WHY AREN'T THE GOVERNMENT/CONSUMER COUNCIL FOR WATER
NOT PUSHING FOR A DATE,WHEREBY ALL HOUSEHOLDS HAVE TO BE CONNECTED TO
A WATER METER.
IT SEEMS THERE TO WORRIED ABOUT THE IMPACT IT WOULD HAVE ON LARGE HOUSEHOLDS WITH LOW INCOME,THERE BILLS DOUBLING OVERNIGHT .
SO THERE INCHING IT IN SLOWLY SO NO GREAT FUSS IS MADE, NOT LIKE THE POLE TAX
LOOK WHERE THAT ENDED UP.
SOME AREAS OF UK HAVE A COMPULSORY RULE TO FIT WATER METERS.
SOME AREAS OF UK ,WHEN A HOUSE IS SOLD ,THE WATER COMPANY HAVE THE WRITE
TO FIT A WATER METER ,BEFORE THE NEW ONERS,TENANTS MOVE IN.
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS A BLOODY SHAMBLES.
AND TOTALLY UNFAIR TO THE WATER METER CUSTOMER,STUCK ON A METER, PAYING
UP TO DOUBLE THAT OF THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR, ON RATEABLE VALUE CHARGE.USING A UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF WATER, IF THEY CAN'T FIX A DATE FOR EVERYONE TO BE CONNECTED TO A WATER METER, THEY SHOULD ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO HAVE THE CHOICE BETWEEN PAYING BY METER OR RATEABLE VALUE.

REMEMBER , IF YOUR BUYING A HOUSE/MOVING HOUSE AND YOU HAVE LARGE ,OR INTEND HAVING A LARGE FAMILY ,( WATER BILLS) ARE GOING TO BE HIGH ON A METER.
THE ALTERNATIVE IS BUY A OLDER HOUSE WITH A RATEABLE VALUE, THEN YOU CAN FIND OUT HOW MUCH YOU WILL BE PAYING, AND BUDGET FOR THAT AMOUNT.

REF ESTATE AGENTS, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THEY DO NOT PUT IT ON THE HOUSE DETAILS / WATER METER FITTED OR WATER RATES ON HOUSE RATEABLE VALUE CHARGE.
DO YOUR HOME WORK FIND OUT THE COST OF WATER /LAST 12 MONTHS BILL
OR YOUR BE IN FOR A BIG SHOCK,
YES I KNOW IT'S IN CAPITALS EASER TO READ .

09/08/13 REF. TIMES ARTICLE
MILLIONS FACE HIGHER BILLS UNDER PLANS FOR COMPULSORY WATER METERS.
Water companies across a third of the country will be required to consider fitting all properties in their areas with a water meter and billing customers for every drop they use.
Under the order, approved this week by Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, some family water bills could double.
It follows warnings from the Government’s environment specialists that climate change and England’s growing population will put the future supply of water in reservoirs and rivers under “serious stress”.
Householders are already suffering higher water bills, especially in parts of the country at risk of drought. In some parts of southern England where meters are fitted, annual bills have increased by hundreds of pounds.
Ministers have ordered nine of the 24 regional water companies in England and Wales to consider compulsory metering in all the homes they serve.
BOB'S COMMENT, why don't they stop mucking about and just name a date whereby
every house has to be connected to a water meter in the uk, and give everybody the option
to pick the water supply company that gives them the best deal, and stop this totally unfair
water charging system in place at the present time,
ok i know i go on a bit,but i stuck on a water meter that's costing me £1000 a year ,paying for every drop of water we use, and the old house in front of us on rateable value pays around £600
and can use 10 times more water than me at no extra cost,madness system,

The nine water company areas classified as facing “serious stress” are the central, eastern and south-eastern regions covered by Affinity Water, Anglian Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, South East Water, Southern Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water and Thames Water,

A interesting comment re.water meter.

