Posted by Mike on March 8, 2008, 5:46 pm, in reply to "Re: Has anybody at Burrells Wharf had a water meter fitted?"
Message modified by user Mike March 8, 2008, 5:55 pm

Didi, That means that Thames Water is using a rateable value of 225 for your property. I suspect that is too high for a studio. Would anyone else like to add some rateable value data points for Burrells Wharf to put that 225 into context? If the rateable value is overstated then the unmetered water charges will be too high. If you want to reduce your water bills, your best first step is probably to try to get your rateable value lowered. If that doesn’t work then, in theory, you can apply for a water meter; Thames Water will decline the request and then they will have to offer to put you on the Assessed Household Charge for a Studio / One Bedroom. That will save you about £50 per year, when compared with your current bill. I hope this helps. By the way, this isn't professional advice. It's just a statement of my understanding of how Thames Water operates. Don't rely on anything I say about financial matters, without doing your own investigation first.

 Post a Response

Posted by Louise on March 9, 2008, 9:27 am, in reply to "Re: Has anybody at Burrells Wharf had a water meter fitted?"

Hi Didi, My bill for a one-bedroom flat in Brunel is £211.57, so it sounds as though yours is a little too high.

 Post a Response

Posted by Mike on March 9, 2008, 1:44 pm, in reply to "Re: Has anybody at Burrells Wharf had a water meter fitted?"
Message modified by user Mike March 9, 2008, 2:06 pm

I forgot to say that I think Didi’s charge of £254.88 (rateable value 225) is too high for a studio because that is, coincidentally, the same rate as I’m paying for my two-bedroom flat. The example charge that Louise has provided reinforces that opinion. That gives a more realistic rateable value of 175 for a one-bedroom flat, if I’ve calculated it correctly. Would anyone else care to share their rateable value/water charge statistics so that we can build up a picture of what the realistic charge for each property type should be?

 Post a Response

Posted by Mike on March 9, 2008, 5:46 pm, in reply to "Re: Has anybody at Burrells Wharf had a water meter fitted?"
Message modified by user Mike March 9, 2008, 6:20 pm

DC, If the water supply is unmetered then the bill is based on the rateable value of the property. The postcode doesn’t have a direct bearing on determining the rateable value. The link below explains how the rateable values are determined and used, far better than I could. An unmetered Thames Water bill (for 08/09) is calculated like this: Water Charge = (RV x 56.27 / 100) + £26.00 Wastewater Charge = (RV x 30.34 / 100) + £34.00 where RV is the Rateable Value for the property. The total bill is obviously the Water Charge plus the Wastewater Charge. It sounds as though you have a rateable value that is giving you a better deal than even Louise or myself. I should stick with it as you’d be worse off if you opted for a metered supply and ended up on the Assessed Household Charge of £217.

Link: Rateable Values

Posted by Mike on May 1, 2008, 2:34 pm, in reply to "Re: UPDATE... Re: Has anybody at Burrells Wharf had a water meter fitted?"

Thames Water conducted its survey yesterday at my flat. Apparently, there is no problem in fitting a water meter internally within the flat (in my case, in the boiler cupboard). So I’m going ahead with that, although it could take up to three months for Thames Water to fit the meter. According to the Thames Water paperwork, if I find that meter based charging is more expensive than rateable value based charging, then I can revert to rateable value based charging. This option doesn’t apply to subsequent occupiers, who will only be able to have meter based charging. I hope this helps others decide whether to opt for water metering or not.

 Post a Response