At the beginning of April we revealed how people like Alan Ashmore from Newark had been paying his water company for 25 years for a service he wasn't getting - draining away the surface water from his property into public sewers. It's a service which shows up on most household bills as 'surface water drainage'.
His water company, Severn Trent Water, had given him a refund for just one year's worth of charges. All the water companies in England and Wales are allowed to do the same, because the regulations allow them to do so. But we've found that's not the only way in which the rules favour the water companies.
Jalaj Gothi from North West London is convinced his water bills from Three Valleys Water are double what they should be.
He can't understand why as he does everything he can to keep a track of the water he uses. He has an egg timer on the wall of his bathroom to ensure he never showers for longer than four minutes, and he measures out how much water his child uses in the bath with a bucket. He also checks his meter every weekend to ensure that there are no surprises in his water usage.
Despite this, his bills show his small family uses the same water each year as five adults. Engineers from Three Valleys Water couldn't get to the bottom of it, so he was told that the only other thing to do to help resolve the issue was to have a logger fitted to his water meter. He would have to pay for it, and he was quoted a charge of £200.
No regulation
Jalaj thinks this is unfair, since the water company should sort this out themselves without him having to pay. However, there's no regulation regarding water meter loggers, so companies are able to charge what they like. Most charge about £70, so the figure quoted to Jalaj was almost three times that amount.
Alistair and Alison Lawson have also had problems with their water company, Scottish Water. In December a Scottish Water sewer overflowed, and for 24 hours, tonnes of raw sewage was pumped right across their land.
Alison is training to be in the Scottish dressage team and last year had a competition-standard dressage arena built in the back garden. The arena was flooded and 300 tonnes of sewage had to be taken away.
Though Scottish Water cleared away the solid sewage from their land, the Lawsons had to pay for the clean-up and re-laying of the dressage arena themselves. It cost them £52,000.
They feel angry that Scottish Water haven't taken responsibility for all the money they've had to pay out. Scottish Water did admit that the sewage came from their sewer, but said they don't have to inspect all their apparatus regularly so this was an "unforeseen incident".
In cases like this, water companies are not obliged to pay out compensation. They're only liable where water pipes overflow because they've more control over what goes into those pipes.
MP David Taylor believes that the water regulators, like Ofwat, don't do enough to keep water companies in check, meaning customers often have to pay out. He said he believes that the response from water companies is often inadequate for consumers and that Ofwat are "too close" to the water companies.
Three Valleys Water's response
"Three Valleys Water would like to apologise to Mr Gothi for any inconvenience experienced while trying to resolve issues relating to his water bill. During the past week, we have visited Mr Gothi again to carry out further investigations into possible leaks at his property and to install a logger device on his water meter to track water usage throughout the day. This has been done at no cost to our customer.
"Our investigations have indicated no leaks at the property and no joint supply with neighbours. Results of the water use tracking will be available within two weeks and these will enable us to understand patterns of water use and advise the customer accordingly. As a matter of course, the company alerts customers when it thinks their water usage is higher than it should be and provides information about how to check for leaks and how to conduct a household water-audit to estimate average use.
"Our top priority is to provide reliable, high-quality water to all of our customers while keeping charges as low as possible - less than 1p for 10 litres of water."
Ofwat's response: Rebates for domestic customers
"There is no legal obligation for companies to backdate any rebate of charges beyond the current charging year. In fact the Water Industry Act of 1991 does not prevent companies from charging for surface water drainage even where customers do not receive the service. Nevertheless, following a requirement from Ofwat, all companies have provided rebates for non-connection since April 2001."
Backdating of fees for domestic customers
"Our recommendation for surface water drainage is similar in cases where customers have been undercharged. Just as any customer who has been overcharged for the service should receive a rebate backdated to the 1 April of the current charging year, in general we recommend that any undercharge should only apply to the 1 April of the charging year in which the mistake was identified."
Meter logging
"The installation of meter loggers in the instance of a metering dispute is not an area that is specifically covered in legislation. It is also not an area that we would specifically regulate. A water company can therefore negotiate a charge for the installation of such as device.
"We would recommend that if a customer believes his or her water meter to be giving a faulty reading that they first check their internal plumbing for any signs of leaks, as the company is not responsible for household's internal plumbing. Also we would suggest that they check to see if the meter appears to be increasing its reading when no taps are running within the house. If the customer believes that the water meter is faulty, we would recommend that they get in touch with their water company. If they are having difficulty resolving a dispute, we would recommend the customer gets in contact with the Consumer Council for Water to advise and investigate."
Sewage Spills (England & Wales) Compensation
"In the Water Industry Act there is a strict liability for escapes of water from the public main but there is no similar liability for escapes of sewage from their sewers. This is because the appointed water and sewerage companies are unable to limit or control discharges of materials into their sewers. It is also recognised that sewers will overflow from time to time during periods of exceptional weather, or where blockages may occur due to inappropriate materials being placed in the sewers (e.g. grease, fat, domestic waste etc.)
