Watersure scheme

catoutthebag

I definitely quality with one of the conditions & have a meter, do I automatically qualify with capping ? That's what I read.

However ofwat site says I need to be on one of several benefits, which I'm not.

Where do I stand?

Company will be investigating if there is a leak since our usage is double average.

If there is no leak I guess it's down to my condition. Watersure is a revelation. Never knew about it & water co didn't even ask when they threatened to increase our bills

quailpower

catoutthebag wrote: »

I definitely quality with one of the conditions & have a meter, do I automatically qualify with capping ? That's what I read.

However ofwat site says I need to be on one of several benefits, which I'm not.

Where do I stand?

Company will be investigating if there is a leak since our usage is double average.

If there is no leak I guess it's down to my condition. Watersure is a revelation. Never knew about it & water co didn't even ask when they threatened to increase our bills

Hi as far as I am aware companies do not automatically apply you to the Watersure, and you need to re-apply every year.

You need to either:
- have 3 children under the age of 19 in full time education
- be in reciept of those listed benefits and have a medical condition that causes high water usage.

If you just have a medical condition and not in reciept of the listed benefits you could try and apply but you would not qualify.

Has the usage been high for a long period of time or just a short period?

(previous water company employee)

catoutthebag

Moved into rented property with partner last year with metered rate of £28.

We have no access to meter.

Apparently our usage has always been double, but only now do they tell us that they want £68

Told them it's outrageous: both shower twice a day, 3loads washing a week, no kids/pets/garden, car washed elsewhere etc

Spoke to another person at the company who said the best they could do was £42

Day after spoke to the original member, who when I threatened to complain, said the 'best' they could do was £33.

How does the best drop £9?

Pathetic really , their lies. £33 is still a lot and so is £28 really in a Modern flat.

Understandbly there's a debit on the account that needs covering but I know it can be waived,

I haven't mentioned medical condition because I didn't know about the scheme, but it may cause the increased usage

That's if there is increased usage. A technician is coming in a couple weeks to check if there's a leak.

Whether there is or isn't, I'll be writing to the company and offwat to ensure the original rate is reinstated and for their behaviour

macman

How do you have 'no access to meter'? If you don't, then how does the water co. read it? You can't argue the case if you can't support it by your own readings.

quailpower

Water meters do not have a "rate"

You were set at a DD of £28 which is the average uk usage of two people living in a property regardless of size. That is the price that all agents will offer new meter customers when signing up.

After a subsiquent read, it seems you are using more than the average and that is why they have increased the amount. the Inital increase to the £60's would be to clear the extra debit on the account within the next six months.

They have then offered you lower amounts, which they should have explained will carry your debit over a longer period.

Usually the agent will say the best they can do is how low they are comfortable setting it. As setting it too low can cause you to rack up more debit if your usage further increases.

I suspect that your usage is coming out at £33 per month, which is the lowest they offered, so only £5 above the average. However the debit on the acc must be why they have tried to set it higher.

OFWAT and the water company will not waive this as it is a debit, and the company is not at fault in any way.

You can insist that the DD is set to £28 again, but all this will do will ensure that you steadily build up a balance on the account.

They are not obliged to inform you of schemes, however any agent worth their salt would have gone through some watersaving ideas with you and possibly mentioned the watersure scheme.

But as I have said unless you have three children or in recipt of benefits you will not qualify. I suggest applying for the free watersaving options such as a SaveaFlush and Showersaver which you can apply for free on the company websites.

catoutthebag

Thanks for your reply.

I will wait til the tech comes round to check for leaks...and as another poster mentioned, if the meter is connected to the right property!

I guess as I am not in receipt of benefits, I will not get a look in for watersure.

We have already cut our shower times and washing loads - the 2 which MAY have contributed to this. Though I still can't understand why our use is double. 25-50% more, maybe, but 100%?

Unfortunately, they did not explain about lowered amount spreading the debit further.

Do you think an option is to pay off the £100+ debit (or will they find it in themselves to write it off?), and then assure them of our reduced use and reinstate the £28 (which from reading, is already high for 2 people compared to other companies). Or, accept the £33 and keep output restricted.

Cardew

You don't say where you live; or how many people in the flat.

Water/sewerage charges vary tremendously across England/Wales. The average consumption is approx 55 cubic metres per person, per year.

For two people the cost of that consumption could vary from around £200 pa to £600 pa in the South West. Also your £28 DD is sometimes only 9 or 10 paymets a year - not 12.

It is very easy to see if you have a leak. Turn off all water and check the meter. They register down to 1 litre(the last red digit) and it shouldn't move.

The commonest form of internal leak is an overflow from the cistern into the toilet bowl. This can be silent.

catoutthebag

2, and S.Yorks.

We were advised by the company that the meter was in an outdoor manifold. We couldn't find it. They admitted that the description itself was vague. We can see the BT rectangular floor things in the carpark, and several 'inspection manifolds' dotted around the grass verge. Last week, on unscrewing one of these, there was just water gushing through an outlet, and no 'meter' in sight. We suspect it may be waste water? And all of these other manifolds would be the same. Hence, a technician is coming next week to check, and see if there is a leak. That's why we couldn't do the 10-minute test prescribed.

quailpower

catoutthebag wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately, they did not explain about lowered amount spreading the debit further.

Do you think an option is to pay off the £100+ debit (or will they find it in themselves to write it off?), and then assure them of our reduced use and reinstate the £28 (which from reading, is already high for 2 people compared to other companies). Or, accept the £33 and keep output restricted.

If you were to pay off the debit in full, they would then offer to set your Direct Debit to your ongoing usage which would probably be £33, as £28 was not enough and why you have built up a debit in the first place.

I dont think they would write off the debit UNLESS there is a leak found, either on the meter itself or on the pipework connecting to the meter. If there is a leak and it is on your property they will not write it off because it is your responsibility to fix.

I know £28 seems high but the North West average for a water meter for two people is £29.82 so you are not far off. Also check if it is over 10 months as most of the water companies do this by default. You could be looking at a reduction to £23 if it is, and you choose to spread over 12 months instead.

Also for context the United Utilities official figure for the average water bill (meatered and unmeatered) in the North West is £405 this year.

Evolving2survive

My water bill is over £600 a year and I have 2 disabled children and a baby, I have been advised to go for the Watersure scheme, but I currently dont have a meter, I have been told one could be fitted for free but Im still skeptical about having a water meter fitted, what happens if the water sure scheme stops, will I end up stuck in a situation where I have even bigger bills, I wash an average of 4 loads per day of washing and drying not to mention baths and showers etc, should I go with watersure? Please help

quailpower

As far as I am aware Watersure is a scheme designed by OFWAT and issued across all the water companies, so it is not likely to be removed.

The cap for watersure this year is £404 so your bill would be no higher than this.

But bear in mind that watersure does increase slightly every year to keep up with the bills. Last year it was £395.

Also bear in mind that you need to re-apply for watersure every year. Although your circumstances are unlikely to change because you would qualify by having 3 children - when the eldest child reaches 18 (19 in education) you will no longer be eligable (unless you have another child - there needs to be 3 under 18).

You can have the meter fitted for free and have the option to go back to rateable value billing in the first 13 months.

If you were to keep a record of correspondance, that you were recomended to have a meter fitted solely for the watersure - if ever it was withdrawn you might be able to appeal and have it removed.


I think it is worth trying to have the meter fitted. It might be that you are unable to have a meter fitted and as a result you would be offered an Assesed Volume Charge which is another type of capped bill (between £290-£520ish). Or some companies would offer the Watersure scheme regardless if you are unable to have the meter fitted.