Latest water bill surprise

A1exanderRose24

I just received my latest water bill - from Severn Trent - to find the cost of water increased on 1st April by a staggering 43.3%!
Further calculations revealed daily standing charges had increased by similar amounts - water supply 34.8%, waste water 47.6%.
Are these increases in line with other water companies rates?
Is OFWAT aware of these increases?
Are the increases justified?
What can be done about it?

la531983

What can be done? Absolutely nothing other than decrease your usage. These increases were well documented in the media.

Grumpy_chap

A1exanderRose24 said:

I just received my latest water bill - from Severn Trent - to find the cost of water increased on 1st April by a staggering 43.3%!
Further calculations revealed daily standing charges had increased by similar amounts - water supply 34.8%, waste water 47.6%.
Are these increases in line with other water companies rates?
Is OFWAT aware of these increases?
Are the increases justified?
What can be done about it?

Yes.
Yes 
Yes.  According to OFWAT.
Nothing.

mmmmikey

A1exanderRose24 said:

I just received my latest water bill - from Severn Trent - to find the cost of water increased on 1st April by a staggering 43.3%!
Further calculations revealed daily standing charges had increased by similar amounts - water supply 34.8%, waste water 47.6%.
Are these increases in line with other water companies rates?
Is OFWAT aware of these increases?
Are the increases justified?
What can be done about it?

Hi - I can imagine why those increases had you falling off your chair in surprise if you haven't seen reports of this in the media!

The underlying problem is that (as a country) we've been underinvesting in reservoirs, pipelines and all the other stuff that gets water flowing through the taps for years, and we're now going to have to pay the price of catching up through increased bills.

Although there's nothing you can do about the increased prices, there's quite possibly a lot you can do at a personal level to get your bill down. If you don't yet have a water meter, getting one has the potential to save you a lot. If you do have a water meter then it's a question of looking for ways to reduce your consumption and there's lots of advice on the water companies websites on how to do this.

Hope the bill shock wears off soon

badmemory

Ofwat were a little less than clear when they announced the increases saying that the water companies were to be allowed to put their prices up by a certain percentage over 5 years.  What they didn't announce was that most of the companies were putting the prices up by almost all that amount in the first year.  I am prepared to bet that ofwat allow them to put the prices up by more than they announced.

mmmmikey

badmemory said:

Ofwat were a little less than clear when they announced the increases saying that the water companies were to be allowed to put their prices up by a certain percentage over 5 years.  What they didn't announce was that most of the companies were putting the prices up by almost all that amount in the first year.  I am prepared to bet that ofwat allow them to put the prices up by more than they announced.

I suspect that you're right, and what we've seen is the first step in an upward trend, so I'm not going to bet against you there One way or the other, a good idea for everyone to do what they can to minimise their usage to keep the costs down.