MARTIN Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert has urged households to check their water bills NOW as you could get a refund back worth hundreds.
Customers have been hit by water bill hikes after prices rose in March by up to £36 a year more.
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The exact amount bills have gone up by depends on where you live, how much you’re charged and the rate it’s increasing by.
It’s another blow to household budgets amid a cost of living crisis, with energy, food and fuel bills all rocketing too.
But you a simple bill check could wipe hundreds off your water costs, Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert explained in its latest newsletter.
That’s because you could be being incorrectly charged for water drainage costs.
Water companies are pulling in around £1billion a year charging thousands of households for surface water drainage services.
Customers are charged for when rainwater drains from their roof down to a public sewer.
But across many new build properties – and some older homes – water is instead drained into a private space instead of a public sewer.
In this case, you don’t need to be charged the service – but some still are.
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To find out if you are unnecessarily paying this service, check your property deeds which should tell you if your home is connected to a public sewer system.
If you’re renting, ask your landlord to check the deeds.
If you’re not connected to the mains and you’re still being charged, contact your water company to ask about how to get a refund.
It comes as one Martin Lewis fan wrote in to say that they had saved £300 from doing this simple check.
The fan, called Bob, was featured in this week’s newsletter and said: “I followed your advice and applied to our local water company, and we’ve now received a discount on our annual charge, as well as a refund of nearly £300.”
If you are struggling to get a refund, you should contact the Consumer Council for Water (CCW).
It can help you settle a dispute – but if this doesn’t work, take your complaint to the Water Redress Scheme.
If it believes you are due money back, it can order your supplier to pay up.
How else can I lower my water bill?
Suppliers have special schemes to help low income households with their bills.
Grants could be worth hundreds of pounds but what you can get depends on your situation and your supplier.
For example, Yorkshire Water is funding a £115million bill relief package and customers could get up to £200 extra a month to help pay their bill.
Severn Trent gave away £3.5million last year through its Trust Fund.
More than 3,000 grants worth on average £781 were dished out and helped nearly 400 household buy essential appliances.
Lower income families can apply to the WaterSure scheme as well to save hundreds of pounds on their bill each year.
If you’re on Universal Credit, you may also be able to cap your water bill.
You can find out who your local water supplier is using the tool on WaterUK – just enter your postcode.
