Hose Pipe Horror! Help

gatita

Macman, I know the usage is very low, but I was away for 5 months of the year, which explains the low bills. Apart from anything, I think the charges in the S. West are nothing short of outrageous, and the miserly amount paid back over a YEAR is nothing short of an insult! The water companies can do what the hell they want, (and they do!) they have the monopoly. At least with the gas & electric you can choose the company.

Cardew

gatita wrote: »

The water companies can do what the hell they want, (and they do!) they have the monopoly. At least with the gas & electric you can choose the company.

I agree that South West water charges are a disgrace. However for that you can blame Maggie Thatcher's government who privatised the water supply industry splitting the country into 10 regions with differing expenditure and a differing customer base to pay.


Whilst the companies have a monopoly, it is incorrect to say they can do what the hell they want. Their commitments and charges are tightly controlled by the Regulator(ofwat).


Unfortunately the South West has a huge expenditure on the infrastructure - including beaches - and a relatively small population to pay the bill. Their charges are as much as three times as high as some other parts of UK.

roddydogs

It all Maggies fault, Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

macman

Any water co. in the UK will charge you for what you use, so what have SWW done in this instance that is any different?
It would help if you could give a consistent account-in your original post you were away for 3 months, now you are saying 5 months-in which case the 3 month billing does not cover the whole period in which the hose was left on?
I don't quite know what resolution you expect from this-if you'd gone away for 3/5 months and left the lights on, would you expect your supplier to reduce the bill? The only way they'll do that is if there is an unknown leak-and this was not a leak as such.
The £50 rebate will cover a considerable amount of your annual bill if you only 'normally' use just 8 cu m per year: about 15%, assuming an annual bill of about £320. And SWW have not increased prices this year. The problem from your perspective is that about 85% of your bill is from SC's. The actual water supply charge is about £16.

gatita

Macman, you really are a nasty piece of work, you seem to enjoy putting people down and arguing the smallest detail. I thought this forum was for helping people with advice etc.

Most people DO just that, but there are always the few who enjoy ............ just arguing. Please, don't reply to this, and in the future don't even look at any posts I do.

macman

If you post on a public forum, don't expect everyone to agree with you, and don't then throw your toys out of the pram if they don't.
You asked what could be done to reduce your bill, and you were advised (not just by me) that all you could do was negotiate a longer repayment period.
I then asked you several questions to try and establish: a) if the bill was actual or estimated) and b) what your normal usage was, and so establish how much extra you had been billed for.
Your responses then turned into a rant about SWW charges, which is not the issue here.
You now advise that the extra was for (?) 5 months, not 3, which makes a huge difference to the calculation.

losgiganteskid

gatita wrote: »

Macman, you really are a nasty piece of work, Please, don't reply to this, and in the future don't even look at any posts I do.

So what does he do - replies immediately

macman

It' not up to the OP what posts I or anyone else view or reply to...it seems that not everyone has grasped the idea of a public forum.

Mykidsmum

Having read all of macman's posts I am not sure why you would call him a nasty piece of work. All I can see is someone taking the time to establish all the facts to give you the best answer. If it's not the answer you want to hear there is no need to take it out on him!

maas

I thought macman must have edited out some nasty comments or something (his post was edited) to have upset the OP so much.