wish I could save money with my damn water meter. I live with my wife and 2, (adult), children in a 3 bed semi; when we moved in, I asked Anglian Water for the meter to be disconnected as there were 7 of us at home, and was told to try it and if I didn't save money they'd take it out, I insisted but allowed myself to be over-ruled. When I asked for it to go after a few months A.W said I had to keep it. Since them the bills have just kept going up. Anglian Water, last year wanted to put my bill up to £101 pm! (more then any of my friends), I managed to argue them down to "only" £84pm. Unlike ANY other utility you CANNOT change your water supplier, so I'm stuck with a water meter , When Labour get back in I just hope to God that they re-nationalise the utilities and cut out the obscene profits these people make off the backs of consumers. Finally, riddle me this; I pay for what water I use, (and going by the amount I pay, half the street too!); so WHY does a hosepipe ban affect me?
- geggy, Milton Keynes Bucks., 12/4/2012 16:02
bob comment
why on earth did Anglian Water,not advise geggy not to go onto a water meter as it would be
much more expensive as on a meter with 4 adults ,and the rules state they had 12 months to revert back to rateable value charge.i wander why they said he had to keep the meter ?

6th August 2013
If there is anybody out there ,who fills as strongly as i do about the unfair water charging system
in place at the moment,
i have set up a petition, on the on the government petition site epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petions/53226
as below.

HM Government AccessibilityHome
Search published e-petitions
e-petition
water metered charges v rateable house value charges , totally unfair system.

Responsible department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Its time somebody decided on a date 1st FEB 2020 (suggested date)
That all BRITISH domestic water customers have to be connected to a water meter, to stop the grossly unfair
system we have in place at the moment,whereby metered customers are stuck on a meter and have to pay for every litre of water they use/no option and the house next door paying for water on a rateable value basis.can and do use a unlimited amount of water
with no restrictions at all.can be 20 times more than the water metered house at no extra charge.how on earth can this be a fair system ? everybody on a meter 1.,would cut the water usage over night by some 25 to 35 %
2. every one pays for what they use. 3.create a fair charging system for all .then it's up to the Government to allow customers to be able to swap between water company's for the best deal
creating competition between water company's
so sign please to change this totally unfair charging system we have in place at the moment.

THE PETITION water metered charges v rateable house value charges , totally unfair system.

Responsible department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Its time somebody decided on a date such as 1st FEB 2020
That all BRITISH domestic water customers have to be connected to a water meter, to stop the grossly unfair
system we have in place at the moment,whereby metered customers are stuck on a meter and have to pay for every litre of water they use/no option and the house next door paying for water on a rateable value basis.can and do use a unlimited amount of water
with no restrictions at all 20 times more than the water metered house at no extra charge.how on earth can this be a fair system ? everybody on a meter 1.,would cut the water usage over night by some
25to35% 2. every one pays for what they use. 3.create a fair charging system for all .then it's up to the Government to allow customers to be able to swap between water company's for the best deal
creating competition between water company's
so sign please to change this totally unfair charging system we have in place at the moment.

Sign this petition


Dear ROBERT

Your e-petition "water metered charges v rateable house value charges , totally unfair system." has now been published. You can view your e-petition at: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/53226

You can also share this URL to promote your e-petition or use the social network links available on your e-petition's page.

Thanks,

HM Government e-petitions http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/

REF COMMENT TAMES WATER
08/03/2013 06:07 AM
Sorry mate, but I looked at Thames Water while writing my book GREED UNLIMITED and here are the real reasons the financial predators want to raise water bills by about £400m a year:

In 2000, Thames Water was bought by German RWE for £6.8bn. During its 6 years ownership, RWE pocketed around £1bn in dividends. But RWE got tired of suggestions that it should lower its leakage rate below 30% and so sold Thames Water to an offshore-based group led by Australian bank Macquarie for £8bn. RWE made a cool £2.2bn from its brief ownership of Thames Water – money that could have been better spent reducing Thames Water’s extraordinary levels of leakage

Under Macquarie, Thames Water has been loaded up with massive debt taken out at usurious rates from a Macquarie subsidiary based in an offshore tax haven. These debts are now so great that Thames pays about £400m a year servicing the interest on its debts. Nevertheless, Thames is also able to pay its lucky owners about £231m a year in dividends. This is in addition to the massive profits the owners make lending money at high rates of interest to themselves. Plus, of course, Thames can offset the interest costs against corporation tax, so it hardly pays any tax in spite of the hundreds of millions a year being creamed off by its owners.

