Water bill debt out of nowhere!

cornishhousehold123

In really need of some help. We have lived at our property for 2 1/2 years. We have always paid our water bill on time at £48 a month. Suddenly in September SWW tried to take £137 from our bank with no communication or warning. It obviously bounced! When I logged into my account they said we owed them over £400 and this £137 was a price increase as well as money to pay back what we owe. We obviously can’t afford this and had never budgeted for this so we have gone onto payslips at £60. What we owe now has increased to over £600. I’m so overwhelmed and stressed and don’t know how to tackle this. They’re saying we used more than estimated and are backdating the payments. But for the first 1 1/2 - 2 years we paid the same amount and there was no debt and no issue. I don’t see how we can ever pay this off or what we can do. Are they mugging us off? I don’t know! We now take monthly readings but I don’t see how we will ever tackle this. Someone please help! We are based in Cornwall. 

MattMattMattUK

cornishhousehold123 said:

In really need of some help. We have lived at our property for 2 1/2 years. We have always paid our water bill on time at £48 a month. 

Do you mean bills or monthly Direct Debits? The same for two and a half years? Are you on rateable, assessed or metered usage? If the latter were your previous bills estimates?

cornishhousehold123 said:

Suddenly in September SWW tried to take £137 from our bank with no communication or warning.

When you say no communication or warning, what do your bills say?

cornishhousehold123 said:

It obviously bounced! 

Why obviously?

cornishhousehold123 said:

When I logged into my account they said we owed them over £400 and this £137 was a price increase as well as money to pay back what we owe. 

So were your previous bills estimates for metered usage, had you previously been underpaying and not updated your monthly payment?

cornishhousehold123 said:

We obviously can’t afford this and had never budgeted for this so we have gone onto payslips at £60.

What does "gone onto payslips" mean?

cornishhousehold123 said:

What we owe now has increased to over £600. 

Your bills should show what your actual usage is, or what your monthly cost is based on rateable or assessed, if your monthly payments do not exceed your usage/costs then your debt will rise. 

cornishhousehold123 said:

I’m so overwhelmed and stressed and don’t know how to tackle this. They’re saying we used more than estimated and are backdating the payments. But for the first 1 1/2 - 2 years we paid the same amount and there was no debt and no issue. I don’t see how we can ever pay this off or what we can do.

It sounds like you are metered and there has been no meter read for the last two and a half years, are you able to post a copy of your bills with personal details redacted?

cornishhousehold123 said:

Are they mugging us off? I don’t know! We now take monthly readings but I don’t see how we will ever tackle this. Someone please help! We are based in Cornwall. 

They are not "mugging" you off, it sounds like a simple case of estimated reads and now that there is an actual read things are up to date and you have underpaid. You need to establish what your actual monthly usage is, then the amount outstanding will likely need to be paid off over twelve months, so you need to add the cost of your current usage to your debt and that should give you the monthly amount you need to pay. 

South West Water do have a financial support scheme, but you need to establish some facts first, usage and debt, so you can work out what you need to ask them. 
https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/household/help-support/financial-support
https://www.water.org.uk/customers/help-bills
https://www.ccw.org.uk/save-money-and-water/help-with-bills/

Ayr_Rage

Does the opening reading from when you moved in and the latest actual reading roughly correspond to the monthly usage you are now recording?

If you have had regular bills throughout then you are partly at fault for not noticing that the estimated readings were well below actuals and you were underpaying.

As with energy, a fixed DD is not an all you can eat buffet, the more you use the more you pay and prices have also increased a lot.

They aren't mugging you off, it is highly likely you owe the arrears and will need to make a payment plan.

fatbelly

I pay SWW by standing order because I do not trust them and because I want to stay in control

They do have various schemes. Have a look at

https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/household/help-support/financial-support

Green_hopeful

You need to get to the bottom of what is going on. Have they been billing you on estimated readings or actual readings. I think they should read your meter regularly. They will be able to give you time to pay and advice on how to reduce your usage. 

They will have a team that deals with ‘vulnerable’ customers. You might find they are more helpful and friendly. They call them their financial support team. https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/household/help-support/financial-support

Bettie

Make sure there isn't a leak anywhere. My bill doubled a year ago, I assumed because I had retired. Last bill was 6 times the one before. I checked meter in street and the cog was turning despite all my taps being off. I had Wessex come to try to find leak. It was under the meter so not my fault. They were very good on the phone. 

ProcessMatters

First of all, take a breath — this feels frightening, but it’s not as unusual or as out of control as it feels right now.

What’s likely happened is that you were paying an estimated amount for a long period, and the account has now been reconciled against actual usage. When that happens, water companies often spread the shortfall forward rather than flagging it clearly at the time, which is why it feels like it’s come “out of nowhere”.

A few important points:

• You haven’t done anything wrong by paying what they asked

• This isn’t a debt in the same sense as a loan or credit card

• Water companies must offer affordable repayment options — they can’t demand sums that clearly aren’t manageable

The immediate priority isn’t arguing whether they’re “mugging you off”, but getting clarity:

• Ask them for a full billing breakdown from when you moved in

• Ask when and how the account was estimated vs actual readings

• Ask how the backdated amount was calculated

Once you have that, you can challenge the repayment level — and if needed, there are protections and support schemes for households struggling with water bills.

You’re not alone in this, and it is something that can be stabilised step by step.