Annual Water Bill

subjecttocontract

We have a very large house with just 2 adults. Normally we use 80 cu metres of water a year unless it's a very hot summer and we spend lots of time watering the gardens and that might go up to 90 cu metres a year. 

Do you have a meter ? What's your annual usage ?

MattMattMattUK

simont485 said:

Thank you for your comments......

All I want to do is have my direct debit used to pay the bill for that month. It seems that the money accruing over a 12month period is for the benefit of the Water Company, If I cant have my bill paid monthly then I would rather keep the money in my own account and pay annually.

It makes no difference either way whether they take the monthly Direct Debit of £x and reconcile it against a bill monthly or once a year, you are still in the same financial position and your bank account is still in exactly the same position. They are not giving you the option to pay the bill with one annual Direct Debit.

simont485 said:

Why should I just give them my money, Id rather pay for what I use when I use it. If it just an accountancy issue then just account monthly!

You are paying for what you use, approximately one twelfth of it, evert month, by Direct Debit, which is then made accurate with an annual meter reading once a year. 

simont485 said:

My Electricity bill is paid monthly with or with out meter readings so why not the water bill...just seems inconsistent. 

Your electricity bill likely had a monthly Direct Debit which goes into a pot, unless you are only of the small number of people (like myself) on Variable/whole bill monthly Direct Debit. It is not "inconsistent", one is your water company, one is your energy provider, they are different organisations.

simont485 said:

If 1million customers have £100 credit that is £100million in that companies bank and not in the customers.......i understand that not all customers have that credit or all pay at the same time but it just feels wrong to me.

But it is not really credit, because it is against customers usage, it just has not been finalised with the annual bill. If the approximate 1/12th of their bill had been paid monthly then they all submitted a meter reading and a bill was generated that should mean that no one owes or is owed anything, zero, nothing, nada. Neither the customer nor the supplier is in a net credit position.

simont485 said:

Do other water companies provide monthly billing?

simont485 said:

Anglian Water have now said it is because I dont have a smart water meter......so I cant be billed monthly....????

Not without smart meters, or without a meter reading. Many will generate a bill on submission of a meter reading, otherwise they will charge a monthly Direct Debit for 1/12th of annual usage and then reconcile every 6-12 months when a meter reader submits a reading. 

I really cannot understand why you are struggling to understand this. 

simont485

DE_612183 said:

simont485 said:

Thank you for your comments......

All I want to do is have my direct debit used to pay the bill for that month. It seems that the money accruing over a 12month period is for the benefit of the Water Company, If I cant have my bill paid monthly then I would rather keep the money in my own account and pay annually.

Why should I just give them my money, Id rather pay for what I use when I use it. If it just an accountancy issue then just account monthly!

My Electricity bill is paid monthly with or with out meter readings so why not the water bill...just seems inconsistent. 

If 1million customers have £100 credit that is £100million in that companies bank and not in the customers.......i understand that not all customers have that credit or all pay at the same time but it just feels wrong to me.

Do other water companies provide monthly billing?

But the money isn't accruing - they are using it on a daily basis to pay for the services you receive on a daily basis.

The fact that you get a "statement" every year is neither here nor there - they do not get to keep the money and pay peoples wages once a year!

If sending an Annual Bill us neither here or there why refuse to create one monthly? My preference is for a monthly statement. Anglian Water stated the bill is paid annually, not me. If that is the case then I'd rather pay once a year.

But Anglain Water say they can't bill monthly...and I would like to know why.....1st reason I was given was there are not enough meter readers and the 2nd reason was that I don't have a smart meter. Neither of those reasons makes it impossible to create a monthly bill.

MattMattMattUK

simont485 said:

DE_612183 said:

simont485 said:

Thank you for your comments......

All I want to do is have my direct debit used to pay the bill for that month. It seems that the money accruing over a 12month period is for the benefit of the Water Company, If I cant have my bill paid monthly then I would rather keep the money in my own account and pay annually.

