Overcharged on Water Bills: How to Claim?

Q.

We have been overcharged for 18 years on our water bills. The utility company makes no effort to deny this, but will only pay back 6 years' overcharges. I can understand that it may be unreasonable to expect companies to keep records for longer than 6 years and this might account for the Statute of Limitation which they are hiding behind. We have the bills however, to prove the overcharging. Can the company legitimately refuse to pay in this situation?

A.

Disputes Over Time Limits

Times limits for reclaiming overcharges have often been disputed by companies and the customers who are reclaiming their payments. Regulating bodies do have different guidelines on how many years a customer can reclaim overpayments. For instance, where bank charges are concerned the usual reclaim limit is six years. However the Financial Services Ombudsman has stated that there is no time limit on how far back claims can be made. There is a lot of conflicting information on time limits when reclaiming overcharges. If a customer is reclaiming they should aim for as high a period as possible, in your case 18 years.

The Complaints Procedure

As you have already contacted your water company about your water bill overcharges and are still not satisfied the next step will be to go higher up the complaints chain. Before the next step is taken make sure that the water company is aware that you are unhappy with their attempt at resolving the matter. This contact should be addressed to a more senior member of the water company. Regulatory offices will not deal with complaints until some form of attempt at resolving the matter has been made between the customer and the company.

Water Company Regulators

If a senior member of staff has reviewed your water bill overcharging and you are still not satisfied with the outcome it will be time to contact the regulating bodies. In the case of water companies the route to take will be the Consumer Council for Water. The CCWater committee will be the next in line to deal with the dispute between customers and the water company. The CCW is an independent organisation that will investigate complaints regarding water companies and their services are free to use.

CCW and Ofwat

When contacting the CCW make sure to fully explain the grievance and send all necessary documentation with the complaint. For more information about complaints handled by the CCW go to their website at www.ccwater.org.uk. Another useful contact will be the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat). Both will be able to give a great deal of advice and information on complaints and disputes with water companies.

Small Claims Court

A final course of action to the dispute may be to take the matter to the small claims court. This would usually be a last resort and will only apply when claiming £5000 or less. The small claims court is designed to be easy to use, inexpensive, and a solicitor is not required although it may be useful to obtain legal information. Contact the HM Court Service in England and Wales or the Scottish Courts in Scotland for the full small claims court process.