Water usage based on rateable value???

antdon

Hi All
I'm totally new to anything to do with water bills so please be patient....

I live on the Wirral in a band C rated 3 bed house....
My annual water bill from United Utilities is £590 (49x12 ish)

I have been looking at potential savings of having a water meter fitted... But havent decided yet.

On the United utilities website they say that the water usage is based on the council tax band rating of your house...?????

I living in one half of a semi.... My attached neighbour is band D (small extension) and so is most of the rest of the street, but I am rated at band C...

Does this mean I should be paying less than my neighbour???

Can I quiz United utilities as to the band that they think my house is???

I had read somewhere that the average UK water bill for a family of 4 is approx £370.... Is this correct??

If so why am I paying soo much???

I know.... A lot of questions.... But any answers/comments would be greatly appreciated>

Gothicfairy

RV is NOT the council tax banding, it is the rateable value of your property when the district valuer visited for the inland revenue way back in the 70's ( or after or even earlier depending on where you are)
It is based on the rent income on your property and does not reflect the council tax banding.

You can quiz UU all you like but it will not make any difference , they did not set the RV, they do not even know what it applied too at the time and they CAN NOT change it.

Your bill is based on YOUR property and your neighbours bills is based on theirs.....there is nothing you can do other then get a meter.

That I am afraid is the fact of the matter and also the end of it.....

outtawork

I changed over to a water meter a few years ago & my yearly water bill is £84. waste water is £146. I am in a flat & everyone else pays £42 per month, I pay £19.10.

antdon

Many thanks for the reply....
Very Clear.....

I suppose water meters will eventually supply every property........

Just need to make my mind up about whether or not to get one now..... (on the face of it an obvious saving... But I'm always a little cynical about projected savings)

antdon

outtawork wrote: »

I changed over to a water meter a few years ago & my yearly water bill is £84. waste water is £146. I am in a flat & everyone else pays £42 per month, I pay £19.10.

Has the change made you more frugal with water or has your usage remained the same?

Gothicfairy

Don't forget though that 1 cubic meter of water is actually 1 thousands litres so you do get a lot of water for your money and as such you don't have to panic quite so much about usage.

It is about 60 CM per person per year but you can work out your consumption and expected bill through your water companies web site ( or call them or email them for them to call you back)
Also if you have a meter you have a year (or in some cases 2) to revert back to RV billing if you want so you lose nothing by giving it a go.

jibber32

Hi
I have a question. I live in a flat, but it is in a converted house. I have just had my water bill for the year and it is over £1000. It is based on a rateable value of £447.

I am deciding to check whether or not to go on a meter to save money and they say if you have a high rateable value then you should do it. The thing is I don't know whether £447 is high or low? my worry is that is the rateable value from when the property was one big house and not converted into flats and we are getting stung?

any ideas?

McKneff

If you live in a flat where you cant have a meter fitted, you can ask for an assessed charge,

My OH and I live in a 3 bed semi, on a metre - £240 a year for us.

Gothicfairy

McKneff wrote: »

If you live in a flat where you cant have a meter fitted, you can ask for an assessed charge,

.

I am sorry but this is the biggest load of rubbish going......A meter depends on your supply NOT your property.
Thousands of flats have meters and as long as your supply can be isolated then you can have a meter..flat or not.

You also CAN NOT ask for assessed without applying for a meter so either way you MUST do that first.


Sorry McKneff but you are 100% wrong about that whole post.


Apply for a meter as you are paying a lot for water.......Check https://www.voa.gov.uk to see if your property is listed as a house or flat but if it is listed as a flat ( date of change should be there too and if past 1990 you should have a meter by law anyway)

bluewire

Gothic I think that you may have mis-read McKneff's post.
What McKneff said is...."IF you live in a flat where you cant have a meter fitted" Then "You can ask for an assessed charge".

All of this is true. I do agree that it may have helped if the wording was......
If you live in a flat where after applying for a water meter you are informed by your WC that you cant have a meter fitted due to shared supply etc, then you can ask for an assessed charge.

jibber32

Thanks

I have put in an application for a meter. lets hope it can save some money!