I don't expect any resolution on this,
Just got the new water bill, 2 people, small 3 bed semi, done on rateable value. last year Severn Trent charged £550. which was steep. Now everyone knows they have been trailing bills going up this year. The average I had seen was 26%....
My new bill is £750 !!!!!!
35% f**** increase.
and you can't change supplier, appeal etc. just bend over and get........
Water meter might help re adjust the bill?
My dad's bill has increased to £1k but he probably only uses £250 worth so he's getting a meter.
My bill up by £100 to near £500 so I'll be getting a meter at some point I guess.
now I am really confused, on the Severn Trent page there is a tab usage, and it has meter readings? Yet my bill is done on rateable value???? Anyone have a clue why? I have only been in the house 18months??? Could there have been a meter which was installed being read but not used for billing????
Maybe the meter is where the stop cock is in the pavement or on the driveway?
While we are here , does anyone have any usage data in terms of litres per person per day .?
For various reasons I share a meter , between 2 properties we used an average of 430lt a day. 4 humans , 3 grown up and 1 x teen boy.
I reckon I use 100l a day , average. A quick shower daily 1 weekly dishwasher and 3 loads of laundry plus bog flush with eco button
Yet my bill is done on rateable value???? Anyone have a clue why? I have only been in the house 18months??? Could there have been a meter which was installed being read but not used for billing????
In my area the water co. installed meters for everyone and then gave the choice of billing based on rateable value or usage
Worth checking if your company does the same.
We are on a water meter, 3 bed semi with 2 adults and an 8 year old, we pay £28 per month including our waste water (our water supplier and waste water are two different comapines) so we pay £330 per year
Re daily usage, it is circa 146l pp per day. So your 100l looks reasonable.
Water meter might help re adjust the bill?
It'd bankrupt me, my other half can run a bath to brush her teeth.
Regardless, isn't water rates both supply and disposal, with waste being the lion's share of the bill?
On BBC1 earlier, their money expert was talking about this. If you don't have a water meter you can request one. All good. What people don't know is that within 2 years, if you want you can go back from Water meter to rateable value - so no harm in trying.
The next thing he said was that if no people is less than no bedrooms, in general a water meter will see you charged less. By that marker your 2 person / 3 bed semi should be better on a meter.
FWIW my 3 bed 3.5 person (daughter at Uni 30w/yr, but likes a long shower when at home!) is about £40 a month before the increase coming. That's 10 m^3 per month, and the cost split is about 55% for the water and 45% for the waste.
If 146 (0.146 m^3) pppd is right, using 3 people that should be 13m^3, so we're pretty water efficient actually.
My gas and electric bills have gone up vastly this year to almost double.
I am also anticipating an increase in my water bill (metered) but not sure how much. Recently, I also received a card from water supplier to advise on taking 4 mins shower.
My gas and electric bills have gone up vastly this year to almost double.
Unless you were on some very advantageous deal or have used more that's bollocks.
https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/about-fuel-poverty/ofgem-price-cap/
1/1/24 standard price (average household, etc.) was £1928
1/4 - went to 1690
1/7 - 1568
1/10 - 1717
1/1/25 - 1738
1/4/25 - 1849
The coming price cap is 18% higher than the lowest price, 9% higher than the same time last year but not 'almost double' by a long way. It's normal to be higher in winter than summer - supply / demand, etc., and the cap we're on currently is actually 10% less than the equivalent period last year.
My water bill for this year is £1350 quid! Up 35%. All so I can swim in shit every time I go to the beach.
Any idea how the ratable value is calculated? There is something on the thames water saying it's related to council tax but I can't find anyway to check that they've got it right. Seems nuts given my house was a 3 bed bungalow in 1990 (it's now a 4 bed bungalow but apparently it's unchanged from 1990).
On how charges are calculated - this is TW but I assume others will be similar.
As per earlier post, get on a meter. IIRC you are married with a kid (when you should be having fun?) so hopefully would be saving and if you aren't then you can go back to rateable anyway.
Mine's just under £500, it's going up to about £4/m^3 so £480 for water and then another £194 fixed charge, so I'll see about a 35% increase in mine too - but it'll still be half of yours.
I think for a two person household, getting a lot meter fitted is pretty much a no brainer...
I live on my own and the standing charges for sewerage etc. Are more than my billable consumption.
A household with say a wife and 3 teenagers would be a different kettle of fish... Ten toilet flushes per day V's 2 or three, for example.
I've also seen in the news about the bill hikes.. Does anyone know what part of the bill it's applied to, as that could make a huge difference in deciding whether to have a meter fitted or not...
