Well we just moved house a few weeks ago, and we done the usual phoning energy suppliers, water supplier to inform them of a change of address et.c We are then told, after phoning Southern Water, that are bill is going to be £ 10 extra a month...the reasoning, because we're in a 'nicer' house.

 

What the hell is that ! How does living in a bigger house constitute the amount of water we use...they won't budge with their reasoning, I can't believe they can get away with it. Am I missing something...or should I go to the 'office of fair trading.'

go to the office of fair trade. i'm not sure if its legal to base the bill on what your house looks like.

I presume they were going by the size...but that's equally irrational, unless they own the very clouds themselves, so I'll take your support, and take the matter further with the OFT.

Unless you have a water meter in your new house, what you pay for your water depends on the value of your house for council tax purposes. Different area, different valuation. Another possibility is whether your surface water drainage goes into the main sewer or into a local soakaway. That can make a charge difference, but probably not in the order of £10 per month.

I'm glad I have a private well...

I'm glad I have a private well...

 

That would not save you in the U.K., because the well gets water which is part of the aquifer that supplies the rivers that provide the water that belongs to the water board, etc. Here, even if you dig any old hole to get water, you have to have an extraction licence, and that can be refused if the aquifer is already being denuded by industry, whether farming or otherwise.

Ha! I haven't gotten water bills for several months! Beat that!

Ha! I haven't gotten water bills for several months! Beat that!

I cant, you lucky devil, but you will know which American said you can escape neither death nor taxes. Even the water company will surely catch up with you eventually.

He was German.

He was German.

 

Google tells me it was Benjamin Franklin. Was he a German? I dont think so. Beware the indignant wrath of U.S. patriots!

Bleh, the late fees suck though.

Unless you have a water meter in your new house, what you pay for your water depends on the value of your house for council tax purposes.

 

This is what I don't understand, why is it treated in the same way as council tax...it's water, you don't get charged more for using gas...you'd probably use more if you had a large house, but that's besides the point. Why and how are council tax and water rates connected ?

Before domestic water meters were popularised/promoted, All domestic water bills were calculated as a percentage of the rateable value of the house. If you want a meter, but dont have one, ask your water company to fit one.

It was, until recently a consumer choice. A recent change in legislation has, I believe, made it compulsory in a small coastal part of england particularly at risk of water shortages.

 

This is as I understand it, but what do I know. I made considerable savings by going on-meter. If you live in a modest house and bathe, shower, water the garden and make a fetish of regular car cleaning, you wont save much if any. It is really an initiative to reduce domestic water useage.

 

It is more profitable to charge more for less, rather than repair leaky mains and dig new reservoirs.

get a water meter then. you might even end up paying less than you origionally did.

you can take your own legal actions, you know......lol......

Sorry for the late reply everyone...been pretty ill up until yestarday.

 

What Gcol said makes sense, though I think their policy doesn't, and needs updating maybe.

 

I'm going to talk to my house mates tonight and suggest we go on a water meter. This is what we were told we had in our last house, but Southern Water we're doing the usual monthly bill, as if we weren't using a meter. We had a letter a few days ago saying we were due an adjustment because we were paying too much.

 

This is where I got the £10 extra from our last monthly bills from...well it's actually more, roughly £ 30 per month when living by the beach (this would of been the normal monthly charge) and now £ 46 a month, I think the bill will be reduced due to the adjustment from the last place...I guess it's up to our landlord if we can go on a meter, but we'll most certainly ask.