Get a rebate on your sewerage rates charges

mrsw

mrsw wrote:

After phoning Thames Water a couple of weeks ago only to be fobbed off, I tried again today and was put through to a very nice person in Accounts who has now arranged for a £17 rebate without having to fill in any forms. Thanks OP.

Just received my latest bill, no rebate on there. After phoning 3valleys water, it seems Thames water never bothered to communicate the rebate to them so they know nothing about it. :mad:

Lady_K

Got my form a week ago still havent filled it in yet. I really dont know where the hell my surface water goes but all the drains are open ones apart from the small outbuilding but I'll sort that out as mentioned in my previous post if necessary.

I have to fill in the plan and basically guess where its going but I want to guess in the most accurate place it would be in order to be covered for a rebate

humfer

I am with Severn Trent and our house is just over 5 years old. Read all the posts and I think we could be eligable for a discount. We live alongside a brook and I think all rainwater goes down the drain on our property but comes out of a big concrete tube into the brook. Do you think this qualifies? Am going to call Severn Trent up tomorrow to see what they say

humfer

humfer wrote:

I am with Severn Trent and our house is just over 5 years old. Read all the posts and I think we could be eligable for a discount. We live alongside a brook and I think all rainwater goes down the drain on our property but comes out of a big concrete tube into the brook. Do you think this qualifies? Am going to call Severn Trent up tomorrow to see what they say

Just had another look at the area in front of my house and I am pretty sure I will quality. I tried tipping a washing up bowl full of water but couldn't really see any water movement from the concrete pipe in the brook because the water is already a few inches deep. Followed the water down to another bricked area where it all seems to feed into a bit of a lake

Noticed on the Severn Trent website that if successful they only rebate back to April of the year you claim (bit cheeky as I have been paying for over 5 years) and that the rebate is approx £35 a year. However looking on my bill I am paying £35 per 1/2 year for 'Measured Drainage - Band 3'. Shouldn't I be getting a bigger rebate back?

EDIT - forget about that last bit. Just found out Band 3 is detached and is charged at £71.76 per year. Therefore if successful I assume I will get that back. I assume the £35 is the average amount people get refunded

littlemissmoney

I am going to give Thames a call tomorrow. My flats are quite new so I assume I have a soakaway. What do they ask on the phone? I won't be able to answer any questions as I know nothing about the drainage of the place.

Lady_K

Anyone having any luck here claiming this from severn trent?

I sent my form off with a map of my property about 4 or 5 weeks ago. I then rang 2 weeks later to ask if they had recieved it and the lady said yes but it had to go to a different department, she said the map looked fine and it should go through ok. I recieved a letter this morning saying they had sent it to a special department where the matter will be further investigated so I'm kind of expecting someone to come and check out the property as from what I've heard severn trent are quite awkward with giving this discount how have other people got on with this?

humfer

Lady_K wrote:

Anyone having any luck here claiming this from severn trent?

I sent my form off with a map of my property about 4 or 5 weeks ago. I then rang 2 weeks later to ask if they had recieved it and the lady said yes but it had to go to a different department, she said the map looked fine and it should go through ok. I recieved a letter this morning saying they had sent it to a special department where the matter will be further investigated so I'm kind of expecting someone to come and check out the property as from what I've heard severn trent are quite awkward with giving this discount how have other people got on with this?

Came off the phone this morning with Severn Trent after receiving a letter last week. Basically I live about 10 metres from a brook/ditch where my rainwater runs into. They came out and investigated the claim after I filled in a letter several weeks back. Anyhow what they are claiming is that my rainwater "does have a connection to the publich sufrace water drainage system via a Severn Trent public connection at the front of my property which discharges to a brook". They are basically stating that although I have proven my water is not returned to a treatment plant for further treatment and just goes into the brook, that I still have to pay for £70+ annual payment as it does go through their pipeworks (all 3 or 4 metres of it!!!). I have asked them to put it all in writing but its not looking good. Its all around defination of "public sewer" I suppose. I took this a meaning a water sewerage plant where water is treated but they are insisting it means pipeworks as well. Just seems a bit ridiculous that they will continue to collect £70 a year for ever just for my water travelling a fraction on a distance within their pipes....

Lady_K

Oh dear do you think it definitely goes the way they say it does and uses thier pipes? I'm not sure who you would get advice from for that but you do need it in writing anyway. Can't you re-route the piping? I had heard they are difficult to get the discount from.

To be honest I don't know where my soakaways are I just guessed, builders I had about 18 years ago that relaid my main drains to the sewer told me the surface water goes out into the garden somewhere thats all I know so I just put a soakaway at the front of my property and one at the back on my map. If they come to investigate fair enough I'll be very surprised if they don't. The builders I had are not in business anymore and I think they would want paying for that info anyway and would it make any difference in the end. Severn trent have been getting this money from people for years and years and they know its difficult for people to really prove it and they use that to thier advantage and customers miss out most of the time.

How long was it from you recieving the letter saying it was being looked into to them sending out someone to look at your property?

humfer

Lady_K wrote:

Oh dear do you think it definitely goes the way they say it does and uses thier pipes? I'm not sure who you would get advice from for that but you do need it in writing anyway. Can't you re-route the piping? I had heard they are difficult to get the discount from.

To be honest I don't know where my soakaways are I just guessed, builders I had about 18 years ago that relaid my main drains to the sewer told me the surface water goes out into the garden somewhere thats all I know so I just put a soakaway at the front of my property and one at the back on my map. If they come to investigate fair enough I'll be very surprised if they don't. The builders I had are not in business anymore and I think they would want paying for that info anyway and would it make any difference in the end. Severn trent have been getting this money from people for years and years and they know its difficult for people to really prove it and they use that to thier advantage and customers miss out most of the time.

How long was it from you recieving the letter saying it was being looked into to them sending out someone to look at your property?

It took about 2 weeks from me filling in the form for them to come out to investigate, then a further week for the letter to come through

It seems that Severn Trent have this all tied up nicely. Unless I go and add my own pipework from my drains to carry the water the 5 or 10 metres into the brook it looks like ST will still keep collecting the £70 a year. Just leaves a bit peeved off as the house builder paid for and laid the pipes. Just because ST have adopted them means they can carry on charging.

Lady_K

I would try and see if you can do anything about it seeing as you paid a builder and paid for the pipes. If you cant do anything and they can get away with it maybe you could work ut a cheap way to re-pipe it if it saves £70 a year so long as they will definitely agree to that

All I have up to yet is a letter saying its been passed to the customer service advisor, no mention of anyone coming out yet but I expect that will be soon.