Water meter and water rates

Jonny0000

There was a thread that was going on a while ago that i also started about requeting a water meter installation knowing one could not be fitted in my property in order to recieve discounted water rates.

The property I rent with my partner is a two bed flat, which was converted from a large three floor property into three spearate flats.

We were set on water rates of nearly £80 a month, where we were on less than £40 in our previous 1 bedroom flat.

After the formality of waiting for the water board to come and certify that a water meter could not be installed, we recieved our discounted water rates of just under £70. This still seems rather high, and I was hoping to gage some feedback off people in similar situations.

As a water meter cannot be fitted it seems we are stuck paying this. Are there any other avenues we can explore.

(Although not directly related our council tax is £100 a month, band c I believe)

a11waysindebt

Is there any reason why the meter can't be fitted.

Jonny0000

Yes, its because of the way the building is plumbed. A meter would evidently mean I would be paying for part of the water used in the flat below too.

Cardew

A 2 bed flat with 2 people cannot be £70 a month on an assessed charge.

I suspect that the problem is that you are being assessed for the whole building(i.e. the three flats).

This sometimes happens with large buildings converted into flats. Either one flat pays for the other two flats(who pay nothing) or they are all assessed for the large house.

This often happens when procedures in the planning permission for the conversion have not been fully followed.

I would write to the water company and appeal their assessment and explain what you feel might have happened.

~Chameleon~

Jonny0000 wrote: »

Yes, its because of the way the building is plumbed. A meter would evidently mean I would be paying for part of the water used in the flat below too.

Do you not have a stop c0ck anywhere in the flat that will completely isolate your water supply?

If not, what would happen if you had a burst pipe and could not turn off the supply?

If you do have a stopc0ck then you can have an internal meter fitted no problem.

Jonny0000

Thanks for the advice, I shall certainly get in contact with the water company. The strange thing is after speaking to one neighbour, is that she has a assessed charge of >£40 for her 1 bed flat above ours. How they can get this right and ours so wrong I have no idea.

alanfp

When you say " set" and "assessed", are these based on rateable value?

Also, with a bill of >£800 per year, it might be cheaper to pay to get the plumbing sorted, to give each flat a separate supply, perhaps.

But DO talk to your water supply co. first and persevere in asking for advice and requesting details of all options open to you.

beyond_skint

Are you sure your not paying the water for the whole builing? I'd check. That happened to my sister years ago.

We have a 2 bed house and 4 of us, we are on a metre and we pay £70 ish a quarter, so it would be worth looking into having the pipe work changed.
Hope you sort it

epsilondraconis

We are in a 3 bed house on a meter paying £13 per month / £39 per quarter.

There are two of us (and a crazy old cat if that makes any difference).

We're with Thames Water. The above costs are our direct debits and so are for water and sewage.


Hope that helps.

Jonny0000

thanks for the update

loveangel

hello united utilities

I note that numerous water companies acknowledge that single person - be they in a 1/2 or 3 bedroomed property use between 60 and 75 m3 per annum.

Those companies also allow for single person rates for customers who cannot get water meters fitted and so would otherwise be nailed with the standard ratable value for a 2/3 bedroomed property assuming the water use of several people.

It is rather a simple way they do this they request a form to be completed and require a copy of the council tax bill which shows the 25% single person discount not too much of an administrative task i woudl have thought.

United utilities estimate that a single person uses between 41-68 m3 per year, http://www.unitedutilities.com/resources/files/1854_14066%20All%20About%20W%20Meters%20Pack%20Web%20FEB08.pdf - see section headed 'how much will i use'
yet in their charges schedule -http://www.unitedutilities.com/resources/files/1778_Water and sewerage service charges 2008-2009.pdf
United utilities make no allowance in assessed charges for this estimated low useage and happily only have three assessed charging bands - detached semi detached and other - regardless of the occupancy; this seems strange until you consider that to allow single users to get a doscount woudl lose PLC water companies money and they are asnwerable to their shareholders and indeed have a duty to earn as much money as possible - granted water company's provide special deals for certain vulnerable groups, for which the government has in return laid off plans for windfall taxes on water authorities or fines for failure to meet targets in the case of Thames water, however with 40% of the uk as sole occupiers and therefore 40% of of theose on assessed charges, i would have thought that Ofwat and the Government might wish to sort out the disproportionate effect on this group of people of having assessed charges based not on occupancy. - perhaps the next elections will help concentrate their minds, although i woudl very much like to hear from united utilities as to why they they they are not willing to accept evidenec such as council tax bills as simple evidence of single occupancy and to use their own figures of 41-68m3 to work out single person assessed charges.
What i am offereing is perhaps helpful advice to water companies as a whole because when water is opened up to full competition which is currently being worked on - embittered customers will talk with their feet if they have been ignored and ripped off for years. In some areas of the UK customers already have a choice of water suppliers but have to use the local suppliers of sewerage services etc; indeed there is nothing to stop consumers having a bore hole for their own water supply for a few of thousand pounds which they could share with neighbours thereby only paying a couple of grand each and only having a sewerage bill if needed.
this option is generally too expensive to do in central london but consumers beware there are conmen about who will drill boreholes only supplying un-potable water.