Trust Fund denies water-bill grant

dellfanatic

Hi there, my mother today received a letter from severn trent trust fund informing her that she will not be able to receive a grant. She's gone onto disability allowance lately and is also coming out of an acrimonious divorce that has lasted over 7 years and caused her an unbelievable amount of stress.

Furthermore despite Severn trent saying they would 'place a hold on her account' they debited £67 on the 30th April. I've now cancelled the direct debit and would like to reclaim the direct debit through the bank as they lied about this.

She had a grant two years ago which helped but left a balance which was spread over 12 months. Then the following year the bill shot up to almost £600 (unmetered). There was no help from the trust fund but we made cutbacks to make the monthly payments. Now, we've applied for the trust fund again (can apply only once every 2 years apparently) and got this denial.

Metering isn't going to help because a couple of our neighbours have switched to meters and their bills are only marginally lower than ours. In case you're wondering why the cost is so high, its because the house is being disputed by her ex-husband (I refuse to call him my 'dad' after what he slashed her car tyres and spray painted not very nice words over it) so whilst he tries to get hold of the house (4 bedroom), we're left paying all the maintenance costs for it and struggling in the process.

If we hadn't kept up with the payments, we'd have been in arrears and probably would have had a grant to cover them, so it's her fault for keeping up with payments as I see it. Thought it would be recognised that the payments were kept up-to-date. Apparently not.

I'm determined that we've paid Severn Trent (and their shareholders) enough of her limited cash, we've made sacrifices to subsidise them and I'm putting my foot down now, I won't see my mother save up on essentials to give severn trent £600 a year.

I'd appreciate your advice - I'm so angry about this but what can we do, it's not like we can switch to a cheaper company. Can they cut us off if we don't pay, because I'm fed up of abiding by their rules. I'm helping with costs as much as I can but I'm in university at the moment and have only the student loan to live off. I hope someone can help advise us, thank you

starrydarkangel

They cant cut you water off but can take you to court for non-payment. Placing a hold on the account means they wont take any credit recovery action for non-payment but unless you request direct debit to be canceled it will still run unless you cancel at the bank of course.

As for the trust fund, they are their to help people in debt. they wont pay water for you in advance but will normally help you with arrears.

As for the £600 bill based on Rateable value....how many people live in the property? as that bill if you where on a meter would be the average usage for about 6 people so a meter may work out cheaper.

CFC

I'm not sure I quite see where you're coming from with this, forgive me. The house you and your mother occupy has high outgoings and both you and she have a limited income. Do you not find that you're struggling with all of your bills, not just your water bill? £600 is a fairly normal kind of bill for a 4 bed home, although as Starrydarkangel says, with two of you living there rather than 5-6 people you may find that metering would see your cost go right down.

Have you considered taking in a lodger or finding some other additional forms of income, if you both intend to remain living in your current house. because if you both stay in this situation things are likely to get worse as time goes on?

Cardew

I must say I am with CFC above.

Firstly with 2 people in the house you will undoubtedly save money by going on a meter - you will probably halve your bill to £300 - more if you are careful.

If other people pay Severn Trent for their water, I fail to see why you alone feel justified in refusing to pay your bills.

Thirdly how do you deduce you are subsidising Severn Trent any more than your gas/electricty/supermarket/garage company? They all exist to provide a service and make a profit for their shareholders?

dellfanatic

Thanks for the responses - we are ready to move to a smaller house but as I mentioned in the original post, her ex-husband is claiming a portion of the property so while he has lodged a claim with the land registry, we are unable to move out and are left to foot all the bills. He's just out to make trouble, he knows he can't get the house but he's doing it just to cause more stress and worry.

I'm a final year undergraduate so hopefully within the next 12 months I will be in a proper graduate job (with a proper graduate salary ), not just tesco. I agree it's a utility and we must pay for it, but for the cost solely to be based on the value of the home is nonsensical. And for them to work on a monopoly basis is also rubbish - we have just switched supplier again to save about £80 a year.

As for a water meter: I asked them about this last year and the answer was that as our rateable value is high, our cost per unit for water will also be high on a meter, so it won't necessarily save us money.

My argument is that where normally someone would move into an expensive house and be able to afford the water bills, we have no choice in living here. Sure, it was fine when they were together but now things are different, all the costs are falling on us. I don't think this is fair, I'd be surprised if anyone thought it was... Cardew: the "everyone pays so why shouldn't you" argument isn't a very good one. If that's your logic I'm surprised you even bother with MSE in the first place, after all, other non moneysaving consumers manage... :rolleyes:

Cardew

dellfanatic wrote: »

Thanks for the responses - we are ready to move to a smaller house but as I mentioned in the original post, her ex-husband is claiming a portion of the property so while he has lodged a claim with the land registry, we are unable to move out and are left to foot all the bills. He's just out to make trouble, he knows he can't get the house but he's doing it just to cause more stress and worry.

I'm a final year undergraduate so hopefully within the next 12 months I will be in a proper graduate job (with a proper graduate salary ), not just tesco. I agree it's a utility and we must pay for it, but for the cost solely to be based on the value of the home is nonsensical. And for them to work on a monopoly basis is also rubbish - we have just switched supplier again to save about £80 a year.

As for a water meter: I asked them about this last year and the answer was
that as our rateable value is high, our cost per unit for water will also be high on a meter, so it won't necessarily save us money.

My argument is that where normally someone would move into an expensive house and be able to afford the water bills, we have no choice in living here. Sure, it was fine when they were together but now things are different, all the costs are falling on us. I don't think this is fair, I'd be surprised if anyone thought it was... Cardew: the "everyone pays so why shouldn't you" argument isn't a very good one. If that's your logic I'm surprised you even bother with MSE in the first place, after all, other non moneysaving consumers manage... :rolleyes:

How do you switch suppliers("to save £80") for water?

You were wrongly informed about meter charging; or misunderstood.
You pay exactly the same rate for water and sewerage on a meter regardless of living in a one bedroomed flat or a 8 bedroomed mansion. For Severn Trent at 2006 rates that is £1.0877 per cubic metre for water and £0.7323 sewerage.(total £1.82 per cubic metre) 2007 rates are about 5% more)

For 2 people the UK average consumption is 120 cubic metres per year(many use less) which is £218. Standing charges are £30 a year. So £248.
In the unlikely event you are charged for surface water drainage there is an extra charge of £72 for a detached house(£48 for a semi)

You are absolutely correct about water costs being based solely on the value of a home - thats why people change to meters. (Actually it isn't based on a house value but Rateable Value(RV) which is a system that no longer exists. It is possible to have a £1 million house with a lower RV than a £200,000 flat. - but generally there is some correlation between RV and house value)

It is a very common scenario for a single person to be in a expensive house - e.g. a widow/widower when the children have flown the nest. With a water meter however it doesn't matter as the costs are effectively pro-rata.

You missed the point about 'everyone pays'. You cannot refuse to pay a legitimate charge, that everyone has to pay and is sanctioned by the Government Regulator , simply because you think that the charge is too high and term that money saving.

The way to save money on water as explained above is get a meter.

Good luck and I hope your problems will soon be behind you.

CFC

Water Meter

That's the Severn Trent Water Meter calculator - you can see if it will be cheaper for you to be metered or not.

okra

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okra

Doh, save water? I meant save money!

rosysparkle

I agree, I live in Severn Trent area and we are a family of four (five at weekends) in a five bedroom house, my water on a meter is £19 a month, and I usually end the year slightly in credit.

Getting a meter would almost certainly save you money.