Will the cost be added to the M3 price of consumption? Or will they just add the cost to the 'standing charges'?
I've also seen in the news about the bill hikes.. Does anyone know what part of the bill it's applied to
As per the TW link, both.
24-25 (all in £)
Water fixed 29, Wastewater fixed 84 - total £113
Water per m^3 1.91, wastewater per m^3 1.15 - total £3.06
25-26
Water fixed 64, Wastewater fixed 130 - total 194 = +50%
Water per m^3 2.47, wastewater per m^3 1.55 - total £4.02 = +31%
But more on the fixed charge.
that could make a huge difference in deciding whether to have a meter fitted or not...
at pain of being a pain for saying the same thing over and over; get a meter and if it isn't cheaper you are entitled to go back to rateable. Definition of a No Brainer.
I've also seen in the news about the bill hikes.. Does anyone know what part of the bill it's applied to
As per the TW link, both.
24-25 (all in £)
Water fixed 29, Wastewater fixed 84 - total £113
Water per m^3 1.91, wastewater per m^3 1.15 - total £3.06
25-26
Water fixed 64, Wastewater fixed 130 - total 194 = +50%
Water per m^3 2.47, wastewater per m^3 1.55 - total £4.02 = +31%
But more on the fixed charge.
that could make a huge difference in deciding whether to have a meter fitted or not...
at pain of being a pain for saying the same thing over and over; get a meter and if it isn't cheaper you are entitled to go back to rateable. Definition of a No Brainer.
Oh I have a meter!! As I live alone.. My bill is about £250 per year with Yorkshire water currently. My fixed charges are more than 50% of my bill V's price for my actual water consumption in cubic meters!
Just a word of caution that in general, you can't move back to unmetered charging when you request a meter, and certainly not if there's always been one at your property. There are some compulsory metering schemes that allow customers to switch back within 2 years, but at some point you will still be moved to a metered charge. The whole point of water meters is to charge for actual usage, and they're not going to install meters and then allow people to choose how they are charged - there's no benefit to the metering itself then. Also, worth remembering the primary purpose of water meters is to manage and reduce demand for water. The Water Act allows companies to force meters on customers in highly water stressed areas (most of south and east UK), because it is a proven way of reducing demand for water.
As others have said, get a meter if you can, and if you're using more than you perhaps should (good online calculators available) then look at ways to reduce usage - remembering that reducing hot water use gives decent energy bill savings too. The old method of rateable value is insane, and is indeed based on the rateable value of the property from ~1990, and is no way to work out water use!
If it's yellow let it mellow,if it's brown flush it down!Big savings to be made there me thinks.
On how charges are calculated - this is TW but I assume others will be similar.
As per earlier post, get on a meter. IIRC you are married with a kid (when you should be having fun?) so hopefully would be saving and if you aren't then you can go back to rateable anyway.
Mine's just under £500, it's going up to about £4/m^3 so £480 for water and then another £194 fixed charge, so I'll see about a 35% increase in mine too - but it'll still be half of yours.
Yeah two kids, the rule of thumb i've seen is that if you have more bedrooms than people then go on a meter, otherwise don't. I have no doubt we'd probably save something now, but my kids will be teenagers at some point and they will either not shower (the boy) or live in the shower (the girl)... and you only have two years to go back to the meter. Hmmm. Maybe I just bank the savings until they start showering (currently baths every night)
or live in the shower (the girl)...
I wonder If you can get a timer for showers, so after say 8 mins, it shuts off the hot water and goes cold. Problem solved!
I just turn the hot water off 5mins after they enter. With our combi they get 3mins of hot water 1min of lukewarm and then it’s freezing.
My water bill for this year is £1350 quid! Up 35%. All so I can swim in shit every time I go to the beach.
Wait - so you don't like sewage being poured into the sea, but you don't want your bills to go up to pay for it not to be? Tell me, how much do you think your bill should be? What does it cost to supply water and waste removal to everyone in the UK? I'm going to have a guess that you have no idea. I'm being facetious here but if you're going to dispute what you're being charged you should have a better basis for objection than 'grrr!'
This came up on my local Facebook group, people in rated properties were complaining about paying £120/mo. We are on a meter and pay £100/quarter for four of us.
Thames water £55 a month currently all in - family of four, I can shower three times a day worst case but quick, wife takes a while as she has a mop of hair, and two teen boys who I moan at a lot to cut down showers and they ignore me. I am assuming my increase will be c£20 a month? Lets see. I will be back after April
Molgrios. The water companies have extracted huge amounts of money in inflated salaries and dividends while loading up tbe debt and not investing in infrastructure.
