Thames Water - surface water drainage

lro_swb

After recently claiming my rebate which only goes back two years (£40) I decided that if Thames water won't refund me in full then I won't make it convenient for them to collect my money in future.

I contacted them and stated that I wanted to pay by cheque in 12 monthly instalments. They sent me a payment card as they obviously don't want to receive cheques. I called them again and complained and they say that they will now set up a payment plan for 12 monthly instalments.

I will send them cheques each month and try to remember but inevitably I will get some late and they will have to remind me.

I figured that the administration costs to process my cheques and send me reminders will end up costing Thames Water.

Perhaps if more people took this stance they might refund all the over payments and not just the last 2yrs.

Gothicfairy

2 Small points,

You are lucky that they gave you 2 years. They only have to go back to the year claimed properly(and they tend to get the whole thing sorted within weeks) by properly I mean form filled in and visit arranged, and you have not suggested that they took a long time or did something wrong.

point 2 : it actually makes little to no difference how you pay. Payment plans are set up to take installments and those can be made with a payment booklet or water card. To set up some form of payment plan the agent HAS to select something and the options are normally , watercard, direct debit , payment booklet. Issuing a water card does not mean you have to use it or that they will not accept cheques. Most forms of payment costs the company ( water cards have to be paid for etc) however for the domestic customer it really does make no difference as the big one is the business accounts that bill each month.

I am not quite sure what it is you are complaining about but if posting a cheque each time makes you happy then all power to you, have you thought though about the cost to you ? The stamp, the envelope, the time to post it ? I can promise you that the company is not losing any money over your payment method and if you "forget" to pay you might just end up with them removing the payment plan altogether (and they can do that as it is not a right at all and they can demand payment in full)

lro_swb

If I had underpaid Thames Water for over ten years I am sure that they would want all the money owed to them. Okay I got two years back, perhaps I should just be grateful and do nothing.

I have been told that I can pay by cheque so I am just exercising that right, the small cost involved doesn't bother me at all. Some where along the line Thames Water will ask me why I don't want to pay by Direct Debit and I will tell them that as they wouldn't refund in full and did nothing to save me money over the years I was going to make them process every payment from me which would end up costing them. If more people did this it would become an issue for the compnay and then perhaps they would think twice about their refunding policy. Simple really.

Gothicfairy

But it is not "their" refunding policy.

OFWAT make the rules and the water companies follow them, it is down to the customer to inform the company that they are not connected for Surface water drainage ( not the other way around )
The policy is the first year of applying (IE you apply in may 2010 and then should get the refund from 01.04.10) anything more then one year is a bonus.

Also they don't go back 10 years , they would only go back 6 and even then a lot gets written off rather then being chased.

It is of course your right to pay by cheque but it is their right to remove any payment plan should you miss or be late in making the payment.

I can see what it is you are doing but I don't think it will make the slightest bit of difference as Cheques for a company of that size are not an issue at all. The only ones they are bothered about are the big ones from major companies as the smaller ones they can cash for free ( most times)

I guess I am not really sure what you are annoyed about. It is the customers responsiblity to apply for the rebate and if you waited then how are they to blame ? Also for as long as I can remember there has been a leaflet with the bill or a bit on the back asking about Surface water drainage.

Oh well each to their own and all that.

Cardew

lro_swb wrote: »

If I had underpaid Thames Water for over ten years I am sure that they would want all the money owed to them. Okay I got two years back, perhaps I should just be grateful and do nothing.
.

You really have got this wrong.

It was a stipulation when water was privatised that the default position would be to pay for surface water drainage(not that I think the decision was sensible)

It doesn't make a jot of difference to water companies if you are charged for surface water drainage(SWD) or not. Ofwat stipulate how much profit they make; so they get their £xmillion regardless.

If you and 10,000 others pay £20 less because you all claim relief from SWD, they raise the additional £200,020 by increasing their charges for other services(water supply, sewerage etc)

So if they were to pay a rebate back 10 or 20 years to these hypothetical 10,001 customers, where should that money be raised?

Go back to all their customers and say you underpaid in 1992 etc. Or levy present customers wouldn't have been customers in 1992.

So you haven't been 'overcharged' you have failed to claim relief.

Incidentally if your 'cunning plan' to cause Thames extra expense by make payments difficult, did work, who do you think would pay for that expense? Customers or the company's profit balance.

lro_swb

Putting the onus on the customer to claim a rebate for a service that most weren't even aware existed as you say is hardly sensible.

I don't think I've necessarily got anything wrong, it's just my way of expressing my dissatisfaction at how this utility company has profited. I could I suppose just accept this rip off.

Why don't Thames Water make it clear to customers what they are being charged for. Now that I have claimed this rebate my bill clearly states under services provided that I don't pay for surface water drainage where as before the rebate it didn't tell me I was being charged for it. I think it's fair that the default position was for the customer to pay it but why hide it. Give the customer the information and let them deal with it.

When you buy a policy of insurance you are given a breakdown of all the charges. If Direct Line had a hidden charge of £20 for every customer would that be acceptable. Should they be able to charge everybody for something and not tell them and then when they find out through the small print not refund them. Call it a rebate or overpayment it's still the same thing.

To me £20 a year is nothing but this levy adds up to a great deal.

Cardew

Yes I agree that the companies(not just Thames) should make it a lot clearer. In the same way they should make it clearer that an assessed charge is available for those who cannot have a meter fitted(there was a thread with a justified gripe about that issue)

That said I am pretty sure that the bill does explain that you are being charged for SWD - albeit you have to examine the bill closely(it did when I paid Thames for a property I owned and certainly Severn Trent show this charge)

However they really don't 'profit' from this situation - for the reasons I explained above - they get their profit regardless. That of course makes it even more inexcusable that they don't give this provision wide publicity.

Gothicfairy

The bill does show SWD and to be honest you really should look closely at any bills that need paying.
There is normally a leaflet once a year as well that explains the charges.

I can understand why people are not happy with the onus being on the customer but at the moment it would be hard for water companies to review every property they are supplying.