Water Supplier error

milly1981

Hello

I am currently having issues with my water supplier South West Water.

We moved into our property on 12th December 2014, 5 occupants and called then to set up an account for our water supply. They set the amount at £58.50 for us by direct debit.

In May/June 2015 we were written to be SWW and notified that our bill payments were increasing to £160 due to our monthly direct debit not covering our usage and being in debt on the account.
I could not agree to an increase of 3 times the original amount so agreed to pay £100 a month,

Looking into this further I have now found out that SWW had never set our account up for 5 occupants and had set it up for 2, as they apparently had never asked me how many people lived in the property and kept it as the same as the previous occupants....
This makes me very frustrated as I have paid what they requested for over 17-18 months and then told that we have now a debt on the account of approx £700.

I have performed leak tests on our meter, which are fine no leaks occur and SWW have confirmed that our water usage is average for a family of 5. So if they had set up the appropriate fee in the first instance we would not be in this position.

I would like to know where I stand as a customer in this matter, I have asked SWW to escalate a complaint through their system.

Thank you

footyguy

milly1981 wrote: »

Hello

I am currently having issues with my water supplier South West Water.

We moved into our property on 12th December 2014, 5 occupants and called then to set up an account for our water supply. They set the amount at £58.50 for us by direct debit.

In May/June 2015 we were written to be SWW and notified that our bill payments were increasing to £160 due to our monthly direct debit not covering our usage and being in debt on the account.
I could not agree to an increase of 3 times the original amount so agreed to pay £100 a month,

Looking into this further I have now found out that SWW had never set our account up for 5 occupants and had set it up for 2, as they apparently had never asked me how many people lived in the property and kept it as the same as the previous occupants....
This makes me very frustrated as I have paid what they requested for over 17-18 months and then told that we have now a debt on the account of approx £700.

I have performed leak tests on our meter, which are fine no leaks occur and SWW have confirmed that our water usage is average for a family of 5. So if they had set up the appropriate fee in the first instance we would not be in this position.

I would like to know where I stand as a customer in this matter, I have asked SWW to escalate a complaint through their system.

Thank you

I'm sorry, but I cannot see any valid basis for a complaint based on what you have posted nor any error by the water supplier.

Thank you.

Good luck!

Cardew

SWW have by far the highesr water charges in UK.

It is standard practice to keep the DD payments the same as the previous occupants. However it seems to me that SWW were on the ball to inform you, only 5/6 months after you moved in, that your DD of £58.50 was inadequate for your consumption.

This makes me very frustrated as I have paid what they requested for over 17-18 months

That contradicts your early statement that they suggested a DD of £160 but you insisted on paying 'only' £100. So surely it is your fault that a debit balance has built up.

Had you read your meter, or taken notice of their May correspondence you wouldn't have had a debit balance. Therefore I cannot see the substance of your complaint.

Cardew

The average consumption for 5 people is 275 cubic metres(m3) a year.

At SWW rates of an 'eye watering' £5.35/m3 for water and sewerage + £105 in standing charges, that will cost £1,576 a year. After £50 as a government grant that is £127 a month.

As you only paid £58.50 for 6 months and £100 for the rest of the time, it explains why you have built up a large debt.

maisie_cat

The back of the bill will have statistics about usage and it mine certainly has an easy to understand graphic about daily usage and how that compares to households of varying sizes.