Thames Water

[-SharonA-]

I've just had an email from Thames Water informing me I will be paying an extra £16 per month come April!!! I already pay nearly £800 per year.

This is ridiculous, as pensioners where am I supposed to find the extra. Why should we the customers have to pay for their mess??

At these prices, I feel like leaving my tap running all day.

Anyone else got this missive from Thames Water?

[bednobs]

Not yet though coming soon i expect!

[237SJ]

Do you have a water meter?

[bhg481]

Are you on a meter? If not, why don't you try getting one. They cost nothing to have fitted and, if you end up paying more, you can revert to your old system after a year. We haven't had an email from Thames water yet but we live in a 3-bedroomed house (2 adult pensioners) and pay £17 a month with a meter.

[-SharonA-]

bhg, seriously thinking of getting one. I am in a one bedroom flat & obviously something is wrong with the pricing here.

[bhg481]

Just do it, Sharon; nothing to lose. It's a long, long time since we got our meter but I seem to remember our bill roughly halved.

[Old_Geezer]

At my property no one had a choice. They put meters in the pavement outside and we just had to lump it; even the decent folk who knew water was a necessity, and should be publicly supplied for the benefit of all of the public, not metered.

[davebro3]

I had a water meter fitted years ago & I pay less now than I did in 1986.

[gingejbee]

Sharon, you should have requested a meter ages ago...you'll be getting one eventually with no choice in the matter.

I had one fitted just a year ago, and my metered supply costs less than half of my unmetered bill...and I'm still so much in credit that I expect to pay nothing for the coming year.

[barry1010]

I'm a meter fan, too.

Unless you have half a dozen kids, a pool and massive garden to water

[Old_Geezer]

Of course you pay less now. That's the initial incentive. And proves that ratepayers are being overcharged.  Long term all will be. 

[naomi24]

You really do need a meter, Sharon.

[gingejbee]

@14.19..."initial incentive". Hardly...there's been water metering for donkeys' years.

The incentive is to pay less because you're using water properly ie not wasting it. (Yes I know that over 25% of treated water goes to waste before it even gets to a customer).

[davebro3]

Dunno how/why the OP is paying £800 pa - is she operating a swimming pool!

[davebro3]

or maybe lives in a massive mansion that had a huge rateable value?

[davebro3]

A one bed flat - sorry, I missed that. Summats wrong somewhere.

[davebro3]

Get it sorted - if you've been paying that for years you must be entitled to a substantial rebate. Go to Citizens Advice.

[-SharonA-]

I paid last July £336. January I paid £398.

[237SJ]

I halved my water bill with Thames Water when I went onto a meter.

[davebro3]

It's totally wrong IMV - have you compared bills with your neighbours?

[Buenchico]

For anyone living alone, not having a metered water supply is simply crazy!

The average annual water bill for Thames customers during the 2023/24 financial year was £456 but that's across all households (including, for example, houses with very large families).  Someone living alone should expect to pay substantially less than that figure, especially if they take sensible steps to minimise their water usage (such as spending less time in the shower).

The average water bill for the same financial year for 1-person households in the Southern Water area was £291 but Thames customers paid roughly 4% more, meaning that an estimate of around £302 for those customers might be about right.  However, as I've already indicated, being frugal with water usage should see a somewhat lower figure anyway.