Cheaper Water Bills Article Discussion

jeferey

I'm in Severn Trent area - 4 bed detached, 4 people. We've just got our 2009 bill and it's well over £500, this seems really high compared with what other people seems to be paying. Would we be better off on a meter? We don't have a power shower, use water buts, don't use sprinklers, don't use hose pipe when washing car, etc.

Cardew

jeferey wrote: »

I'm in Severn Trent area - 4 bed detached, 4 people. We've just got our 2009 bill and it's well over £500, this seems really high compared with what other people seems to be paying. Would we be better off on a meter? We don't have a power shower, use water buts, don't use sprinklers, don't use hose pipe when washing car, etc.

Probably.

Get a meter and try it out and you can revert back to your current system within 12 months if it is not cheaper.

jeferey

Cardew wrote: »

Probably. Get a meter and try it out and you can revert back to your current system within 12 months if it is not cheaper.

Cheers Cardew - I think I'll give it a go.

MHavana

Hi everyone!

We are group of full time University students living in a 6 bedroom house (only 4 of us are living here) in Portsmouth.

Since moving in, we have been bombarded with threatening letters and demands from the water company saying that we must pay our water bill upfront for the period until june when we leave.

I initially explained that we are students so we can't paid the full amount immediately and queried where they got the bill figure from when we haven't even been here for long, but they abruptly told me that it was the charge and they would pursue us through the courts and send round the bailiffs if we didn't pay immediately.

Surely that's not right? Please help us!

Cardew

MHavana wrote: »

Hi everyone!

We are group of full time University students living in a 6 bedroom house (only 4 of us are living here) in Portsmouth.

Since moving in, we have been bombarded with threatening letters and demands from the water company saying that we must pay our water bill upfront for the period until june when we leave.

I initially explained that we are students so we can't paid the full amount immediately and queried where they got the bill figure from when we haven't even been here for long, but they abruptly told me that it was the charge and they would pursue us through the courts and send round the bailiffs if we didn't pay immediately.

Surely that's not right? Please help us!

The water company are quite correct, unlike gas and electricity you pay water charges in advance.

If you are on a meter they will estimate consumption. If unmetered they can work out exactly the cost based on the Rateable Value.

The bad news is that water charges in your region are the highest in the country.

janica_2

where can i find a price comparison for three waters water company to see if installing a meter would be beneficial?

Cardew

janica wrote: »

where can i find a price comparison for three waters water company to see if installing a meter would be beneficial?

Your best bet is to calculate it yourself.

Work on an average of 60 cubic metres per person per year e.g 4 people will use 240 cu mtrs a year.

Look on their website at the cost for both Water, sewerage and standing charges for the amount of water and compare it with the charges based on your Rateable Value.

Or simply telephone the company and ask the average metered charge for however many people in your house.

In any case if you get a meter and it is more expensive you can change back within 12 months.

buxtonrabbitgreen

I just had my water bill and was chuntering away to myself as it has gone up £7 per month. However it must be the cheapest here at £187 per year. I checked with uswich and to have a metre it would cost £550 per year. So I will stop moaning to myself and keep it as it is. When I moved into this house 20 years ago the rateable value was £160 so perhaps that is why it is comparitively cheap. Severn Trent.

Juleseboy

I live alone in a one bed flat and (having received a bill for £251 for 6 months, 3 of which i was not at the property) have been disputing my bills with Anglian Water and made sure i am using water really, really frugally!!

They tell me the average single person usage is 4.5 cubic meters per month but that I have used nearer 20 cubic meters per month for six months, even for 3 months when i was not at my property!! My mother, also an Anglian customer, lives in a 4 bed bungalow with her partner, baths every day, runs the washing machine and dishwasher every day and waters her garden in the summer with a hose yet is charged less than me - how?

I have run all sorts of meter tests but it appears to be not leaking, but i know I simply cannot use that amount of water....what can i do?

Juleseboy

Anglian are threatening legal action to recover the money which I am making a stand on and refusing to pay - it cant be right but they claim to take no responsibilty and wash their hands of this problem!!

jeferey

buxtonrabbitgreen wrote: »

I just had my water bill and was chuntering away to myself as it has gone up £7 per month. However it must be the cheapest here at £187 per year. I checked with uswich and to have a metre it would cost £550 per year. So I will stop moaning to myself and keep it as it is. When I moved into this house 20 years ago the rateable value was £160 so perhaps that is why it is comparitively cheap. Severn Trent.

I'm in Severn Trent area and my rateable value is £250, however, my bill is £502.57, made up of 243.80 Water Supply and £258.77 Sewerage and Surface Water. Have you got any discounts, missed anything off? as this seems low. The calcualtion is usually a multiple of the rateable value so I would have thought your bill was 502.57 / 250 * 160 = £321.64. Can anyone tell me if my logic is correct?