Water has gone up from £25 to £154 a month due to estimated readings

mellymoo141

SuzeQStan said:

Hi OP - you aren’t alone - I discovered on Christmas Eve 2024 that our meter hadn’t been read for 18 months despite regular biannual meter reading prior to that.  

We found that we were £95 in the hole - which meant we had paid £5 too little each month of that 18 month span- and luckily we could pay that to get back in line.  And increase our monthly direct debit by £5 to ensure we are covering realistic usage.

We read the meter every month now -  and I can understand how easy it is to not realise the meter hasn’t been read.  I pour over each bill now to be certain all is as it should be.

Thank you for your kind reply. very easy for people to jump in feet first and judge. we always pay our bills and thought that as gas/ electric work with you if your falling short, water would do the same. I've now changed back to a paper bill so we can physically look at at. I still feel that the water board should have highlighted the short fall but its done now and we need to work out how to pay it back. 

SuzeQStan

That’s good OP to have steps in place with your paper bill- had a quick peep online and it seems water companies are able to recover 6 years of usage.  but there does appear to be help out there.

I’d check out info on Citizens Advice

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/water/problems-with-paying-your-water-bill/

dunstonh

mellymoo141 said:

SuzeQStan said:

Hi OP - you aren’t alone - I discovered on Christmas Eve 2024 that our meter hadn’t been read for 18 months despite regular biannual meter reading prior to that.  

We found that we were £95 in the hole - which meant we had paid £5 too little each month of that 18 month span- and luckily we could pay that to get back in line.  And increase our monthly direct debit by £5 to ensure we are covering realistic usage.

We read the meter every month now -  and I can understand how easy it is to not realise the meter hasn’t been read.  I pour over each bill now to be certain all is as it should be.

Thank you for your kind reply. very easy for people to jump in feet first and judge. we always pay our bills and thought that as gas/ electric work with you if your falling short, water would do the same. I've now changed back to a paper bill so we can physically look at at. I still feel that the water board should have highlighted the short fall but its done now and we need to work out how to pay it back. 

How does switching to a paper bill change the situation from a pdf you download or a webpage you look at?

The utility company did highlight the shortfall once a meter reading was provided. 

The problem you had was not whether you bill was a pdf or on paper but the fact no "actual" meter readings had been provided for 3 years and you were relying on estimates which turned out to be (as expected) wrong.

SuzeQStan

@dunstonh - I wouldn’t presume to speak for OP but can imagine from my own perspective a significant cohort who might benefit from paper bills.  They are a concrete reminder as opposed to the tsunami of junk emails - or statements on apps that are so easy not to check.

I’m a serial reader and derive a pleasure from paper books that a digital version will never, for me, deliver the same satisfaction. There are generations of folk who lived alongside the printed word on nothing but glorious paper.

OP has been chastised (undeservedly) enough - if a paper bill works for OP and others than who is anyone to criticise.

dunstonh

@dunstonh - I wouldn’t presume to speak for OP but can imagine from my own perspective a significant cohort who might benefit from paper bills.  They are a concrete reminder as opposed to the tsunami of junk emails - or statements on apps that are so easy not to check.

Most utility companies gives you the functionality to download a pdf that matches the paper version.   

With free online storage easily available, keeping years of pdfs stored is very simple to do and can be far simpler than keeping years of paper statements.   Certainly, older people with less technical knowledge may not feel as comfortable.     

OP has been chastised (undeservedly) enough - if a paper bill works for OP and others than who is anyone to criticise.

In this case, the main problem is that the bills were mainly ignored and probably would have been equally ignored if they were on paper.  So, changing the medium doesn't solve the problem.   Reading them in the first place is the primary change that needs to be made.