Thames Water.. no meter - am I being overcharged?

sorchaa

I've just moved into a 1 bedroom flat - living alone! Thames water are going to charge me £33 a month for water...! My previous flat i lived in was a 2 bedroom, with a garden, with 2 people living there and we only paid £30 a month. No water meter on either - if i bring this up with Thames Water will they reduce the cost? How do they decide these things, feels very weird! 

GingerTim

Sounds like you would benefit from a water meter - I pay £12 a month for a one bed flat.

p00hsticks

sorchaa said:

How do they decide these things, feels very weird! 

If you don't have a meter, then it's based on the 'Rateable Value' of your property.
Prior to the introduction of the poll tax / council tax the rateable value of a property was used for local taxation (and I think still is in Norther Ireland). I don't know how it is derived for properties bult since then. 

You don't say whether your previous property was in the same area, but different water companies are allowed to use differnt multipliers depending on how scarce or plentiful the resource is. 

Price of water - how UK water rates are calculated (uswitch.com)  
 

Green_hopeful

If you ask for a meter it may be cheaper and mostly you can ask to go back to rateable value if it’s not cheaper (although there are some restrictions). If you ask for a meter and they can’t fit one they will charge you on an assessed measured basis.You can get a single person discount if you live on your own. I would check to see if it’s cheaper than your current bill before going down this route. https://www.thameswater.co.uk/help/account-and-billing/understand-your-bill/assessed-household-charges

la531983

You dont say if you are renting though, if you are though you may want to actually ask the landlord if a water meter can be fitted first before you agree something with Thames Water.