Severn Trent Water (Overcharging)

tingle

Hi guys,
I have been living in a small one bedroom flat for 17 months now (I moved in on 1st Jan 2012)
I am single and I live alone and I have been receiving bills every 6 months from severn trent water for £158, in Oct and in April (£316 per year).
Now my parents have a 3 bedroom house and use water to wash cars and water the garden and they get billed (£292.61 per year) and they are not on water meter.
I also know a couple who have share a flat 2 blocks from me who are with Severn trent water and they get charged (£233 per year) and they are not on water meter.

I complained to Severn trent water in November 2012 about the amount they were billing me, this was before I learnt how much my parents and friends were paying and on this initial complaint I was told that what I was paying is normal.
I complained again in April when I seen the bill again for £158 and I have now arranged for a water meter to be fitted who are finally coming tomorrow (Sat 1st June 2013).

I have told Severn Trent Water that i am not happy with how much I have been charge during my time at the flat and I have asked for a rebate but they said that it is not possible to issue a rebate.

I was just wonder if anyone else has a simular experience with Severn Trent Water? Surely, they owe me rebate?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you so much!
Mark

elsien

Isn't it based on the old rateable values?
So it's not just about the size of the house, it's also about the location where you live. How much your parents pay (unless you live next door to them) isn't going to be relevant even if they are also with Severn Trent. I can't see them agreeing a rebate if they haven't made any errors on the billing, just because you think it's unfair.

Edit -more info.
https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/consumerissues/chargesbills/unmetered/

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

As stated above, if not on a meter, you are charged on the Rateable Value(RV) of your property.

RV was the system of collecting 'local taxes' before the Poll tax and now Council Tax. It has nothing to do with the value of the property and was based on the notional rent the property could command.

Many factors were taken into account is assessing a property for RV - size, location, amenities, modernisation etc. It is more than possible your flat would have a higher RV than much bigger properties.

There is absolutely no way that Severn Trent or any other water company will consider a rebate as you have been correctly charged.

frundle

I changed to metered and it is no better. They make up any shortfall with 'other charges' some have gone up 100% overnight. A right con.

macman

frundle wrote: »

I changed to metered and it is no better. They make up any shortfall with 'other charges' some have gone up 100% overnight. A right con.

But you can switch back to RV billing within the first 12 months, so you cannot be worse off...
There is never a guarantee that metered will be cheaper, it depends on your usage (to state the obvious).
What 'other charges'?