Why should I just give them my money, Id rather pay for what I use when I use it. If it just an accountancy issue then just account monthly!

My Electricity bill is paid monthly with or with out meter readings so why not the water bill...just seems inconsistent. 

If 1million customers have £100 credit that is £100million in that companies bank and not in the customers.......i understand that not all customers have that credit or all pay at the same time but it just feels wrong to me.

Do other water companies provide monthly billing?

But the money isn't accruing - they are using it on a daily basis to pay for the services you receive on a daily basis.

The fact that you get a "statement" every year is neither here nor there - they do not get to keep the money and pay peoples wages once a year!

If sending an Annual Bill us neither here or there why refuse to create one monthly?

They will not create one monthly in the absence of a meter reading (smart, by employed reader, by user submitted read), because they lack the data to generate an accurate bill.

simont485 said:
My preference is for a monthly statement. 

A statement or bill? They are different things.

simont485 said:
Anglian Water stated the bill is paid annually, not me. If that is the case then I'd rather pay once a year.

The bill is paid once a year, when the bill is generated, it is paid from the pot of money that has accrued over the course of the year from the monthly Direct Debits, which are estimated at 1/12th of annual usage.

simont485 said:

But Anglain Water say they can't bill monthly...and I would like to know why.....1st reason I was given was there are not enough meter readers and the 2nd reason was that I don't have a smart meter. Neither of those reasons makes it impossible to create a monthly bill.

They cannot create a bill without the data to generate one, they will not generate one by guessing just because you feel you want one every month. 

pochisoldi

When I lived in the Southern Water area paying on rateable value, I had the choice of once a year, twice a year, and 8 times a year with four months off.
When I got a meter (billed 6 monthly) installed they moved me onto a monthly direct debit based on an estimated bill. The light bulb in my head went on, and I realised that instead of a "pay by instalments" I was being moved onto "pay up front".
I then cancelled the monthly direct debit and moved onto "when the bill comes in". The "estimated" amount then sat in my budgeting account offsetting the mortgage whilst waiting for the 6 monthly direct debit to go out.

I'm now in a property in another area, where the RV is so low that it doesn't make (financial) sense to get a meter installed, and I've moved back to paying by instalments over as many months as possible.

PochiSoldi

simont485

subjecttocontract said:

We have a very large house with just 2 adults. Normally we use 80 cu metres of water a year unless it's a very hot summer and we spend lots of time watering the gardens and that might go up to 90 cu metres a year. 

Do you have a meter ? What's your annual usage ?

It is about the same and yes I'm on a meter.

subjecttocontract

Based on water usage of 80 cu metres a year my annual bill for water & sewerage is £516.......so yours sounds about right.

amanda1024

My water company will generate a bill every time I send them a reading. What happens if you send a reading yourself? 

Archerychick

You have a choice!

I pay a bill on receipt every six months by bank transfer or card (can’t recall which). I choose not to pay by DD.

macman

simont485 said:

Thank you for your comments......

All I want to do is have my direct debit used to pay the bill for that month. It seems that the money accruing over a 12month period is for the benefit of the Water Company, If I cant have my bill paid monthly then I would rather keep the money in my own account and pay annually.

Why should I just give them my money, Id rather pay for what I use when I use it. If it just an accountancy issue then just account monthly!

My Electricity bill is paid monthly with or with out meter readings so why not the water bill...just seems inconsistent. 

If 1million customers have £100 credit that is £100million in that companies bank and not in the customers.......i understand that not all customers have that credit or all pay at the same time but it just feels wrong to me.

Do other water companies provide monthly billing?

The system is no different to your gas or electricity accounts. Your monthly DD is simply a contribution, calculated as 1/12 of your estimated annual bill. Paying per month off actual usage would make little difference, as water usage is fairly consistent all year round, unlike gas and electricity.
If everyone paid annually then their cashflow would be non-existent. Maybe you expect their staff to only be paid once, at the end of the year? Or only pay their contractors and suppliers 12 months later?