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Understanding the unmetered fixed charge
We’re committed to making our bills clear to understand, and fair to our customers.
We recently asked a sample of unmetered customers what they thought would be the fairest way for us to charge them for water.
The majority told us that being charged for what you use is the fairest way of being billed.
Moving all customers to meters would be the simplest way to achieve this, however we know that may be too much of an increase for some customers currently on low rateable value charges.
To help with this, we have introduced a fixed charge for customers billed by Rateable Value.
Explaining the unmetered fix charge
The fixed charge will work alongside your Rateable Value amount and has been introduced as a standard £5 per year. This works out at 41p per month. The amount will be reviewed annually, as is Rateable Value.
How the fixed charge makes billing fairer
If you’re billed by your property’s Rateable Value, and you pay more for your water than an average household of the same size would, your Rateable Value charge will reduce over time.
If you’re billed by your Property’s Rateable Value, and you pay less for your water than an average household of the same size would, your fixed charge will gradually increase over time.
This is based on the amount you pay and the average amount of water a similar household on a water meter uses.
Switching to a water meter
If your payments do increase as a result, you may want to apply for a water meter so you only pay for the water you use, rather than pay based on an average, estimated figure.
It’s free to have a meter fitted and you have two years to trail the meter. During that time you can decide to switch back to unmetered bills at any time if it’s not right for you.
Financial support if you’re struggling to pay
If you’re struggling to pay your bill, don’t worry. We have several financial support schemes and payment options that can help you.
