View Single Post
  #1   Report Post  
Posted to uk.d-i-y
Ophelia
 
Posts: n/a
Default Guardian: Customers warned of water price hike

Guardian Unlimited
Householders will be hit with above-inflation increases in their water
bills
this year, a consumer group warned today.

The average price hike will be 7% rising to up to 13% for South West
Water
customers, according to the Consumer Council for Water. Folkestone and
Dover
Water is set to increase prices by as much as 10.5% even though its
customers will probably face water restrictions.

The company has applied to make water meters compulsory for the
householders
it supplies because of dry conditions in the south east, CCWater said.
United Utilities customers will see bills go up by around 9.5% after the
increases come into force on April 1.

Further price hikes are likely to follow over the coming decade to bring
the
company in line with EU requirements, according to CCWater. The consumer
group said its figures, sourced from the regulator Ofwat, masked large
differences in prices paid by customers on water meters and those paying
an
unmeasured rate.

Smaller households and those with a high rateable value are usually
better
off switching to a water meter, the consumer group said. It warns that
the
next round of price hikes could leave some customers struggling to pay
their
water bills.

Figures for 2004-2005 showed that £962m of bill revenue was outstanding
to
water companies during that year - £562m of it more than 12 months old.
That
was a 17% increase on the situation in 1998-99, CCWater said.

Some 4.4m households have had bills outstanding for up to 48 months,
according to Ofwat figures from August 2005. Dame Yve Buckland, chair of
CCWater, said:
"Customers finding it hard to pay should contact their company as soon
as
they are aware of the problem.

"Companies can arrange flexible payment plans, or help to clear
outstanding
charges by taking deductions direct from benefits."

The consumer group advises householders to look at ways of saving water
without cutting back on essential usage and to apply for a vulnerable
customer tariff if appropriate.

Barrie Clarke, spokesman for Water UK which represents all the water
companies, said the price increases were agreed by the regulator
following a
thorough review in 2004.

"They will make investments possible in the quality of water and our
environment that will be of benefit to all customers," he said. "We too
are
concerned that price rises for some people with low incomes may cause a
difficulty and we would urge any customers in that position to contact
their
water company so that they can discuss the best way of helping them to
pay."

CCWater is the statutory water consumer body in England and Wales.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006



--
www.qpat.co.uk