Can you change water suppliers?

[megfitz]

I have dicovered that friends in the same village are paying a quarter of what I pay for Dirty water ( sewage).Is it possible to change Water companies??. If so how do I do it??
I do have separate companies for supply and sewage, but the sewage Company charge me 90% of the clean water bill which I've already paid for going in to the house.... so I think I'm paying twice for the same water!!
Any advice/help /explanations appreciated. Thanks

[dzug2]

Are your friends connected to the mains? Or do thay pay a private company to come and take the stuff away in a tanker?

[megfitz]

We all have Mains water and sewage suppliers .

[MASS1961]

Have a word with the friends, what/who do they use?
Would using the same company for supply and sewerage be cheaper?

I would think to change you would only need to contact your preferred supplier and they would do the rest, like electric or gas suppliers.

[boxtops]

We have one company for the incoming water supply, and another for the dirty removal, drains etc. It's not the same water (well it is, but the "out" water is after you've used it!) - the dirty cost is based on my usage of the incoming water. One in, one out - they have to charge you based on usage, it wouldn't be reasonable otherwise.

[stoofur]

I don't think you can change water suppliers. Are you on a water meter? The charge is based on the water you use. If you are not on a meter then this is an estimated value. It could be worth asking for a meter to be fitted.

[buildersmate]

No, you can't change your water supplier. Rarely, there may be just a few communities in the UK on the very edge of supply regions where overlap occurs and 2 companies are available to you.
If your supply is metered, charges are based on actual usage; if you are not it is based upon a notional RV.
If you are unconnected to the sewer, your disposal costs are based on any tanker operator charges, who you specifically request to pump out your septic tank. If you are connected, the charge is based on an assumed percentage of what is supplied goes back down the sewer; 90% is a very common assumption. You cannot normally renegotiate this figure unless you can demonstrate that you use a significant amount of water on the land - for example, a garden centre business.

[johnny37]

Are you on a meter? My charges dropped by half when I went on to metering. Also there are various concessions you can get to reduce the sewerage charge still further. I pay 84% of the supply charge. The starting point is 90% based on the fact that you use 10% for the garden, cleaning the car, etc. There is a reduction if you have soakaways (rainwater from your roof does not go into the drains). I think I also have a reduction because I have a pond. There may be others. Talk to your water supplier and your waste water service to see how you can reduce usage and charges. Ive always found them very helpful.

[megfitz]

Thanks for all the info. yes we are on a meter (since April) What upsets me is we pay £2 per sq. metre for dirty water while our friends ( a street or two away) with Thames Water pay 0.60p. per sq. metre, and I want to switch if possible .

[johnny37]

There should not be that much difference. Check both bills again (and your neighbour next door) and ring the water company if you are really paying over three times more. You may have been given incorrect info.

[buildersmate]

According to Thames Water's pricing information, customers for metered waste water pay 64.73p per cubic metre of disposal during 2012/13. That of course is calculated having factored-in the percentage as we mentioned above - typically 90% of the amount supplied.
We don't know where you live (nor need to know), but £2 per cubic metre disposal charge does indeed sound horrendous. There are a number of small water companies in the 'rural ring' around the north and west of London and I suspect you are with one of those.

You can interrogate Thames Water's postcode system here to see if they can deal with you - though I suspect this is going to involve a phone call if you are that close to the boundary between regions.
http://www.thameswate...k/moving-home/605.htm

Whilst I said earlier that there may be some overlap between suppliers on the boundaries of 'competing' companies (and I use that term very loosely), I think this may only apply to water supply, not disposal. The implication of having dual sewers on the edges doesn't really seem practical.

It would be interesting to know who this expensive company is.

[megfitz]

Thanks for all the info. our expensive sewage company is Southern water.
Sorry for the gap..been away on holiday.