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Original poster

Unmetered Water bill increased 7 fold after moving house...

20 replies

Millionprammiles · 03/04/2015 17:41

Would really welcome any advice as am a bit stunned...

We moved house in December (within same borough/council). At our last house (slightly smaller but not by much) our water bill (unmetered) was £19-30 a month. Since moving we've had two payments taken by direct debit, one for £150 and the other for £500!! That's a grand total of £650 for 3 months. Still unmetered.

Obviously I'll be calling thames water for an explanation and we won't be paying by DD anymore but any advice would be appreciated.

Lucky for us there were sufficient funds but what if the payment had made us incur overdraft charges or made other payments be rejected??
Seems arbitrary and unfair....

OP posts:
specialsubject · 03/04/2015 17:46

that's Thames Water - they shove up the unmetered bills massively to encourage meter use. Once everyone has a meter the bills will rocket there too, but in the meantime you had better go for a meter.

that said, that's a hell of a lot of money so assuming you haven't bought Buck House, ask them for the details. I used to pay £600 a year for a big semi (2011) which was cut to £250 when we went metered.

the direct debit guarantee a) doesn't allow them to change payments without notification, so raise hell on that, and b) would ensure that you would have got any resulting charges refunded.

LIZS · 03/04/2015 17:51

Are you sure they don't charge annually or 6 monthly? If you moved in part way through the payment term the first payment may have been prorata. Could you request a meter?

caroldecker · 03/04/2015 18:24

www.thameswater.co.uk/tw/common/downloads/literature-water-waste-water-charges/Our_Charges_2015-16_(web).pdf this is how Thames water caclulate the charge.
the rateable value of your new home could be much higher than the old house.

NotCitrus · 03/04/2015 18:40

Sounds like the unmetered charge for two and six months - by default you only pay in April and October.
Though I have a large house with Thames Water and it's only about 580 a year - ask them what's going on. I thought anyone who moved into a TW property had to get a meter now.

Original poster
Millionprammiles · 03/04/2015 20:17

Thanks all. TW have taken payments in both January and April so I can't work out what's going on as that doesn't seem annual.

I can't believe that moving to a house that is perhaps 10% bigger could result in such a big increase. £650 in three months is more than twice what we paid annually before. It doesn't make sense.

OP posts:
LIZS · 03/04/2015 20:48

When did you move in ? The new financial year starts in April so it is perfectly possible the first payment was from when you moved in to end of March and the second for 6 months in advance from April, with a second instalment due in October.

caroldecker · 03/04/2015 20:49

OP, what is the rateable value of your house (old and new) the council website shoukld have the data

LIZS · 03/04/2015 20:54

Or the £500 could be annual.

Original poster
Millionprammiles · 03/04/2015 21:29

Carol - that's what I need to find out. I can't believe it can have increased 7 fold. The council doesn't seem to have rateable value info but I'll ask TW.

LIZS: if the payment is 6 monthly then it is £1000 annually. Am I being unreasonable or is that very high for a 4 bed semi??

The biggest surprise is that we have had no notification at all. Just money taken from our account.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 03/04/2015 21:31

You could have got the bank to return the payment as you were unaware of the amounts they were going to charge

Original poster
Millionprammiles · 03/04/2015 21:39

Demented: but the payment already left our account, could we do that? I hadn't appreciated a direct debit mandate meant any amount at all could be taken.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 03/04/2015 21:41

yes, under the direct debit guarantee the bank could return the payment to your account as the amounts had not been agreed with you in advance. If the payment came out recently the bank could still do it for you

dementedpixie · 03/04/2015 21:42

www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/DirectDebitGuarantee.aspx - I would speak to your bank and get your money back

Original poster
Millionprammiles · 03/04/2015 21:46

Demented: thanks! Will give it a go.

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 03/04/2015 21:47

Check if you go for a meter that you can revert to rateable value if it's more in the first year.

Yy to reversing the dd.

Google free water saving & it'll bring up websites subsidised by the water boards to reduce useage.

I won't pay by dd for water because we use £240 a year, they want £35 a month if I pay by dd.

AtomicDog · 04/04/2015 19:17

We moved areas, and our annual bill (unmetred) went up four-fold! It goes off your council tax band though Sad

caroldecker · 04/04/2015 21:52

Atomic your rateable value, last set in 1990, not your council tax band. They are broadly similar, but can have significant differences

AtomicDog · 05/04/2015 00:06

That makes sense carol- our council tax band only moved up a couple of bands, but the water bill increase was huge (4 times previous cost), but we're in a fairly swish neighbourhood now, and bigger house, so I suppose to be expected. We don't use any more water than previous house though- same number in family!

caroldecker · 05/04/2015 01:21

atomic - you have the right to demand a meter and if they refuse/cannot fit one, then you will be assessed as if you had one mre details

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