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Could your company do with a refund of £500 to £500,000. A water audit will reveal overcharging.
Author: Graham Mann, Water Audit Expert.
As Graham Mann Senior Water Consultant at H²O Building Services explains ” A water audit will often reveal overcharging and often requires little effort by customers other than one copy water and waste water bill. H²O Building Services have been involved in many very substantial refund cases over the years, and we have prepared a geographical map of the companies where the most significant refunds have been obtained due to the charging structure of these water companies. Dealing with one particular charging tariff five water companies in particular levy the highest charges for the collection and disposal of rainwater, each water company had a different charge mechanism. Starting with Business Stream the incumbent water supplier in Scotland, they have a 2 part charge based on the rateable value of the site, a business will normally have a high rateable value, this figure is used to calculate the property drainage and roads drainage charges, obviously the higher the rateable value the higher the charges.
If your a retail business, virtually without exception your property and roads drainage charges will be higher than your metered water bills, Scottish Water Business Stream do not systematically check these charges, amazing isn’t it, instead they reply on their customers to check the charges and ensure they are correct. We calculate 7 out of 10 commercial customers in Scotland are being overcharged and be aware they do not refund all the overcharges only 5 years as they claim Statute of Limitations, so my advice is to: –
* Check your rateable value, if it is lower than the RV on your bill you could be entitled to reduced charges going forwards and a 5 year refund.
* Check where your rainwater drains to off site, are you next to a water course i.e. river, canal or burn? if all of the rainwater enters the water course you may be entitled to reduced charges going forwards and a 5 year refund.
If you can answer yes to any of the check off points then my advise is to enlist an expert water consultant to assess the information and if necessary make a claim on your behalf. Yes you will have to pay a fee from the proceeds of any refund but you will always be well in front with the balance of the refund and charges going forwards.
The other companies we list on the map are: –
* Northumbrian Water (northeast)
* United Utilities (north west)
* Severn Trent Water (midlands)
* South Staffordshire Water.
These companies base their rainwater collection and disposal charges on site area, preferring to move away from the rateable value method of charging, the site boundary is measured using off-site software programmes such as Promap and Ordnance Survey maps, none of the water companies visit customers sites to check the site areas measurements which by our estimates 7 out of 10 bills are levied incorrect, nor indeed do they check whether the rainwater discharges to a water course rather than the sewer system. The water companies will tell you it is for the customer to ensure the bills are correct before paying them, thereby absolving themselves apparently from any responsibility to ensure charges levied are correct.
The best course of action is if your company is supplied water from any of these water companies get them checked out for free by sending them too graham.mann@h2obuildingservices.co.uk or call 0845 658 0958.
