Student Water bills

birminghamamcm

Hi all,

I'm a student at the university of Birmingham living in Selly Oak and seem to have been paying a ridiculous amount for water compared to a lot of my other friends who live in bigger houses and with more people. I live in a 2 bedroom ground floor flat with one other person and the water is supplied by Severn Trent Water. We've been paying £50 a month rather than the £50 per 3 months that seems to be the norm for others in the area...

Does anyone have any ideas why this could be or any advice for us on how to get a refund on the amount already paid?

Thanks a lot

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Do you have a water meter? - I suspect not!

If you don't have a meter, your charges are based on the Rateable Value(RV) of your property, and that is essentially what notional rent the flat would command as long ago as 1973 - and the charges vary according to which district of the Severn Trent(ST) area in which you live.

Are you paying for Surface Water Drainage?(called 'measured drainage' by ST)

With two people a meter would be much cheaper than £50 monthly(£600pa) but you may not be paying 12 months in the year.

Post what is written on your bill for better advice, but essentially you need to apply for a meter.

There is no way of getting a refund if £50 monthly is the correct charge.

macman

As above. The RV has absolutely no relation to the size of the property (or, obviously, to the no. of occupants). If there were ten of you in the property, you would pay exactly the same. Nor does it have any relationship to your Council Tax band, is is so often thought.
Apply for a meter, if one is not possible then apply for assessed billng instead.