Water bill without meter

[Babooshka1990]

We just moved house and we used to pay about £20/25 pm for water on a meter. The new house can’t have a meter fitted because of the way it was extended apparently, and UU are charging us £50pm. Our usage hasn’t changed so I’m obviously really unhappy to be paying double.

l’ve spoken too them again today to ask if there’s anything else they can do rather than keep overcharging us. Ive been told no we have to keep paying this amount. She said we have to pay for three residents.in a semidetached house. My partner works away 50%
of the time and my child is 3 ml this old. The house is actually a terraced house but she says it’s registered semi on the system and can’t be changed. She said my other option is to have the pipes redone to enable them to fit a meter, which I can’t afford.

Does anyone have any advice about this as I really feel like I’m being ripped off?

can they not fit an internal meter? Unfortunately without a meter you will get billed on average use for standard occupancy of the house.

the cost between a semi and terrace won’t be any different the rate will be based on bedrooms

Seems a lot. We don’t have a meter and our bill is only £180 per year. 4 bed house.

That seems a lot - I'm in a 1 bed flat with no meter and paying £250 a year.

Oops i meant that sounds low 🤦‍♀️

Is your bill down as an "assessed charge" or is it based on rateable value? If it's based on rateable value then insist they move you to an assessed charge.

Our meter is under the kitchen sink, I would ring the water company and ask for a survey to be done. How can someone on the phone judge if a meter can be fitted or not .

Water rates tends to be higher, unless you can get a meter it's based on your house size /value

It’s based on the rateable value of your property if you don’t have a meter so I’m afraid you’ll have to suck it up if they can’t fit one. I agree it’s rubbish though if you’re a relatively low user, I saved a fortune when I got meter fitted.

It’s based on the rateable value of your property if you don’t have a meter so I’m afraid you’ll have to suck it up if they can’t fit one

This is not true.

Like a pp said, there is also a assessed charge which is likely to be a fair bit cheaper than the standard rates. If the water company can't fit a meter the op is entitled to an assessed charge and the water company cannot refuse this request.

We're the same - building is too old for a meter so we just pay the standard £50 per month for our 2 bed flat. We've been paying it for years so I have no idea what we'd be paying if we did have a meter.

It's based on the rateable value of your house. You might be able to appeal the rateable value as you have just moved. Look at all the comparable same size same type properties to yours in your road/area and make sure that you are the same rate band as they are. If you find your house is set at a higher band, as you're within 6 months of moving you can appeal this, and get it adjusted. This would then reduce your water rates too, as it's based on the band.

@Herbie0987 I have had an assessment done, the chap who visited told me they wouldn’t be able to fit one but not to worry as our payments would be reassessed. They’ve apparently reassessed it and decided we need to pay £560 a year!

small 3 bed house, two adults and a baby

Thanks for the advice to request an ‘assessed charge’! I was on the phone for 40 mins today going over our situation asking for a review or assessment and the woman was adamant nothing could be done.

I’ve been crying over bills today we just can’t afford all the increases

@NewBootsAndRanty why am I paying £560 for a smaller house?!

See my following post...

Just found this on UU website:

The Valuation Office no longer changes rateable values. They cannot be changed by water companies and cannot be appealed by the customer. So any home improvements to a property since 1990 aren't considered. In cases where the rateable value is clearly invalid, for example, if a property is redeveloped and split into flats, the only alternative way to charge is to fit a water meter.

It looks like they don’t offer assessed charges now? The site just says to request a water meter (which I have done, they tell me they can’t fit one)

This is in their FAQs
www.unitedutilities.com/my-account/all-about-water-meters/apply-for-a-water-meter/information-about-meters/

Get back in touch with them.

Sorry @NewBootsAndRanty i meant to tag @ArtVandalay

I know people in large detached houses paying so much less. I’m in a 3 bed terraced!

Thanks @NewBootsAndRanty I’ll try again with them. I don’t know why the person I spoke to today has refused to do anything. She also said she couldn’t do anything about my house being registered as a semi not terraced

You're paying almost £120 extra for being listed as a semi instead of terraced.

You should be paying 438.36 pa.

Assessed charges are shown on here: www.unitedutilities.com/my-account/your-bill/our-household-charges-20222023/

Thanks @pigsinoodies, I told her that and she just said ‘well you are registers as a semi so we can’t do anything’

Well they obviously can do something if you make enough fuss. Make a complaint - to Ofwat if their internal procedure doesn't work. "Computer says no" isn't really a valid response.