Cheaper Water Bills Article Discussion

Two_wheeled_Saint

Hello,
I have been told that if your property has drainage that runs straight into the sea you could get a massively reduced bill because the water doesn't go through a treatment works. It sounds far fetched is there any milage in this?

Cheers

Cardew

Two_wheeled_Saint wrote: »

Hello,
I have been told that if your property has drainage that runs straight into the sea you could get a massively reduced bill because the water doesn't go through a treatment works. It sounds far fetched is there any milage in this?

Cheers

Welcome to the forum.

You mean your raw sewerage goes straight into the sea???

If that is the case you won't pay sewerage, but stand by for an investigation and a lot of expense!!!

Probably what they mean is your surface water drainage i.e. from your gutters and the rain falling on your land.

If this water goes into a 'soakaway' - stream etc(i.e. doesn't enter the sewer) then you can get relief from that element of your water bill.

It is not massive and the amount charged depends on your water company and other factors e.g. amount of water used or Rateable Value or type of property.

Do a search on this forum for 'surface water drainage'

geoffreyq

robpitt wrote: »

*****!" I just completed the USwitch test and it estimates my bill would be just £142 on a meter - thats a saving of £320!"

.....the U switch figures are bizarre. I checked with Thames Water and my estimated use with 2 people metered is about £40 per month - about the same as paying unmetered - do U switch people not wash? £10 per week for all water and sewerage services is an absolute bargain with no worries about meters. How many hundreds of millions of pounds will be wasted on this daft metering policy?
Incidentally, a former water company chief executive told me that there is plenty of water in the UK for any conceivable need. It simply requires appropriate capital investment to utilise it. He also said that "saving" water is nonsense. It is not lost but recycled by nature as it has been for 4 billion years.

El_Snook

I have had a water meter fitted for many years, how often should my supplier calibrate/check it?

pault123

I moved to a water meter in my old 3 bed flat as it had quite a high ratable value.

For just myself who used the shower morning and night, watered the garden eveynight in the summer and washed the car at weekend it costs me around £20 a month MORE with the meter.

It would put me off any property if it had a water meter due to my previous experience!

I now own a property with no water meter - i'm happy for it to stay that way!!!

1any

Hi I live in a 3 bed 2 storey flat above a shop ( private rent ) and am single, so this looks advantageous to me however because of the area I live in I currently pay waste water fee's to southern water and general household water fee's to thames water any ideas how I would stand regarding metering????

josbrown

In SouthWest Water area (maybe elsewhere) there's a DISCOUNT scheme (not publicised!) for those on a shared water supply, it's a common setup in rows of old mews-style cottages. These properties cannot have meters fitted due to the water pipe layout from the mains, but if your house is on a shared pipe rather than a single supply pipe from the road, is not full of people and IF YOU ASK FOR A METER they are obliged by government to give you a discounted bill. I discovered this by accident when I asked for a meter. They sent an assesor who looked at the shared supply and explained the scheme. He and I completed the form there and then, done! As a single occupant of 3-bedroom cottage, I have paid less than half of the standard bill charge for years.
EXTRA TIPS. Check each year that your new bill has the discount, phone and ask them, they sometimes "forget" to apply it.
I applied just before the end of the financial year (same as water bill year) and got my discount backdated for the whole period.

Cardew

josbrown wrote: »

In SouthWest Water area (maybe elsewhere) there's a DISCOUNT scheme (not publicised!) for those on a shared water supply, it's a common setup in rows of old mews-style cottages. These properties cannot have meters fitted due to the water pipe layout from the mains, but if your house is on a shared pipe rather than a single supply pipe from the road, is not full of people and IF YOU ASK FOR A METER they are obliged by government to give you a discounted bill. I discovered this by accident when I asked for a meter. They sent an assesor who looked at the shared supply and explained the scheme. He and I completed the form there and then, done! As a single occupant of 3-bedroom cottage, I have paid less than half of the standard bill charge for years.
EXTRA TIPS. Check each year that your new bill has the discount, phone and ask them, they sometimes "forget" to apply it.
I applied just before the end of the financial year (same as water bill year) and got my discount backdated for the whole period.

Welcome to the forum.

All water companies have this scheme I believe - it is called assessed bills.

Some companies make the assessment based on the number of bedrooms and others on the number of occupants, and others, like Thames Water, have a single person rate.

To be fair it is not a reduced rate, it is supposed to equate to the average tariff; although for many it will be cheaper.

So if you were a single person or even a couple in, say, a 3 bed semi it might be cheaper to stay on charges based on your Rateable Value..

pkempc

pkempc wrote: »

The main point I was trying to make is that Thames Water wanted to charge me nearly £ 200 extra every year ( £ 42 per month instead of £ 26 ) for absolutely no good reason.

Then, each year, I would have to phone their customer service dept to get my £200 overpayments refunded - possibly!

If they offered a Direct Debit discount then I would happily follow the herd & let them dip into my bank account each month.

However, what they do offer is the facility to pay online ( fee free ) using my cashback credit card on receipt of a 6 month metered bill. If you time it right you could then get a further 50 ish days to settle the credit card bill in full & pay no interest.

So you actually end up paying slightly less than metered & billed amount and you have the money sitting in your bank account earning you interest rather than you giving £200 extra to Thames Water every year as an interest free loan!

Yes it means that twice a year you have to remember to pay a bill - but that is awful lot easier than battling with customer services to get your Direct Debits adjusted & getting your overpayments refunded!:mad:

my metered bills since Aug 2005 have worked out at as follows:-

Jul 05 - Dec 05 - £ 119.16 ( £ 23.83 )
Dec 05 - Jun 06 - £ 127.05 ( £ 21.18 )
Jun 06 - Jan 07 - £ 158.95 ( £ 26.49 )
Jan 07 - July 07 - £ 160.95 ( £ 26.83 )
Jul 07 - Jan 08 - £ 151.33 ( £ 25.22 )
Jan 08 - Jul 08 £ 157.11 ( £ 26.19 )
Jul 08 - Dec 08 - £136.46 ( £ 27.29 )
Dec 08-Jun 09 - £173.62 ( £ 28.94)

Latest Bill - Jun 09 -Dec 09 £161.46 ( £ 26.91)

Thus, if you don't regularly check your bills, would have meant Thames Water earning interest on over £ 926 of total monthly overpayments!:eek:

pippaaaaaaa

hey guys. quick question as i know NOTHING about this... i've moved into a student property and just got our water bill through. it works out as just over £45 per month, and there are 3 of us living here. is this excessive? a lot of my other friends living in privately rented student properties were shocked and said they're paying a LOT less than that... we're on a water meter already. (unfortunately, as one of my flatmates takes hour-long showers...)