Overcharging

rg.1403

I moved into a new-build home in Aug. 2004 and Southern Water have admitted erroneously charging me for Surface Water drainage and Highways drainage. Site plans show that these drainages do not use the main sewer. However they have told me they will only pay back the charges for one year and will not reimburse me for the total amount going back to 2004. This amounts to about £95. Is this correct? And if not should I also be entitled to backdated interest as per bank charges? Also does anyone know what consumer law covers this so that I can hit them with it?

Cardew

Loads and loads of threads on this.

The whole surface water charge situation is a farce.

The 'default' position. that all companies take, is to charge for surface water drainage(SWD). This was laid down in the water privatisation bill. After all if they didn't charge, not many people would contact the company to ask them to impose the charge; and it would be impossible to inspect in detail every property in UK.

So the onus is on the account holder to opt out.

Many Many people have tried to get a retrospective claim for previous years and have failed. The water Regulator(Ofwat) backs this position and there is an entry on their website that expains their reasoning for not backdating.

Essentially a water company is allowed to raise £xxmillion in revenue each year. It doesn't really matter to them if they give you(and others) £xx rebate as the other water charges for all their customers will be raised to compensate, and their revenue will remain the same.

However giving it back to you(and others) for previous years, they can't recover that money.

Putting it in a nutshell, you have not been overcharged as the charge for SWD is standard. You have failed to claim a rebate, and that is a different matter.

So I fear you will have no joy.

rg.1403

ThanKs Cardew,
In that case shoudn't the water companies be obliged to make the public aware that they are entitled to a rebate. I only found out by chance from a neighbour - yet Southern Water would have had our site plan originally and known that none of the 14 residents were liable to a surface water charge from the onset. It's still scandalous they can charge for a non-existent service.

Cardew

I agree, the whole system is a bad joke. There should be a standard charge.

If you look in the small print, there is usually something about being able to get exemption, but it is usually couched it terms that are not easy to understand.

Even worse is that I have heard that in some cases they revert to the old tariff(i.e. charge for SWD) for a new occupant. So if you sell your house, warn the new owner.

Some companies like Severn Trent try to insist you send them plans showing where the soakaways are situated(like most people would know!!!).

The irony is that giving that rebate does not cost the company any money because, as explained above, they raise other charges to compensate.

Psykicpup

rg.1403 wrote: »

ThanKs Cardew,
In that case shoudn't the water companies be obliged to make the public aware that they are entitled to a rebate. I only found out by chance from a neighbour - yet Southern Water would have had our site plan originally and known that none of the 14 residents were liable to a surface water charge from the onset. It's still scandalous they can charge for a non-existent service.

actually Water companies are not given site plans - the builder just asks to connect to existing pipe work (water & sewage)