Massive first Thames water bill

Gti182

Hi all

My girlfriend and I just moved into a new place 3 weeks ago and received our first water bill yesterday. Came to £474!!! Was £28 for the 3 weeks plus the balance for the next year! The whole amount must be payed by 9 April according to the bill.

Haven't payed bills before so not sure how it works, assumed it would just be the metered amount?

We both work all week and don't use excessive amounts of water , does this sound right?? And why the year in advance amount of over £400, what is this amount for and how would it be calculated?

Very confused

2013yearofthehouse

No idea why you'd be ask to pay upfront.

How many metered units is the £28 for? Average 3 weeks for 2 people would be about 6-7 units.

Gti182

it is odd, we couldn't believe it. The bill also didn't clearly show the units used but i may have looked over that being blinded by the large sum.

We couldn't get our head around why they would charge us for a future period though?

matelodave

Have you got a meter or is it based on rateable value. RV bills are calculated for a year and fixed however much or little water that you use. You usually get the option of paying it as one lump, in two instalments (April & October) or possibly by direct debit in 10 or 12 monthly payments. Look at your bill and see what it says - there is usually a "ways to pay" section which offers you the options.

If you are on a meter then you'll get an estimate of what they think you consumption will be, you can get this revised down if you agree with them how many people who are in the house. The usual estimate is about 55cu.m per person so reckon on about 110cu/m a year. They should read the meter at least once a year. Something you can do yourself more often (hopefully you did it when you moved in and gave them a reading). You can then send them a reading once a month or so and hopefully they will adjust your payments to suit. Again you should be able to pay monthly.

Cardew

Do you have a meter?


Unmetered properties have their charges based on the Rateable Value(RV) of the property and the 2014/15 charges are due 01 April 2014.* Although most companies allow it to be paid in two instalments 01 April and 01 Oct.


If metered have they estimated consumption?


Either way it is better to pay monthly by Direct Debit - just ring and ask for a payment plan.


If unmetered it will be an idea to get a meter fitted.

brewerdave

Thats the way they do it for properties which aren't on metered supply; If you look at your bill is there a calculation carried out on rateable value (RV)??
Before we had a meter fitted we had water rates based on RV -we had to set up a payment plan which took 1/12 of the bill every month by Direct Debit.
Have you looked for a water meter on your property?When you say a "new place" do you mean newly built or new to you? If its an older house it may not have a meter.

Gti182

thanks for the quick comments. Yes the amount is based on a RV value of £282 i think so guessing we don't have a meter, is it free to request one to be installed? It is an older property.

Seems odd that they would want to charge the amount up front though. Wouldn't mind paying the full value up front if there was some sort of incentive like small discount or something.

So if i pay the full £474 up front they won't charge me monthly, it will be a sort of on account payment?

matelodave

You can request to have a water meter fitted and if it doesn't save you money in the first year you can usually revert back to RV payment. Have a look at the Thames Water website for their T&Cs.

You are correct that if you pay your bill up front then that's it for a year. If you move in the meantime you get a refund for any remaining period.
It's not odd that you are billed for a year in advance, that's the way its always been (just like rates or council tax) although nowadays most companies will allow monthly payments (just like rates or council tax) - just check the website for what Thames has to offer..

Cardew

Thames metered charges for 2014/15 are here:


https://www.thameswater.co.uk/tw/common/downloads/literature-water-waste-water-charges/12495E-metered-charges-2014-2015.pdf


So water and sewerage are £2.07 per cubic metre plus standing charges of £87 or £62(if you have a soakaway)


Average consumption for a couple is 110cubic metres pa, (although many can use far less) Thus based on 110 cubic metres your charges would be £315 or £290.

2013yearofthehouse

We've had a water meter for at least 5 years now, but before that we paid our Thames Water RV by monthly payments, so presumably that's something they still offer.

We pay about 30-40% less being metered and probably use more water than you will, so a meter is worth a try.

giraffe69

It's normal to pay a year's water bill up-front.

I don't thin that is true. You can choose to. You can pay in two installments (April and October). You can also opt for monthly DD and they collect(I think) in 10 monthly installment