"There are of course remedies available where a company is negligent in the operation of their sewers or pumping stations. The Act preserved common law remedies under which damages can be awarded. And, where sewer flooding may be attributable to negligence on the part of a company, it remains open to any person suffering loss to bring an action seeking redress in the civil courts.
"As the economic regulator for the industry we do not and cannot perform the role of loss assessors, nor award compensation for damages - that role is properly reserved to the civil courts."
*
Ofwat Guidelines for Customers Affected by Sewage
"As part of Ofwat's guidelines for water companies dealing with customers affected by sewage, we recommend the following:
"The company should then provide any clean-up assistance necessary depending on the nature of the incident, the involvement of insurers*and the customer's wishes for both internal and external incidents.
"This*may include: pumping out sewage from basements or under floor areas; hosing down the affected area; cleaning floors and contaminated areas with disinfectant or providing advice to the customer on what they should do if they choose to clean up themselves."
Scottish Water's response
"Scottish Water has sympathy for Mr and Mrs Lawson and understands the inconvenience they have suffered as a result of the blockage to the sewer and the flooding of their property. We responded to the flooding in accordance with normal procedures and did everything we could to tackle the problem as quickly as possible. We cleaned Mr and Mrs Lawson's field and offered to clean their dressage arena and advised them that replacing it was not necessary. However, they declined our offer and chose not to take our advice. In light of that, we consider that it would be inappropriate to use customers' money to fund the replacement of Mr and Mrs Lawson's dressage arena. Scottish Water is not in breach of its statutory duty nor liable for the cost of replacing the dressage arena. As a regulated, publicly-owned company, we have to balance the assistance we give to individual customers with the proper use of public funds for all customers. We have been, and continue to be, in dialogue with Mr Lawson and have written to him this week inviting him to a further meeting."
Water Industry Commission for Scotland
"We are disappointed to learn of Mr and Mrs Lawson's situation. While we cannot comment on the details of their case, as the regulator for the provision of water services in Scotland, we work hard with Scottish Water to ensure they provide a high quality service and value for money to both household and business customers.
"We are engaged with Scottish Water on a rolling programme of improvements, and whilst responding to such complaints is not within the parameters of WICS's work, we will draw the attention of Waterwatch to this case. Waterwatch is the body responsible for handling complaints against Scottish Water from its customers."
The rules that favour water companies
His water company, Severn Trent Water, had given him a refund for just one year's worth of charges. All the water companies in England and Wales are allowed to do the same, because the regulations allow them to do so. But we've found that's not the only way in which the rules favour the water companies.
Jalaj Gothi from North West London is convinced his water bills from Three Valleys Water are double what they should be.
He can't understand why as he does everything he can to keep a track of the water he uses. He has an egg timer on the wall of his bathroom to ensure he never showers for longer than four minutes, and he measures out how much water his child uses in the bath with a bucket. He also checks his meter every weekend to ensure that there are no surprises in his water usage.
Despite this, his bills show his small family uses the same water each year as five adults. Engineers from Three Valleys Water couldn't get to the bottom of it, so he was told that the only other thing to do to help resolve the issue was to have a logger fitted to his water meter. He would have to pay for it, and he was quoted a charge of £200.
No regulation
Jalaj thinks this is unfair, since the water company should sort this out themselves without him having to pay. However, there's no regulation regarding water meter loggers, so companies are able to charge what they like. Most charge about £70, so the figure quoted to Jalaj was almost three times that amount.
Alistair and Alison Lawson have also had problems with their water company, Scottish Water. In December a Scottish Water sewer overflowed, and for 24 hours, tonnes of raw sewage was pumped right across their land.
Alison is training to be in the Scottish dressage team and last year had a competition-standard dressage arena built in the back garden. The arena was flooded and 300 tonnes of sewage had to be taken away.
Though Scottish Water cleared away the solid sewage from their land, the Lawsons had to pay for the clean-up and re-laying of the dressage arena themselves. It cost them £52,000.
They feel angry that Scottish Water haven't taken responsibility for all the money they've had to pay out. Scottish Water did admit that the sewage came from their sewer, but said they don't have to inspect all their apparatus regularly so this was an "unforeseen incident".
In cases like this, water companies are not obliged to pay out compensation. They're only liable where water pipes overflow because they've more control over what goes into those pipes.
MP David Taylor believes that the water regulators, like Ofwat, don't do enough to keep water companies in check, meaning customers often have to pay out. He said he believes that the response from water companies is often inadequate for consumers and that Ofwat are "too close" to the water companies.
