MSE News: Anglian Water SoLow customer? It's axing the tariff meaning bill hikes

Mee

Cardew wrote: »

Extraordinary!

Evidence? This statement by AW:



Surely they couldn't put it more clearly.

worst of both worlds.?


The SoLow tariff was never mandatory - you had to apply; you could have remained on the normal tariff like the majority of AW customers.(and subsidize the SoLow customers;)) If you now genuinely believe you have 'the worst of both worlds' then simply apply for the normal tariff now.

Yes, it is clear, and this dead horse will accept it when it is peer reviewed/independently verified.
I guess I overstated the 'worst of both worlds' bit... On reflection paying a significant proportion in service charges (standard rate) when I use only 34cm3/year is the worst situation for me...

Thankfully AW have extended the phasing-in period:

We originally planned to remove it over three years, starting in April 2015. However, following feedback from customers, we are now extending this phase out period to March 2021 (This also applies to the waste water element of your bill).

This means any change to your bill will now be smaller each year. On average, bills will increase by around £10 per year.

Update: I referred the poor communication - notification after implementation (for AW wastewater customers) to CCWater last week.

matelodave

The service charge for installing and maintaining the infrastructure & connections to your house are about the same whether you use 35cu.m a year or 350cu.m a year so it's not unreasonable that the standing charges for providing it all should be the same.

You could perhaps argue that the closer you live to the sewerage plant or reservoir might entitle you to a fractionally lower s/c but it would only be pennies as the rest of the infrastructure has to be provided and maintained

Paying a fixed charge to have the services provided and then and incremental amount for the volume of fresh water that you use and the amount of effluent you get rid of is a much fairer way of doing it

Mee

matelodave wrote: »

The service charge for installing and maintaining the infrastructure & connections to your house are about the same whether you use 35cu.m a year or 350cu.m a year so it's not unreasonable that the standing charges for providing it all should be the same.

You could perhaps argue that the closer you live to the sewerage plant or reservoir might entitle you to a fractionally lower s/c but it would only be pennies as the rest of the infrastructure has to be provided and maintained

Paying a fixed charge to have the services provided and then and incremental amount for the volume of fresh water that you use and the amount of effluent you get rid of is a much fairer way of doing it

No, it is not unreasonable - it is the proportion ("significant proportion") of the bill which it accounts for that concerns me and is unreasonable to me.

Cardew

Mee wrote: »

Yes, it is clear, and this dead horse will accept it when it is peer reviewed/independently verified.
.

The is the 2015 Budget Red Book https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416330/47881_Budget_2015_Web_Accessible.pdf



It is only 124 pages long and is the basis for all tax and benefit changes etc. Presumably you need that peer reviewed?

Mee

Cardew wrote: »

The is the 2015 Budget Red Book https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416330/47881_Budget_2015_Web_Accessible.pdf


It is only 124 pages long and is the basis for all tax and benefit changes etc. Presumably you need that peer reviewed?

Yes, because I don't trust HM Treasury or generally government data/analysis period, and with good reason:

http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7279/CBP-7279.pdf page 3

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2016-01-06.21273.h

I suggest we agree to disagree!

MiserlyMartin

Cardew wrote: »

As for me 'arguing about prices of water companies that you can't even access' Have you not seen this website:


http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/household/your-account/bills-and-payments/tariffs/solow/

You are right it isn't rocket science to see that Solow customers pay a vastly higher price per cubic metre than standard customers, so therefore they use less water.
How many more times... there is no subsidy on this tariff. Get that out of your head now. You can quote the Anglian Water PR as much as you like, they are wrong. Anglian Water PR is all rubbish to justify their price increases. I suppose you believe all the PR spin from Camerons machine about staying in the EU too!

You are not an Anglian Water customer so refrain from getting so worked up about a prices of a water company you will never be a customer of unless you want to move house. A company whose prices you can never access.

GailForce

I am in agreement with the points made by those affected by the withdrawal of the SoLow Tariff. I am in a similar position. As a single household efficient water user, the standing charge now accounts for 58% of my bill. As estimated (post 106) my latest bill is indeed 98% higher than last year and AW indicate that next year my bill will increase by a further 22%, 64% of which will be due to the standing charge. By the time SoLow is completely phased out, at today’s prices, the standing charge will account for 83% of my bill.

It is absurd that now the only way to reduce the overall unit cost per m³ of water supplied is to use more water. This also questions the whole point of attempting to save water, as any actual saving in consumption becomes insignificant compared with the unavoidable fixed costs.

In my initial post (104) I highlighted the dubious misleading information AW was giving regarding the withdrawal of the SoLow Tariff. I received a notification letter, but a relative did not and was only advised after the event by a statement on this year’s bill. It also appears that some people have received different letters to others.

Misinformation appears to be endemic amongst utility companies. I have recently received a letter from E.on which attempts to conceal the withdrawal of my RHT Heating Tariff by suggesting that merely because my meter is an ‘old model’ it needs to be replaced by a new one to enable off peak electricity to continue to be supplied. New meter, means a different tariff, which will result in higher charges. See my comments - thread 70285673, post #15
(I am unable to post the actual link ).

GailForce

Rising water charges were discussed on Money Box on Radio 4 on Saturday 12/03/2016. Available as a podcast.

tghe-retford

Cardew wrote: »

Your solution of a lower SC and higher unit cost would generally suit single occupants, couples or those with a holiday 'cottage'. However it would not suit larger households, even if more water efficient.

I think you may have inadvertently made a case to force single people to find a partner, childless couples to have children and suggest the abolition of Single Occupancy Discounts for Council Tax, get rid of meals for one and increase the single supplement for holidays so as to appease larger households.

The thing is for single people and childless couples, its these larger households that the Government and to some extent, companies, will not want to displease when it comes to policy. They mostly vote, the former mostly do not.

veryintrigued

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35787379


A bit of a mention in this article