We’ve just received our Water Bill from Anglian Water.
We had to have a sit down and have a cuppa after we read it because it’s gone up by 136% on last year.
Looking through the bill though we noticed something that energy companies, including our own, do all the time now - they estimated our water use from 2012 onwards, despite the fact that our Water meter is easily accessible - in the street outside our house!
They’ve finally read it on 14/1/2014!
The estimates were, in my opinion, too low so now we’re saddled with having to pay an extra £120 per year.
What really is the point in either giving your own meter readings, (for energy), or having a water meter installed so Anglian Water can read it whenever they like when neither of the providers bothers and still uses estimates?!
How are we more in control in either case and just how long is it going to be before Ofgen and Ofwat actually do something about these often appalling privatised industries?
My wife said “Am I getting an increase on my State Pension?” thinking, perhaps, it might balance out but of course it won’t will it?! stevmk2
Not got ours yet but TBH we haven’t been too upset over the years about the water bill because we never got talked into having a meter. But the rates and our service charge left me in tears last year so not looking forward to them this year.
We had both of our Water Bills 1 week before Christmas and the other 1 week after, as we get two bills, one is Anglia and the other Thames and they were both over £150 each, its a joke.
Why do you have to pay two? That seems unreasonable!
I had a water meter installed and that did reduce my bills quite substantially for a year or two but they have crept up again and are now extortionate - but I am using less water!!
We haven’t received our water bill yet and I’m certainly not looking forward to it. We used to get two separate water bills a year, one from Bristol Water (for water services) and one from Wessex Water (for sewerage services). Now we receive one bill which includes both services.
We’ve just had a combined gas and electric in and what with an increased Council Tax Bill to come, it looks like being an expensive couple of months … Happy New Year everyone!
We don’t get our Water bills until the beginning of the new financial year in April. My Heating and lighting bills came whilst I was away over Xmas, due to the £150,00 heating allowance I get from Scottish & Southern, after taking into account the heating allowance against the account, I’m still in credit to the tune of £50.00 with my electricity.
We got all the relevant data from Anglian water before we decided to go for a water meter Julie.
A water meter does work for us because there’s just the two of us and it’s a 3-bedroomed house so without a water meter your charge is based on the Rateable Value of the property plus a Standing Charge, currently, according to Anglian Water’s website, about £48 per month in total for ‘average consumption’.
With a meter you’re charged only for what you actually use with a £9.67 per month Standing Charge - a big difference.
We were worried because we have a largish garden which we do use to grow vegetables etc. but we have four water butts which do help, although in times of drought we re-use washing-up water in one butt only because, if you leave it long enough, what comes out of the tap is still fine for plants as long as you don’t stir it up in the butt!
I could go on and on about water conservation in gardens but you get my drift I think.
All in all I’m a bit peed-off having to pay £120 more per year, especially when I know I’ll not be getting a pay rise this year but despite the torrential rain of late, we still have to pay for our water and we cannot get away from that fact, annoying and costly though it is. stevmk2
I don’t know why we get two bills, one is for the water we use and the other is the sewage, when we lived in Woodford we only had one bill. Plus you get surcharges on both bills. :twisted:
Mine is £404 a year to Severn Trent and that includes a reduction because the surface water doesn’t go into the drains.
Considering I live alone that is a lot of money…
Just paid this quarter’s water bill, it was £79.23.
Once again, as I said in another post, I never pay an estimated bill. I read all 3 meters - gas, electric, water.
If they over estimate I might not have enough, and if they under estimate, it piles up and up and you can end up owing a lot, so if I read the meters every quarter I keep on track.
I doubt if a water meter would save me anything. Our garden is very quick draining and although I have water butts to collect rainwater, I still use a lot of water to keep the fruit & vegetables going.
Unlike the west of Scotland, this is quite a dry area.
A lot of the rural properties here have their own wells and septic tanks. No rates, but some maintenance costs- emptying tank, new filters, water purity tests etc…
considering I live in the home of Malvern Water you would think it would be inexpensive…