Overpayment 7 April at 9:23AM in Water Bills 5 replies 61 views

CH

Hello
Thanks to Martins new show, i have done an overview if my elderly mothers bills and discovered that she has been paying over £40 per month for her water rates since owning the property which is a 2 bed bungalow, during this time, she was a carer for her partner and has lived alone since 2009. I urged her to call South Staffs water and they reduced her payments to £11 per month. My question is, can she claim back the excess as surely, they would be aware that she was paying an excessive amount under the circumstances? Her bungalow is valued in the region of £180k. When she queried the amount she waa paying, she was told it was her responsibility to ensure she was paying the correct rate.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Robin9

Is this a metered supply or based on Rateable Value ?

Robin9

Are you also looking at Gas/Electric/Insurances/Council Tax ?

JJ_Egan

How would they know ??the circumstances ??

As per previous identical questions answer is no rebate .

But nothing stopping you from asking .

CH

Hi, thank you for your replies,
She doesn't have a meter
How would they know? She lives in a bungalow alone,  I'm surprised, with the technology and customer data available that they don't know!  Energy companies refund excess payments all the time. My mother didn't question it because she believed everyone paid the same, South Staffs water have basically made £31 per month profit for years, from a single elderly lady!
How many other elderly people are paying too much?

Cardew

CH said:

Hi, thank you for your replies,
She doesn't have a meter
How would they know? She lives in a bungalow alone,  I'm surprised, with the technology and customer data available that they don't know!  Energy companies refund excess payments all the time. My mother didn't question it because she believed everyone paid the same, South Staffs water have basically made £31 per month profit for years, from a single elderly lady!
How many other elderly people are paying too much?

Hallo,

I suspect there has been a misunderstanding - possibly by you??

The water charges for unmetered property are given in the document below.

https://www.south-staffs-water.co.uk/media/2475/customer-charges-scheme-2019-20_lo.pdf

The cost depends on the Rateable Value(RV) of her property which you can find on her bill. Don't forget that she will also have to pay for sewerage, (unless she isn't on mains drainage), and possibly surface water drainage.

I very much doubt if her unmetered charges could be as low as £11 a month for a 2 bed bungalow, however if they have made a mistake they will refund 6 years charges - see below from their charges document.

Refund of chargesWhere there is clear evidence of a failure or error by us in the customer’s favour, an adjustment will be made to the customer account. Should any refund be due, this will be limited to a maximum of six years, not including the current charging year. This period of six years is consistent with The Limitations Act, 1980

If you can post the detail on her bill(obviously not name and address) we can work out her charges: the most important detail is her RV.

Incidentally without going into the complex financial situation of water companies, 'overcharging' does not give the company extra profit; it means that other customers pay a tiny amount less.