Can I reclaim overpayments whilst waiting for meter to be installed?

SchminkyCat

Just wondering if anyone can shed some light on this for me:

We have just moved into a property and our first water bill is astronomical (see my thread below about huge water bill from SWW!). I know that a friend in same size house, 3 doors along from me, with 1 extra adult and 1 extra child is paying less than half of my bill, with a water meter.

Have contacted the landlords as we are renting and it turns out that they have complained via OFCOM regarding the ridiculous bills (which are 3x higher than the "average" for the southwest), but were told there was nothing wrong with their bill. They also requested a water meter be fitted back in April, but after 8 weeks with nothing happening they contacted SWW again to be told that there was no record of them even requesting an installation! :mad:

I am going to call SWW today and request a meter, but their website states that it can be up to 3 months before it will be installed. Is there any way I can claim back the amount that I will have to pay over those 3 months whilst I wait (once they can see that I am using far less than they are billing me for!).

victor2

SchminkyCat wrote: »

I am going to call SWW today and request a meter, but their website states that it can be up to 3 months before it will be installed. Is there any way I can claim back the amount that I will have to pay over those 3 months whilst I wait (once they can see that I am using far less than they are billing me for!).

Unless you are prepared to pay them to install a meter, I would guess you'll have to wait and pay the current charges while you do.
Maybe it is worth paying them to expedite the installation? You can but ask.

SchminkyCat

Good thinking Batman - might be worth finding out what the cost would be and seeing if it is likely to be less than the £180 in overpayments for 3 months unmetered!

Thank you x

Cardew

If you install a meter yourself it will still have to be inspected by the water company.

I would contact the Consumer Council for Water by phone and ask them to take matters up with SW water. In these cases the Water company will usually make some concession to the customer.