£226 for 1 bed flat.

sarah_id1

I've finally paid the outstanding bills and ordered a water meter to be installed. 2 question though

1)I havent told my landlord about it. Would that be a problem?
2)The payment had gone to dept collection agency would that have affected my credit history?

I would really appreciate reply for these questions.

Cardew

sarah_id1 wrote: »

I've finally paid the outstanding bills and ordered a water meter to be installed. 2 question though

1)I havent told my landlord about it. Would that be a problem?
2)The payment had gone to dept collection agency would that have affected my credit history?

I would really appreciate reply for these questions.

1. Depends on your landlord! If tenancy is over 6 months you are entitled to get a meter!

2. Probably! You can check your credit record to find out. There are a couple of other forums on MSE that will advise.

3. It may well be in a flat that they cannot fit a meter and you will be offered an assessed rate.

keith1950

Hi Sarah, I live on my own and my yearly water bill is £390 based on rateable value.

I considered getting a water meter fitted but first went onto the Northumbrian Water website ( North East ) and entered my useage into their calculator , you basically enter every possible useage including number of times you will wash up/ flush tiolet/shower/ bath/brush teeth etc. etc. and it suggested my metered useage would be £480, so I decided not to go ahead.

I played around with the useage figures by reducing various items and found it very difficult to get down to anywhere near my current costs.

I think that £226 sounds about right but it does partly depend on the region you live in.

Water rates do not normally show up on your credit file , but if the debt is not paid quickly enough I supposed i could be recorded as missed payments, in which case it would stay there for six years, unless you could get it removed.

macman

Fit a meter, if it's not cheaper then just revert to RV billing within the first 12 months. You cannot lose.

sarah_id1

keith1950 wrote: »

Water rates do not normally show up on your credit file , but if the debt is not paid quickly enough I supposed i could be recorded as missed payments, in which case it would stay there for six years, unless you could get it removed.

Thanks for your reply Kieth.

The Landlord transferred the bill into my name last year when Thames Water found out that his 3 bed house is spilt into two 1 bed flat. I am living in this property for more than 5 years. Landlord collected the water bill amount from me charged to him retrospectively for 3 years and Thames Water sent me 2 years of water bill last year. I didnt pay this bill for a year as I didnt agree to the amount charged. I am now worried that it might have affected my credit history for something I eventually paid.

I will check my credit file and see if it has left a mark. If it has I am not sure how to get that fixed.

noh

keith1950 wrote: »

Hi Sarah, I live on my own and my yearly water bill is £390 based on rateable value.

I considered getting a water meter fitted but first went onto the Northumbrian Water website ( North East ) and entered my useage into their calculator , you basically enter every possible useage including number of times you will wash up/ flush tiolet/shower/ bath/brush teeth etc. etc. and it suggested my metered useage would be £480, so I decided not to go ahead...............

.

I would suggest that their site or you overestimated your usage,
I live on my own use dishwasher washing machine etc and my metered bill is around £260 p.a. I don't think there would be that much difference in the cost between areas.

macman

There is a huge difference in cost between different water authorities, South West Water being by far the most expensive region.

vicky495

Hi all.

I currently got an unmetered bill from Thames Water of £463 for a two bedroom flat at W5 in London. I was told that if I switch to a meter, the bill will be significantly lower. I would like to ask if I could get a refund for the months that I have already paid or even for the previous year. If Thames Water refuse, does it worth to complain to CCWater or OFWAT? Do I have a case?

Thanks for your help.

macman

No, you cannot get any refund if you switch to a water meter, there is no backdating provision allowed in the regs. You will be billed on RV until such time as your meter is installed, or if not possible to install one, from when you switch to assessed billing.
Since a meter is entirely optional in your case, on what basis would you be complaining anyway?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

sarah_id1 wrote: »

I didnt pay this bill for a year as I didnt agree to the amount charged.

it would've a whole lot easier if you had queried the bill at the time.

Have a look here, might help you understand your bill.