Water Bills questions and comment

Cardew

russ1260 said:

Hi all united utilities has been charging me for handling my rain water along with and in the same way as my sewage water when in fact the rain water has been directed through drainage channels to a pond.  United Utilities have repaid me the last 6 years of over charges and will not go back any further but I have been overpaying for 27 years, where do I stand o this issue?

The maximum you can claim in your case is 6 years as it is a statute barred debt - see https://debtcamel.co.uk/statute-barred-debt/

Your situation on Surface Water Drainage(SWD) has been covered many times on MSE and other websites.

Until recently no water company would refund charges for more than a year - a stance backed by Ofwat.

Their position was, and is, you have not been overcharged. You have failed to claim relief from SWD and this procedure was and is included in the T&Cs - which few people read.

On privatisation of the Water Industry(a disaster?)  The Water Act stipulated that the default position was SWD would be charged and customers would need to claim relief from that charge if their surface water from gutters etc did not enter the sewerage system - it typically went to a soakaway. That is still the position today.

On privatisation the water companies became responsible for some 20 million properties and they had then no idea of the position on SWD, so the Water Act decreed all would be charged for SWD and the customer claim exemption.

Given the complicated finances of water companies, it doesn't matter financially to the company if a customer is charged for SWD or not as the Regulator stipulates they can only raise xxx£million in revenue and  yy£million in profit(provided they meet performance targets). So if they lose, say, £1million in SWD charges they simply increase all other customers charges to raise that £1million.

The argument put forward by Ofwat was that if they backdated SWD charges by more than 1 year - let alone 27 years - all current customers would effectively be paying for that rebate in increased water charges - that would include customers who have only just started paying water charges; and why should they pay toward a rebate that should have been claimed years ago.

There have been a couple of posts fairly recently where the water company have refused to backdate SWD more than a year, but other companies have apparently gone back 6 years. If that rebate money came out of their profits I suspect they might have fought the case.

Chelle123

Hi, I have lived in my property for nearly 10 years and have been paying around 15 PM for my water, family of 4 terraced house. Severn Trent contacted me 2 month ago and said they needed to update the metre. 

I have received my first bill today which is now for 66 PM and we are now a family of 2, how can this be such a massive jump?
i have not called them yet I just wanted to know your thoughts, am I correct in thinking I can challenge this?
thanks in advance 

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Were you on a meter before? £15 a month for a family of 4 with severn trent is extremely low. If on a meter were they using estimated meter readings?

Normally the only reason for a large rise in the DD is because you had run up a debit balance and the increase is to pay off that debt.

You need to get a full explanation from Severn Trent why they have increased the DD before you think of challenging the increase.

Chelle123

Hi we have a metre reading from a rubber pad fixed to the side of the house which they come by and scan quite regularly. My fear is that the metre was faulty, even though they have been out to check it, and now they are trying to claw back money. 

Thanks for your reply I will call them.

Cardew

With 4 people in a house with average consumption the charge for water and Sewerage with Severn Trent would be approx £44 a month(£47 if you pay surface water charges). You might reduce that considerably if you were extremely careful with water but not to £15 a month.

Chelle123

Ok thanks a reduction of 15 pound would be good, 

Richmc

System said:

I live alone in a four bedroom house, I have a water meter. When I first moved in two years ago I was charged 18 pounds a month. this was then changed to 29 pounds a month and this year has been changed to 48 pounds a month. I have asked for the meter to be checked but so far this has not happened although Anglia Water have said that they will only charge me the 29 pounds a month for the time being. I do not have a swimming pool.
Doreen

tell them you want to come off the meter and go onto assessed charge, this will mean they have to charge you for the average amount of water used in similar households with one occupant.
When I moved to my new home I wanted a meter as I was going to open up an old well, they told me I couldn't have one as the stop !!!!!! was too close to the main road to safely install it. I said I wont be paying my water rates till they resolved this. They came back with the assessed charge rate for my wife and me. You will be offered a fixed charge based on the old rateable value of your house, but insist on assessed charge, it's far cheaper. If you tell them you will cease your standing order till it's resolved they will soon act as cannot by law cut you off, and if you get threatened with court, just pay on the last day.

Cardew

Richmc said:

System said:

I live alone in a four bedroom house, I have a water meter. When I first moved in two years ago I was charged 18 pounds a month. this was then changed to 29 pounds a month and this year has been changed to 48 pounds a month. I have asked for the meter to be checked but so far this has not happened although Anglia Water have said that they will only charge me the 29 pounds a month for the time being. I do not have a swimming pool.
Doreen

tell them you want to come off the meter and go onto assessed charge, this will mean they have to charge you for the average amount of water used in similar households with one occupant.
When I moved to my new home I wanted a meter as I was going to open up an old well, they told me I couldn't have one as the stop !!!!!! was too close to the main road to safely install it. I said I wont be paying my water rates till they resolved this. They came back with the assessed charge rate for my wife and me. You will be offered a fixed charge based on the old rateable value of your house, but insist on assessed charge, it's far cheaper. If you tell them you will cease your standing order till it's resolved they will soon act as cannot by law cut you off, and if you get threatened with court, just pay on the last day.

You only get offered an assessed charge if you apply for a water meter and a meter cannot be fitted. This often happens in older blocks of flats.

Different water companies have different methods of calculating their assed charge See: https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/your-water-bill/assessed/

Assessed charges

Your water company can refuse to install a water meter at your property if it is not practical or is too expensive for it to fit one.

If you cannot have a water meter installed, your water company should offer you an assessed charge. This is an alternative to your rateable value charge.

You will not be offered an assessed charge unless you apply for a meter.

Setting assessed charges

Assessed charges are generally based on one of the following:

• the number of bedrooms in your property
• the type of property you live in
• the number of people who live in your property
• the average metered bill in the water company’s area

The level of the charge can be found in your company’s charges scheme.

You cannot elect for an assessed charge instead of a meter, otherwise many(most?)customers  would request an assessed charge. Pay a low charge and use all the water you want!

tracy24582_2

my water bill seems excessive for 2 adults in a detached house, £48 a month equivalent to 13 showers a day!! How do I establish where the problem is? 

warren01

I  contacted South west water to be put on there watersure capped tariff, they said they needed proof that I'm on a low income which I understand but then wanted 3 months bank statements, i questioned why they need these when I can prove I meet the eligibility criteria of a low income but they have refused to put me on that tariff unless I supply them. I might be being a little silly but I don't understand why I should have to supply my bank statements for this. Does anyone know?