I'd be annoyed if I lived in England and was subjected to this extortion.
Im paying a couple of hundred a year iirc. Certainly a lot less than these ridiculous numbers quoted
Paying £22 a month at moment not sure what new bill is yet united utilities.
Two of us but light users make full use of showers at work and have a very dirty bike
If on a meter check it's yours!, my last house the water feed were crossed. The meters were under the path with main stop tap. The meter nearest my property was actually my neighbours and mine was nearest his, yes we were paying each others water bill!
My Yorkshire Water bill has landed, family of five so on fixed charge. Last year was £695.19, this year it is £916.08.
Quite the hike, but as alluded to above, around £75 a month to have unlimited clean water delivered and waste taken away from my household probably not bad “value”, in the grand scheme of things.
Edit, should caveat that by saying if they are simply dumping my sewage in the River Calder then it looks less justified.
Molgrios. The water companies have extracted huge amounts of money in inflated salaries and dividends while loading up tbe debt and not investing in infrastructure.
I'd be annoyed if I lived in England and was subjected to this extortion
I'm not pretending that there hasn't been mismanagement and lots of bad things, but: customer water bills do not directly pay for dividends or bonuses, nor do they directly pay for debt pile servicing (nor have they done so historically). Anger at the industry is justified, but the detail on how its come about and how to direct it, is sometimes misguided. Bills mostly pay for the operation of water and waste, plus capital investment within the 5 year price control period agreed to by ofwat (new one starting Apr-25 - Mar-30) and a bunch of smaller things like customer service, interest etc. Price rises are not just a company saying, we want to pay tens of millions out to investors, so pony up customers. They have to demonstrate to ofwat the detailed costings of providing all the above services and investment, which includes inflation on salaries, energy costs, the lot. I know there is lots of justified anger and questions, but it's not the case that water companies extort customers through bills. The failings are more structural, and more tied up in the larger scale private financing structures above the heads of the day-to-day running of the basic* stuff.
*but surprisingly difficult and complex.
Of course the bill payers pay the dividends. No matter what the obscure accounting used the only source of income is the bill payers. Its disgusting extortion. There is no choice no competition and no benefit to the consumer.
Of course the bill payers pay the dividends. No matter what the obscure accounting used the only source of income is the bill payers. Its disgusting extortion. There is no choice no competition and no benefit to the consumer.
I did initially write a reasoned response - but I may as well pee in to the wind. Customer bills are highly regulated and audited by Ofwat. Educate yourself on some facts, but I doubt it'll dent your unreasoned hyperbole. There's no choice and no competition, true, but a bit like energy generation, it'll always be from one wholesale supplier, and the 'choice' bit is the customer service fluff, you'd still be funding a single source for the basic production and distribution of water, and waste services. The NHH water market was opened to competition in 2017 - and it's been far from a success, and will not encourage the same thing being done for domestic users. But yeah, no benefit at all apart from unlimited supplies of world class water, and waste taken away (let's not go down the waste route, i'm sure you opinion is just as well researched).
ignoring the thread drift pushed by the water company bot...
yes the bills have skyrocketed (mine up from c350 to over 500), no you dont have any choice in provider..... no they have not considered cleaning up their act re:allowing raw sewage into rivers, no they havent done anything to stablise supply (fixing their own infrastructure) and no, they havent stopped paying huge bonuses to their senior staff (nor dividends to the investors, cos the pensions wouldnt like it)
cant hit a smiley for love nor money it seems.
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My water bill for this year is £1350 quid! Up 35%. All so I can swim in shit every time I go to the beach.
Wait - so you don't like sewage being poured into the sea, but you don't want your bills to go up to pay for it not to be? Tell me, how much do you think your bill should be? What does it cost to supply water and waste removal to everyone in the UK? I'm going to have a guess that you have no idea. I'm being facetious here but if you're going to dispute what you're being charged you should have a better basis for objection than 'grrr!'
This came up on my local Facebook group, people in rated properties were complaining about paying £120/mo. We are on a meter and pay £100/quarter for four of us.
My point is that it seems unlikely my usage went up by 37% in a year, ergo what am I getting for that increase? It would seem i'm paying for mismanagement in the past instead of the investors who enabled that mismanagement - and this is enabled by a toothless regulator. In any event the only thing i'm interested in at this point is is my bill calculated correctly - it seems this is based on rateable values from 1973, so i've asked them what evidence they have that my rateable value from 1973 is correct. This seems reasonable.