Friday 13/09/13
Thames Water may have short-changed 14m customers, regulator claims
Britain's biggest water company Thames Water may have short-changed 14 millions of customers by failing to invest as much as it has promised, Ofwat claimed on Friday
The regulator said it was looking into claims of a "significant slippage" in Thames' investment programme for sewage treatment, underspend on sewer flooding and allegations it has not maintained parts of its wastewater network.
The revelation came just weeks after Thames made an exceptional demand to be able to push up customer bills by 12 per cent or £29 plus inflation next Spring to help balance the books.
Ofwat said it would be looking into the three areas where Thames "has not delivered outputs" for customers as part of its study into whether Thames demand to push up bills was acceptable. A provisional decision is expected next month.
An Ofwat spokesman said: "It may be the case that customers are paying for things that Thames hasn't delivered." The regulator said it would also be looking into whether Thames had "benefited from wider economic circumstances beyond its control".
Water companies such as Thames are heavily regulated and can only increase bills every five years in line with guidelines set by Ofwat, and based around investment and expenditure level
Thames last month said it needed a one-off surcharge to cover costs linked to plans for a new 'Super Sewer' in London.
The move sparked fury from watchdogs given it has paid out an estimated £900 million in dividends to its private owners, including investment funds owned by the governments of China and Abu Dhabi, in the past seven years.
In March this year Thames warned that heavy rain could trigger a wave of sewage floods. It claims much of the flooding is triggered by "sewer abuse", where people flushing everything from fats to wet wipes down the loo.
Earlier this week Thames announced plans to invest £26 million in upgrading the Victorian sewer network serving large parts of the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea in London.
In response of Ofwat's statement today, Thames Water said: "We expected the regulator to set out the format for assessing our application. This is part of the regulatory process.
"We don't plan to comment until after Ofwat's draft decision, expected in mid October."
Earlier this summer, Ofwat chairman Jonson Cox blasted water giants' tax record as "morally questionable". Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Cox said a "good number" of water companies use shareholder loans to reduce their tax liability.fwat sets limits on the prices water companies can charge and these rules apply for five years. Its last price review in 2009 set limits for the 2010-15 period.

Under its agreement Thames is already allowed to increase charges by 1.4% above inflation in 2014-15.

But now Thames says costs relating to bad debt, the transfer of private sewers, land purchases and Environment Agency charges have risen by more than estimates used when the price regime was set in 2009.

The net impact of these extra costs is £291m, Thames says.

Ofwat is due to make a final decision on the future prices water companies can charge by January 2015, with new bills coming into effect in April 2015.

We moved to our current house (housing association) last October and unfortunately it is on a water meter, that is the only downside of this house. We moved from a horrible area (unmetered) to a better area. It takes some getting used to being on a meter, I don't waste water but i am fed up with constantly checking that the taps are off! I have trained my children well as they are quite careful with water, I miss having a bath regulary, I hate keep having showers especially in the winter. The water bill I got in May was not much different to the unmetered bill but the difference was I have used a lot less water since moving here, showering instead of baths. I looked up online and saw that the area I used to live in is not being metered until 2018, not very fair on us who are on meters!
My mum owns her own bungalow and she wanted to be on a meter, she saves money as its only her but as a family of five we dont.
Where I used to live is mainly old houses (pre war) and they are unmetered but up the road there are some new builds (less than 10 yrs old) and they are not on water meters, these are housing association houses, I thought all houses built after 1990 had to be on meters, or is this home owners only?
Since we have moved here, we have had so many water related problems and when you are on a meter it becomes a constant headache, if I had a choice I would go back to unmetered water.

KERRY O
I completely understand how you must fill being on a water meter,especially with children
constantly checking the kids have not left the taps on, cutting down on bathing ect.
and worrying all the time how big the water bill is going to be,i am sure there are many thousands
of family's that have the same problem,especially when money's tight.
I think Water company's should be state owned ,they should never been sold off to foreign company's there just in it for the profit for there share holders,directors,ect.
there should be a standard charge rate for water a per cubic meter/1000 litres
and for the same amount of water we use.we are charged £1.7766 a cubic metre for waste
and not forgetting the service charges????????? £19 for water and £46 for waste
The reason i want everybody on a meter a.s.a.p is so we can all do something about the
unfair charging system,The massive profits these company's are making, change the system so you can pick the water supply company that gives you the best deal.
At the moment the Water supply companies know people with meters are stuck with them
and they got to have water, so there water / sewage charges are expensive,especially if you have a large family or like us med to high water usher,