Three Valleys Water's response
"Three Valleys Water would like to apologise to Mr Gothi for any inconvenience experienced while trying to resolve issues relating to his water bill. During the past week, we have visited Mr Gothi again to carry out further investigations into possible leaks at his property and to install a logger device on his water meter to track water usage throughout the day. This has been done at no cost to our customer.
"Our investigations have indicated no leaks at the property and no joint supply with neighbours. Results of the water use tracking will be available within two weeks and these will enable us to understand patterns of water use and advise the customer accordingly. As a matter of course, the company alerts customers when it thinks their water usage is higher than it should be and provides information about how to check for leaks and how to conduct a household water-audit to estimate average use.
"Our top priority is to provide reliable, high-quality water to all of our customers while keeping charges as low as possible - less than 1p for 10 litres of water."
Ofwat's response: Rebates for domestic customers
"There is no legal obligation for companies to backdate any rebate of charges beyond the current charging year. In fact the Water Industry Act of 1991 does not prevent companies from charging for surface water drainage even where customers do not receive the service. Nevertheless, following a requirement from Ofwat, all companies have provided rebates for non-connection since April 2001."
Backdating of fees for domestic customers
"Our recommendation for surface water drainage is similar in cases where customers have been undercharged. Just as any customer who has been overcharged for the service should receive a rebate backdated to the 1 April of the current charging year, in general we recommend that any undercharge should only apply to the 1 April of the charging year in which the mistake was identified."
Meter logging
"The installation of meter loggers in the instance of a metering dispute is not an area that is specifically covered in legislation. It is also not an area that we would specifically regulate. A water company can therefore negotiate a charge for the installation of such as device.
"We would recommend that if a customer believes his or her water meter to be giving a faulty reading that they first check their internal plumbing for any signs of leaks, as the company is not responsible for household's internal plumbing. Also we would suggest that they check to see if the meter appears to be increasing its reading when no taps are running within the house. If the customer believes that the water meter is faulty, we would recommend that they get in touch with their water company. If they are having difficulty resolving a dispute, we would recommend the customer gets in contact with the Consumer Council for Water to advise and investigate."
Sewage Spills (England & Wales) Compensation
"In the Water Industry Act there is a strict liability for escapes of water from the public main but there is no similar liability for escapes of sewage from their sewers. This is because the appointed water and sewerage companies are unable to limit or control discharges of materials into their sewers. It is also recognised that sewers will overflow from time to time during periods of exceptional weather, or where blockages may occur due to inappropriate materials being placed in the sewers (e.g. grease, fat, domestic waste etc.)
"There are of course remedies available where a company is negligent in the operation of their sewers or pumping stations. The Act preserved common law remedies under which damages can be awarded. And, where sewer flooding may be attributable to negligence on the part of a company, it remains open to any person suffering loss to bring an action seeking redress in the civil courts.
"As the economic regulator for the industry we do not and cannot perform the role of loss assessors, nor award compensation for damages - that role is properly reserved to the civil courts."
*
Ofwat Guidelines for Customers Affected by Sewage
"As part of Ofwat's guidelines for water companies dealing with customers affected by sewage, we recommend the following:
"The company should then provide any clean-up assistance necessary depending on the nature of the incident, the involvement of insurers*and the customer's wishes for both internal and external incidents.
"This*may include: pumping out sewage from basements or under floor areas; hosing down the affected area; cleaning floors and contaminated areas with disinfectant or providing advice to the customer on what they should do if they choose to clean up themselves."
Scottish Water's response
"Scottish Water has sympathy for Mr and Mrs Lawson and understands the inconvenience they have suffered as a result of the blockage to the sewer and the flooding of their property. We responded to the flooding in accordance with normal procedures and did everything we could to tackle the problem as quickly as possible. We cleaned Mr and Mrs Lawson's field and offered to clean their dressage arena and advised them that replacing it was not necessary. However, they declined our offer and chose not to take our advice. In light of that, we consider that it would be inappropriate to use customers' money to fund the replacement of Mr and Mrs Lawson's dressage arena. Scottish Water is not in breach of its statutory duty nor liable for the cost of replacing the dressage arena. As a regulated, publicly-owned company, we have to balance the assistance we give to individual customers with the proper use of public funds for all customers. We have been, and continue to be, in dialogue with Mr Lawson and have written to him this week inviting him to a further meeting."
Water Industry Commission for Scotland
"We are disappointed to learn of Mr and Mrs Lawson's situation. While we cannot comment on the details of their case, as the regulator for the provision of water services in Scotland, we work hard with Scottish Water to ensure they provide a high quality service and value for money to both household and business customers.
"We are engaged with Scottish Water on a rolling programme of improvements, and whilst responding to such complaints is not within the parameters of WICS's work, we will draw the attention of Waterwatch to this case. Waterwatch is the body responsible for handling complaints against Scottish Water from its customers."
The rules that favour water companies