water social tariff under Affinity Water (Colchester area)

jimbo49

i read with interest the comment concerning Social Tariffs for water and applied to Affinity Water. i had, or so i thought, no response and did a short chat session with a customer service rep today. i was prompted to do this because i just received a notification through the post from Affinity Water that i would need to pay £22 for June and July but the usage report hasn't been produced yet so dont know what, if any, reduction would be included. however, it seems that i'll still be paying this amount as my usage seems to be 108 ltrs per day. this seems a bit excessive considering i am here alone now, use as i thought, very little water daily and the last reading was an estimate. i have no garden to water, dont wash the car and have daily use of 1 shower, 1 washing up, 5 flushes, 1 wash per day and 3 clothes washing every 2 weeks. am i wrong in my thinking? the annual bill of £265 is usual, not excessive? perhaps if someone could clarify with an opinion, i'd be grateful

MTIA

HillStreetBlues

Have you factored in the sewage charge? (if you pay one)

jimbo49

i did state toilet usage but the £22 /month includes sewage charges. i dont know what they are, as not on the latest info letter.

kaMelo

Their website lists qualification criteria for their low income fixed tariff, do you qualify according to their criteria?




https://www.affinitywater.co.uk/billing/lift

Muttleythefrog

let me do some sums... I've calculated our flat.. 2 people low to medium users I'd say.. uses about 1 cubic metre per week. So that figure of yours per day sounds likely accurate going on your description of usage and comparing to ours... you'd use 0.75 cubic metres per week. Your annual bill seems reasonable but have a look at detail on bill when available and obviously note any discounts (like from the scheme/tariff) and check they're what you expect. Without checking I'd imagine sewerage and fixed charges will exceed your actual metered water used.

HillStreetBlues

Don't forget about the fixed charged for both water and sewage.

Together both of those will be about £10 a month
It's about £2.50 a unit for water and sewage combined

That works out at about 4.5 units a month

jimbo49

@ kaMelo

yes, i am eligible and supplied the required evidence.

wondering how anyone can have a water bill that's about half what mine is said to be and how i'm using 108ltrs (estimated even though i have a meter) of water per day, given the limits there are on my usage. it seems as if a figure is just plucked from the air, meter or not and the customer told 'that's what you use, that's what you'll pay'! even trying to apply for soak away use is almost impossible, given the ridiculous rules in place to stop anyone claiming! both my front and rear 'gardens' are down to either slate or large pebbles so the water soaks through, into a 30' dirt bank, doesn't go to the drains

perhaps better explanations from the water company would help?

kaMelo

jimbo49 said:

@ kaMelo

yes, i am eligible and supplied the required evidence.

wondering how anyone can have a water bill that's about half what mine is said to be and how i'm using 108ltrs (estimated even though i have a meter) of water per day, given the limits there are on my usage. it seems as if a figure is just plucked from the air, meter or not and the customer told 'that's what you use, that's what you'll pay'! even trying to apply for soak away use is almost impossible, given the ridiculous rules in place to stop anyone claiming! both my front and rear 'gardens' are down to either slate or large pebbles so the water soaks through, into a 30' dirt bank, doesn't go to the drains

perhaps better explanations from the water company would help?

108 litres a day is slightly less than what a single adult would normally use so it's not excessive.

If you qualify and have supplied the proof then it looks pretty straightforward, unless you're an exceptionally low user then your usage seems irrelevant.

If you’re eligible, you’ll receive a fixed-price bill each year for your clean water bill. In 2023/24, your clean water bill will be fixed at £115.10*.
The * bit;
*The LIFT tariff is applied to your clean water bill and calculated from the date your application is received and cannot be backdated. If your current clean water bill is lower than £107.20, we will keep you on your current tariff, so that you don't pay more.

There is also details about help with sewerage charges
https://www.affinitywater.co.uk/billing/help-with-sewerage-charges

As to how wastewater charges are measured, again it's simple, all water companies use the same quantity as clean water you use. Trying to work out exactly how much water goes down the drain as opposed to draining naturally for each and every person would be impossible.

jimbo49

many tnx for the info, kaMelo, it's very helpful. the person i spoke to in the chat session with Affinity Water told me that i wont know more until the updated readings are put out next month, however, the info you've included about me not paying more if the LIFT tariff is applied to my clean water bill is interesting. once i know what the outcome is, i'll try to remember to post back here

born_again

jimbo49 said:

@ kaMelo

yes, i am eligible and supplied the required evidence.

wondering how anyone can have a water bill that's about half what mine is said to be and how i'm using 108ltrs (estimated even though i have a meter) of water per day, given the limits there are on my usage. it seems as if a figure is just plucked from the air, meter or not and the customer told 'that's what you use, that's what you'll pay'! even trying to apply for soak away use is almost impossible, given the ridiculous rules in place to stop anyone claiming! both my front and rear 'gardens' are down to either slate or large pebbles so the water soaks through, into a 30' dirt bank, doesn't go to the drains

perhaps better explanations from the water company would help?

Do you not get a annual statement with the figures on?
We do & it is spot on to the meter. They do not need to enter house to read meter, it is done remotely by van driving down the street.

jimbo49

i dont know how the meter reading is taken but assumed it was manually by someone physically opening the cover and looking at it. however, maybe it is done as you say. regardless of the method used, why would an estimate need to be used? and why would it have to be an estimate of the average person's usage? neither of these things make much sense to me but i'm just the one paying the bill so why should it matter? duh!!