is there a way to have it taken out? The problem is I keep a lot of fish, and they need water changed regularly. It's going to cost so much that I may have to give up my hobby.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks!

Tom

No a meter cannot be removed once fitted.


Re fish tanks, I think you might be over-estimating the cost. A cubic metre - 1,000 litres - costs between £2 and £3.


However the reason for metering is for people to pay for what they use, which tends to cut down water consumption.

Cardew

MerlinMags wrote: »

I had a neighbour in a similar situation: they wanted a meter to be fitted, but the water board said it was not possible. As they were a couple with no kids they were offered a reduction in the "rateable value" instead, so their fixed-rate bill was lower than the other houses in that street.

The water company cannot alter the Rateable Value. Instead, when a meter cannot be fitted, they offer customers the option of an assessed charge. see post#624 above.

If a meter cannot be fitted, as often happens in flats, then you will be offered a single person assessed rate.

Depending on the water company, the assessed charge depends on number of bedrooms or number of occupants.

Burgerphone

Hi all,

I have just moved in to a new property and am setting up all the utility accounts (as you do). I was hoping to set up a monthly direct debit for my water (and electricity) to make it easier to budget with the same amount coming out every month.

So, I've taken a look at the direct debit setup for my water, which is on a meter. The direct debit for 12 months is £436.63, or £36.80 a month. It says on the page that "This amount includes estimated charges for the coming year." Does anyone know what this estimate is based on? I'm living in a 2 bed flat on my own, so I was hoping it would be cheaper than this amount really; it isn't much less than I was paying for water rates in a 4 bed student house last year!

Also, with the direct debit being for a metered water supply, does this mean that I submit a meter reading periodically, and if this is lower than the estimate used for my DD payments, I will get a refund?

Sorry if these are daft questions - I've never had a water meter before!

Cardew

Burgerphone wrote: »

Hi all,

I have just moved in to a new property and am setting up all the utility accounts (as you do). I was hoping to set up a monthly direct debit for my water (and electricity) to make it easier to budget with the same amount coming out every month.

So, I've taken a look at the direct debit setup for my water, which is on a meter. The direct debit for 12 months is £436.63, or £36.80 a month. It says on the page that "This amount includes estimated charges for the coming year." Does anyone know what this estimate is based on? I'm living in a 2 bed flat on my own, so I was hoping it would be cheaper than this amount really; it isn't much less than I was paying for water rates in a 4 bed student house last year!

Also, with the direct debit being for a metered water supply, does this mean that I submit a meter reading periodically, and if this is lower than the estimate used for my DD payments, I will get a refund?

Sorry if these are daft questions - I've never had a water meter before!

You don't say which company supplies your water. This is important as charges vary tremendously across the UK. The South West being the most expensive.




I suspect that the DD has been set up using data from the previous occupant(s).


The average consumption is 55 to 60 cubic metres per person per year. So using that as a guideline go to the company website and you can calculate your estimated annual bill. You need to get the standing charges for water and sewerage as well as the charge per cubic metre for water and sewerage.


The other charge that might be applied is Surface Water Drainage and you are often charged by default, although many properties can claim relief.


If your own estimate is well below £436.63* then contact the company and negotiate, or don't pay by DD but every 6 months.


Many companies have less than 12 DD payments in a year(8 or 10 are not unusual)

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Water bill calculator here
http://www.ccwater.org.uk/watermetercalculator/

Burgerphone

Cardew wrote: »

You don't say which company supplies your water. This is important as charges vary tremendously across the UK. The South West being the most expensive.




I suspect that the DD has been set up using data from the previous occupant(s).


The average consumption is 55 to 60 cubic metres per person per year. So using that as a guideline go to the company website and you can calculate your estimated annual bill. You need to get the standing charges for water and sewerage as well as the charge per cubic metre for water and sewerage.


The other charge that might be applied is Surface Water Drainage and you are often charged by default, although many properties can claim relief.


If your own estimate is well below £436.63* then contact the company and negotiate, or don't pay by DD but every 6 months.


Many companies have less than 12 DD payments in a year(8 or 10 are not unusual)

Sorry - it's United Utilities. And I suppose it makes sense that the estimate would seem a little high if it's based on the previous occupants, as 2 people lived here before me.

Thanks.