Water bill liability

Conor40

Carrot007 said:

Have you passed on the bill to the HA to pay? Obiously change in procedure seems to mean TW have forgotton who pays. Sending the HA the bill should sort it.

However ultimatly you are responsiblr if the HA refuses to pay it. Though in that case you woul;d take action against them.

Not yet, just want to make sure i'm in the right.

Cardew said: 
I have never heard the term property 'chargeable value'. Are you sure it is not 'Rateable Value'? or assessed charge?

How is the Charge made up on the bill?

100% it says chargeable value, I'll upload a scan in the morning. 

Really appreciate all the replies so far, dealing with so much lately and no one to turn to so Thank you.

Robin9

What is the significance of a start date of May 12 \?  Why not a full year ?

As above speak to the HA

Conor40

Robin9 said:

What is the significance of a start date of May 12 \?  Why not a full year ?

As above speak to the HA

No idea whatsoever, I received this bill Dec 4th +/- a few days.

Cardew

Cardew said:

Conor40 said:

Cardew said:

When you say 'I do not have a water meter, I believe it is a shared system between our block of flats.' do you mean that there is a single meter for the whole block?

Thames Water have started to make meters compulsory and could it be something to do with that situation? If properties cannot be individually metered - as is often the case in blocks of flats - an 'assessed' charge is made.

Can you post exactly what charges are on the bill please. Does it say based on Rateable Value(RV) or Assessed?

Have the other flats received the same bill?

Either way it is still an issue for you to sort out between you and HA.

Im not sure if there is a meter for the whole block, I will try and find out and if anyone else has received. On the bill its says "as you don't have a water meter, we've worked out your bill using your property chargeable value"

I have never heard the term property 'chargeable value'. Are you sure it is not 'Rateable Value'? or assessed charge?

How is the Charge made up on the bill?

Thames Water for some reason have renamed Rateable Value(RV) and now call it Chargeable Value; All explained on Thames Water website:

'For example:Find your chargeable value (shown on page 2 of your bill)Sometimes called ‘rateable value’, these figures were created by local authorities, based on their assessment of how much properties could be let for. They considered factors like the size and condition of a house and the availability of local services.'

The Rateable Value(RV) of a property was used to collect local taxes prior to April 1990. This method ceased to existate on that date and was replaced by the Poll Tax and the current Council Tax. However the RV was retained by water companies and used for calculating charges for unmetered properties.

Thus your RV( now chargeable tax) was £165 and charges are based on that value as shown on the Thames Water website. The charges would have been calculated on that basis since 01 April 1990 - and for many years before that date -  but of course paid for by your HA. Charges are always from 01 April to 31 March so no idea why your bill runs from 12 May.

It seems as if the HA are not now paying for your water charges - have they run into financial difficulties or been taken over? 

Conor40

Cardew said:

Thames Water for some reason have renamed Rateable Value(RV) and now call it Chargeable Value; All explained on Thames Water website:

'For example:Find your chargeable value (shown on page 2 of your bill)Sometimes called ‘rateable value’, these figures were created by local authorities, based on their assessment of how much properties could be let for. They considered factors like the size and condition of a house and the availability of local services.'

The Rateable Value(RV) of a property was used to collect local taxes prior to April 1990. This method ceased to existate on that date and was replaced by the Poll Tax and the current Council Tax. However the RV was retained by water companies and used for calculating charges for unmetered properties.

Thus your RV( now chargeable tax) was £165 and charges are based on that value as shown on the Thames Water website. The charges would have been calculated on that basis since 01 April 1990 - and for many years before that date -  but of course paid for by your HA. Charges are always from 01 April to 31 March so no idea why your bill runs from 12 May.

It seems as if the HA are not now paying for your water charges - have they run into financial difficulties or been taken over? 

Good information, Thank you. Indeed it seems the HA are not paying for my water charges anymore, yet I am still paying it to them as agreed on my tenancy agreement. So, My agreement is binding unless we both have agreed otherwise (also a part of my tenancy agreement regarding changes to the agreement). I have not agreed to this change, regardless of what the HA wants to do, my agreement stands legally, thus I am not liable to pay this bill from Thames water. This is correct what I am saying isn't it?

Robin9

Talk to your HA

Cardew

Conor40 said:

Cardew said:

Thames Water for some reason have renamed Rateable Value(RV) and now call it Chargeable Value; All explained on Thames Water website:

'For example:Find your chargeable value (shown on page 2 of your bill)Sometimes called ‘rateable value’, these figures were created by local authorities, based on their assessment of how much properties could be let for. They considered factors like the size and condition of a house and the availability of local services.'

The Rateable Value(RV) of a property was used to collect local taxes prior to April 1990. This method ceased to existate on that date and was replaced by the Poll Tax and the current Council Tax. However the RV was retained by water companies and used for calculating charges for unmetered properties.

Thus your RV( now chargeable tax) was £165 and charges are based on that value as shown on the Thames Water website. The charges would have been calculated on that basis since 01 April 1990 - and for many years before that date -  but of course paid for by your HA. Charges are always from 01 April to 31 March so no idea why your bill runs from 12 May.

It seems as if the HA are not now paying for your water charges - have they run into financial difficulties or been taken over? 

Good information, Thank you. Indeed it seems the HA are not paying for my water charges anymore, yet I am still paying it to them as agreed on my tenancy agreement. So, My agreement is binding unless we both have agreed otherwise (also a part of my tenancy agreement regarding changes to the agreement). I have not agreed to this change, regardless of what the HA wants to do, my agreement stands legally, thus I am not liable to pay this bill from Thames water. This is correct what I am saying isn't it?

As said above, talk to the HA.

Almost all of these agreements have clauses that allow terms to be varied; and you will need to take legal advice before you take any action that might breach the conditions.

Could it be that the HA has run into financial difficulties? - increased expences, tenants not paying rent because of Covid etc

Are you sure the HA haven't written to you about this matter?

Conor40

Cardew said:

As said above, talk to the HA.

Almost all of these agreements have clauses that allow terms to be varied; and you will need to take legal advice before you take any action that might breach the conditions.

Could it be that the HA has run into financial difficulties? - increased expences, tenants not paying rent because of Covid etc

Are you sure the HA haven't written to you about this matter?

Yes, it seems I need to nail down the legalities.

I wouldn't know if the HA has run into financial difficulties. I don't think it's something that carries any weight to the matter. 
I don't recall any communications about this hence the surprise of getting a bill from TW.
Guess I need proper legal advice on this one.

tim_p

Conor40 said:

Cardew said:

As said above, talk to the HA.

Almost all of these agreements have clauses that allow terms to be varied; and you will need to take legal advice before you take any action that might breach the conditions.

Could it be that the HA has run into financial difficulties? - increased expences, tenants not paying rent because of Covid etc

Are you sure the HA haven't written to you about this matter?

Yes, it seems I need to nail down the legalities.

I wouldn't know if the HA has run into financial difficulties. I don't think it's something that carries any weight to the matter. 
I don't recall any communications about this hence the surprise of getting a bill from TW.
Guess I need proper legal advice on this one.

Don’t know why you’re thinking of ‘proper legal advice’ when it might simply be a case of contacting the HA first to find out if it’s a simple mistake or something more complicated. 

Robin9

Have you rung the HA ?  

Has your monthly payment to the HA changed in the last 12 months ?