50% Increase in Thames Water Bill

hoping21

My water bill has increased by £18 compared to last year, and as a % is it 39% - i can't see how that can be allowed given i thought Ofwat capped the price increase at 35% over 5 years - does that mean there will be no increases over the next four years?

MattMattMattUK

hoping21 said:

My water bill has increased by £18 compared to last year, and as a % is it 39% - i can't see how that can be allowed given i thought Ofwat capped the price increase at 35% over 5 years - does that mean there will be no increases over the next four years?

The headline percentage is based on an average user, the actual percentage varies depending on individual usage, higher for some and lower for others because of the mix of unit rates and standing charges, as well as assessed and unmetered/rateable billing.

Grumpy_chap

Veteransaver said:

There's generally no discount whatsoever in paying by direct debit, so I don't have a direct debit and just have a quarterly bill.
Generally I only pay this after I've had several  threatening letters.
It doesn't save me anything but it makes me feel better knowing that in some small way I'm messing up their cash flow and reducing their profits.

That affects TW cashflow and increases the operating costs.
The result is less available for investment in upgrades and, ultimately, higher bills for all.

Glco

I acknowledge that OfWat agreed an increase - and increase of 26%.   Copied from OfWat website

We recognise the challenge that some customers are facing with increasing financial pressures and understand that the water sector is not the only area where customers are faced with rising costs. While water bills will vary depending on the circumstances of each household, the average increase forecasted for 2025/26 will be 26% or £123. We have pushed companies to double the amount of support over the next five-year period and strongly encourage customers who are struggling to pay their water bills to contact their water company to access this.

My increase this year was 40% and is 72% for the past 2 years!  This is way outside of the OfWat approved increase, as is the above 40% to 66%. 

Is there a class action that we can take to bring down our costs and maybe the executives at Thames Water also need to take a salary haircut or examine seriously the cost of fixing the historic errors (infrastructure build and debt takeon)

QrizB

Glco said:

I acknowledge that OfWat agreed an increase - and increase of 26%.   Copied from OfWat website

Note, from your quote:

While water bills will vary depending on the circumstances of each household, the average increase forecasted for 2025/26 will be 26% or £123.

The *average* will be 26%. Your own increase will depend on your circumstances.

Glco said:

My increase this year was 40% and is 72% for the past 2 years!  This is way outside of the OfWat approved increase, as is the above 40% to 66%. 

No, it isn't.

Glco said:

Is there a class action that we can take to bring down our costs

No, there isn't.

donutandbeer

We don’t have a water meter - I’ve requested Thames Water to fit one a few times but they always came back (via email) saying that they’ve accessed our property in the past and determined that they couldn’t fit a water meter here. Therefore we have always been on assessed household charges (2 bedroom 2 people), and we are seeing a £200 increase on the yearly bill. 
 
I already knew we are paying more than we actually use because our previous home had a meter and we were paying about half of what we pay at our current home. 

After I received the new bill I requested a water meter again but Thames Water just emailed back saying the same thing they always said.

Oh well. Looking on the bright side, I don’t have to worry about whether any taps or our toilet is dripping…

JohnCPearson

Question on how Thames assesses water bills.

My bill increase is 49% for Apr 25- Mar 26 over previous year.

I'm assessed (flat not suitable for meter)

I've not been reassessed and my circumstances in Thames' eyes are unchanged.

A search of the web / Ofwat yields 2 figures,  35% or 50% over 5 yrs, 

also "average" increases which are worthless for assessment purposes.

Can some kind person who knows the links to the definitive rules on permitted 

increases please post them here cos I'd like to know:

i) what increases have Ofwat allowed for Thames and what periods are they applicable to.

ii) How do Thames decide whether to assess on rateable value or number of bedrooms ?

and

iii) Does 49% sound right ?

. 

MattMattMattUK

JohnCPearson said:

Question on how Thames assesses water bills.

My bill increase is 49% for Apr 25- Mar 26 over previous year.

I'm assessed (flat not suitable for meter)

I've not been reassessed and my circumstances in Thames' eyes are unchanged.

A search of the web / Ofwat yields 2 figures,  35% or 50% over 5 yrs, 

also "average" increases which are worthless for assessment purposes.

Can some kind person who knows the links to the definitive rules on permitted 

increases please post them here cos I'd like to know:

i) what increases have Ofwat allowed for Thames and what periods are they applicable to.

They have allowed the price rises you are seeing, Thames Water are only allowed to change once authorised by Ofwat.

JohnCPearson said:

ii) How do Thames decide whether to assess on rateable value or number of bedrooms ?

Rateable is one method of billing, assessed is another, they are different. By default the Rateable value is the one used, if a meter is requested but unable to be fitted then the customer can asked to be moved to an assessed charge which is based on the number of people living in the property. 

JohnCPearson said:

iii) Does 49% sound right ?

For rateable, yes.

Jemmy55

I wish that my water bill had only increased by 50% as I’ve had an increase of nearly 66%. I’m a single person with a water meter, and my payments have increased by £12 a month. I was paying £19 a month, and now it’s £31 a month. It seems that Thames Water are charging low users higher increases.

GingerTim

Jemmy55 said:

I wish that my water bill had only increased by 50% as I’ve had an increase of nearly 66%. I’m a single person with a water meter, and my payments have increased by £12 a month. I was paying £19 a month, and now it’s £31 a month. It seems that Thames Water are charging low users higher increases.

Does your meter show that your usage has increased over the same period?