Understand your bill

Charges are calculated based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus an additional amount to enable us to fund particular investments into our assets. Our regulator, Ofwat, determines what this amount should be. 

If you have a water meter, you are only charged for the water you use (in cubic metres) and will receive a bill twice a year. 

A water meter work by monitoring how much water flows through it from the water main into your home - it is considered to be the fairest way to pay for water. 

If you do not have a water meter, you'll be charged for your water based on the 'Rateable Value' which is the annual rental value of your property set out by Inland Revenue in 1990, which we are required to use for customers who are not on a water meter. We use your RV to calculate your bill with this calculation:

The Standing Charge helps to maintain the pipes that deliver clean water to your home and take wastewater away. It also includes a £6 contribution to our Government and customer-backed Water Support Scheme. 

To help customers facing severe financial hardship who need additional support with their bills, £6 from your Standing Charge directly funds our Water Support Scheme which provides a reduction to the water bills of customers who are eligible for the scheme i.e. those on low income thresholds or receive certain means tested benefits, as well customers who are as disabled and/or elderly. 

If you have a query about your bill, you can call, email or write to us – just make sure you have your six or eight-digit customer account number available. If you are calling from outside the UK, please dial +44 1737 772000.

If you paid by cheque, make sure you have the cheque number available and the date it was sent to us. For any online or direct debit payment queries, it's a good idea to have your bank statements available.

If you move into a property that has a water meter, we will send your first bill within 10 working days of you letting us know you are the new occupier.  The bill will show the meter standing charge calculated pro rata to either the end of September or the end of March - depending on when you moved in. Consumption charges will be added on your next bill once we have read the water meter.

For properties without water meters, we will look to see if we are able to fit a water meter as part of our Change of Occupancy Metering programme. If we are unable to fit a water meter, your first bill will state what you owe from the date you moved in until the end of March in the same billing year. If we are able to fit a water meter then you will receive a combined bill with 'unmeasured' charges for the period up until the meter was fitted, and meter standing charges from then onwards.