United Utilities trying to rip us off...

squ1rrel5

Just had a new water bill from United Utilities this morning - we are on a water bill and have been paying just under £20.00 for the past few months and our new schedule for 2012 is - wait for it.... £143.00 per month!!!!! HAHAHA!

There are two of us in the house - we are hardly ever here and when we are we are very careful with the amount of water that we use.

This is obviously what UU have estimated that we will use but how they have come to this after the last 6 months I dont know?! What really annoyed me is that on the bill (paper and online) and when I phoned them to check what was going on they said this had been a routine check and someone had read the meter which is obviously a lie... no one was even in the house on the date they gave and our meter is inside!! Frustrating to think that some people might not even question this.
They got a strongly worded phonecall from me this morning and gave them the ACTUAL reading so hopefully this will bring it down to a normal amount!

Even if it had been an estimate who would use that much water in a month - did they think we had an extra 50 people squeezed into our little house??? Very bizarre - my parents who arent on a water meter, live in the same size house to us just around the corner, pay approx £30-£40 unmeasured so where they got £143.00 I have no idea!!!

Paying for your Christmas Bonuses am I?? I dont think so....Bah Humbug United Utilities!!!!!

Gothicfairy

Your payment plan is not your used amount and if your meter is a radio read then they don't need to enter your property.

If you are in arrears with your water account then the payment plan goes up to cover that, if the meter reading is wrong the plan goes up etc but there is no mass conspiracy linked to profits or bonuses it is just the computer re setting the account based on the figures it has to hand..nothing more then that.
I can't see why a strongly worded phone call was needed as all that was required was a meter reading and the ADC updating, you could have got the new payment plan on the phone there and then but I am guessing your strongly worded call put the customer services agent off and they are going to leave it now for someone else to sort out ( so you might find that the first payment plan still stands )


Oh and what your parents pay has nothing to do with your bill or amount as they are not charged but the same rate.

squ1rrel5

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Your payment plan is not your used amount and if your meter is a radio read then they don't need to enter your property.

The meeting is inside the property and I was told that someone HAD been inside it - unless the Christmas elves let them in then someone is lying....

Gothicfairy wrote: »

If you are in arrears with your water account then the payment plan goes up to cover that,

We arent, we are in credit at the moment.

Gothicfairy wrote: »

there is no mass conspiracy linked to profits or bonuses it is just the computer re setting the account based on the figures it has to hand..nothing more then that.

Errrr, that was a joke, I wont bother next time....

Gothicfairy wrote: »

I can't see why a strongly worded phone call was needed as all that was required was a meter reading and the ADC updating, you could have got the new payment plan on the phone there and then but I am guessing your strongly worded call put the customer services agent off and they are going to leave it now for someone else to sort out ( so you might find that the first payment plan still stands )

Shouldnt really have to explain myself but the phonecall started as a quick call to double check the bill and to question the charges but when I was told that my meter reading seems too low, and being told that someone had definitely read the meter (despite it being on a day when no one was in the house) yes I got a bit frustrated... the gentleman was actually very helpful and I have faith that the bill will be sorted out.
The reason for my posting on here was because I wanted to make people aware to check their bills/meters and question with the company if you are not sure whats happened.... I know it seems obvious but reading other posts on this forum its not everyone that does this.

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Oh and what your parents pay has nothing to do with your bill or amount as they are not charged but the same rate.

So if you're bill was £100 more a month than the same number of people in exactly the same size house half a mile away from you, with the same water supply - you woudnt question it??????

HappyMJ

They can read most inside meters from outside the property. How accurate is the meter reading? Could they have got the meter reading mixed up with another one?

Cardew

squ1rrel5 wrote: »

So if you're bill was £100 more a month than the same number of people in exactly the same size house half a mile away from you, with the same water supply - you woudnt question it??????

Your parents are not on a meter, so their charges are based on the Rateable Value.(and Rateable Value has not been used by anyone except water companies since April 1990). That means their bill could be a £100 a year or £2,000 a year regardless of how much water they used. They could leave all the taps running 24/7 every day of the year.

With regard to your bill - which obviously seems wrong - The last meter reading will state if it was Estimated, it will read 12345(E).

Also it could be simply a wrong reading for a number of reasons. These days bills are 'untouched by human hand' it is all done by computer and the old saying 'Rubbish in - Rubbish out' applies!!

As stated by Gothicfairy above, there is no incentive for any water company to overcharge - their profits are controlled by the Regulator.

Gothicfairy

squ1rrel5 wrote: »

So if you're bill was £100 more a month than the same number of people in exactly the same size house half a mile away from you, with the same water supply - you woudnt question it??????

If they are on RV and I am on a meter then why would I question it ? it is 2 totally different rates of charge and can not be compared.

Gothicfairy

squ1rrel5 wrote: »

The meeting is inside the property and I was told that someone HAD been inside it - unless the Christmas elves let them in then someone is lying....
No customer service agent could say someone had been inside your property. They can say someone read it but that is not the same thing

We arent, we are in credit at the moment.

Is the credit enough though to cover the usage and next bill?



Errrr, that was a joke, I wont bother next time....

OK




Shouldnt really have to explain myself but the phonecall started as a quick call to double check the bill and to question the charges but when I was told that my meter reading seems too low, and being told that someone had definitely read the meter (despite it being on a day when no one was in the house) yes I got a bit frustrated... the gentleman was actually very helpful and I have faith that the bill will be sorted out.
The reason for my posting on here was because I wanted to make people aware to check their bills/meters and question with the company if you are not sure whats happened.... I know it seems obvious but reading other posts on this forum its not everyone that does this.

but you do have to explain yourself when you post on an open forum and someone takes what you say to mean that is what you did..How was I meant to know you didn't really mean strongly worded call ? I still however don't understand why it was not updated whilst you were on the phone if it was that pleasant a call ?

I would still check your payment plan because the update should have gone live there and then and the new plan should have been explained unless they either didn't do it or there is a kickout.