Severn Trent 6 month bill increased by 136% for a usage increase of 23%?

chancooluk

Hi All.

I've just had my 6 month bill for water usage from Severn Trent (I pay for what I use, rather than Direct Debit), and was shocked to see that my bill has increased by 136%! and Waste water increased by almost 190%. I was expecting an increase, but not by that much.

If I compare bills from Feb 2025 (for use from Aug 2024) the differences are as follows:

Actual usage in m3:
Feb 2025 Usage: 22m3
Aug 2025 Usage: 27m3
Percentage increase: 23%

Final Bill Total
Feb 2025 Bill: £151.73
Aug 2025 Bill: £357.78
Percentage Increase: 135.8%

Fresh water bill:
Feb 2025 Bill: £58.10
Aug 2025 Bill: £86.40
Percentage increase: 48.71%

Waste water bill:
Feb 2025 Bill: £93.63
Aug 2025 Bill: £271.38
Percentage Increase: 189.84%

Surely this can't be correct? Has anyone got any advice?

Robin9

Something odd going on. The Fresh Water part looks OK

Ring ST and let us know

chancooluk

Their billing department appear to be completely clueless.

Initially they wouldn't budge, I explained to them that the waste water standing charges were ridiculously high, and they said that the standing charges cannot be questioned. They apply as a charge that is not linked to the amount of water I have used (which is obvious). I asked for them to send me a breakdown of the expected standing charges for 2025, and they sent me an email with the following information:

2025/2026 waste water standing charge: £106.97

My waste water standing charges for 6 months from Feb 2025 - Aug 2025 is £221.76.

I've called them back to ask them to explain why my standing charges for waste water are so high, and they said that my account has been set up on an incorrect agreement, and will be resolved with a new revised bill coming shortly.

I then receive the revised bill which makes absolutely no sense:
Bill Date: 07/08/2025
Billing Period: August 2024 - February 2025 (so the wrong 6 month period)
Water amount used: 23m3 (incorrect, if I  assume the previous bill was correct at 27m3)
Credit Amount from ST Water: £509.51cr!
Total Bill: £285.68
Waste Water Standing Charges: £190.97

The billing period is wrong, the usage is wrong, there is a huge credit which isn't explained, and the waste standing water charges on the bill are still huge.

I've contacted them again, and they say they are going to look at the account again and will let me know when it's been corrected.

What a mess.

Lorian

Everything you need to check your bill should be in here https://www.stwater.co.uk/content/dam/stw/my-account/our-charges/2025/st-hh-charges-scheme-2025-26.pdf

chancooluk

Lorian said:

Everything you need to check your bill should be in here https://www.stwater.co.uk/content/dam/stw/my-account/our-charges/2025/st-hh-charges-scheme-2025-26.pdf

Hiya, yes thanks I've worked out what the bill should be.

It should be £208.28 for the period. My waste water is charged by United Utilities as I'm on the border, but I've used both of their charges scheme documents for 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 to work out what my bill should be.

I'm currently in discussions with them again, because they have re-billed me for the wrong period and now my account sits at £277 outstanding WITHOUT the last 6 months being included.

So they've actually increased it again rather than correcting the incorrect standing charges.

My account now has 26 new transactions on it which seemingly relate to nothing, because there is no explanation of what they are.

My assumption is that Severn Trent have messed up my account when they have moved to their new billing system.

chancooluk

I've just heard back from them... They are going to credit the account so that the amount matches what I have calculated for them (which is correct).

For whatever reason, they are unable to calculate it themselves, and they are unable to provide me with an accurate bill with the correct information on it.

So I guess it's all resolved, but at the same time I have no correct bill to reference for the period, just a load of random transactions added to my account which make it up to the £208.28, which I calculated for them.