Thames Water is under the spotlight at present. One customer they highlighted received an eye-popping £1,100 bill for one year’s worth of water use at their tiny two-bedroom flat in London. The bill extends through the end of September, starting retroactively on April 19. It tallies up that the apartment consumed 274 cubic meters of water—that’s enough tea to brew up 1.1 million cups of tea. This eye-popping sum should provoke a natural skepticism. Ultimately, is the billing system correct, or has the customer been overbilled?
A bill of £803 to the company for five months is devastating. That’s nearly double the average annual household charge of £448 for households in England and Wales. My customer moved into the flat with her husband and new baby in early 2023. She knows the bill is wrong, and she’s worried that one day she’ll end up paying for water usage that should be attributed to her neighbor’s family who lives in a three-storey house next door.
Thames Water already has the legal authority to phase in meters in areas of water stress like London. Despite their admission that there is an issue with the bill, the company has provided no real measures to fix it. In November, Thames Water told the customer that they would resolve the issue within ten business days.
Thames Water stopped the customer’s billing in December. In essence, they agreed that this freeze should stay in place until they produce a correct calculation. Your customer has a £300 unpaid balance from their last bill. This contributes to their anxiety about fiscal stress, in part because they feel the fee is unfair.
“We are very sorry to EI for the incorrect water bill she has received and for any distress this may have caused. Our engineers have investigated and confirmed that she was wrongly billed for her neighbour’s water use, following the incorrect installation of meters at her property.” – Thames Water spokesperson
Thames Water accepted that it had billed the customer incorrectly. They went out and set up a different meter and obtained a subsequent reading to send the consumer an accurate bill. As an added customer courtesy for the inconvenience, we will be issuing a goodwill gesture.
“Our teams have installed a new meter and will take a new reading in order to issue an accurate bill. We have paused her billing since December and this will continue to be the case until we calculate the correct bill. We will also issue a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience caused and fully accept EI did not receive the high levels of service we strive for.” – Thames Water spokesperson
Thames Water is doing everything in its power to rectify the crisis. Customers continue to have concerns about unexpected bill amounts and the opacity of charges for water used. The second ongoing case reminds us just how important transparent communication is between electric utility companies and their customers. This is particularly the case in regions under water stress.