Commercial Water Supply - Bill sent to wrong address
How does Resolver work?
Free forever
Resolver is free. Just raise a case and leave feedback after. Simple! We’ve helped millions of people find a resolution. Get started now and let’s get this sorted.
Know your rights
There’s no jargon in our rights guides. Instead, they’re full of the info you need to get things sorted. We’ll always be on hand with guidance and support to help you get the results you’re looking for.
Get your voice heard
You can be certain that you’re talking to the right person at the right time. We automatically connect you to contacts at thousands of household names, ombudsmen and regulators to find a resolution.
- Your water retailer should issue at least one accurate bill each year which uses a meter reading where the supply is metered – although there's no requirement for a meter reading to be used in order for a bill to be valid.
- If the bill has been sent to the wrong address, you should contact your water retailer as soon as possible.
- If you put your request in writing, you should expect your water retailer to respond to your query within 10 working days.
- Your retailer may not agree to send your bill to an address outside the United Kingdom and may instead send the bill to the supply address.
If you experience an issue with your water company, use Resolver to send your complaint to them. Most companies have a two stage procedure for resolving written complaints and they are required to provide a full written response within 10 working days of receiving your complaint. If your company does not do this, then they may need to make you a payment under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme.
Guaranteed service standards (GSS)
All customers of water and sewerage companies are entitled to guaranteed minimum standards of service, as laid down by the government. These rights are known as the guaranteed standards scheme (GSS). Where a company fails to meet any of these standards of service, then it is required to make a specified payment to the affected customer.
If you think you are entitled to compensation you have to make a claim within 3 months of the incident.
Exceptions - the GSS may not apply under circumstances outside of the supplier's control (such as extreme weather, strike action and other events that couldn't be reasonably predicted).
Suspecting a leak
If your bill is high and you suspect it is because you have a leak on your property, you should report it to your water company.
Supply pipe leaks are the customer’s responsibility. Your company will normally help you find and fix the leak for free, or at a subsidised cost, if it is the first time you have reported a leak. Subject to certain conditions, the company is also required to reduce your bill to take account of the extra water you have used because of a supply-pipe leak.
Water quality issues
If you have concerns over water quality issues, you can contact the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) on 0300 068 6400.
Local environment
If your issue is with your local environment then the main contact is the Environment Agency, you can phone the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506.
If your issue is not resolved
If your Water Company in England and Wales cannot resolve your issue then you have the right to escalate your case to the Consumer Council for Water. The Consumer Council for Water is an independent organisation that represents consumers’ interests. Any household or non-household customer of a water and sewerage or water only company can complain to Consumer Council. It has powers to investigate most of the complaints you may have about your company’s services. You can find more information about Consumer Council on its website, www.ccwater.org.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response from the Consumer Council for Water then you can ask to have your case appealed.
The role of Ofwat
Ofwat will deal with certain customer complaints but your case has to have been responded to by your water company and must remain unresolved before the CCW will look at it. The issues that they will handle include:
- Laying and maintaining pipes on private land
- Anti-competitive behaviour
- Breaking of licence conditions
Find the best rights for you
We have 5,116 pages of rights advice for you covering 10,936 companies and organisations across 16 public & private sectors. Feel free to browse companies for this specific issue - they're all listed below - but the quickest way to find the best rights for you is by using our unique Rights Finder to access our extensive database of advice.
Start by telling us the name of the company or organisation you have an issue with.
Who do you have an issue with?
Helping you with Bill sent to wrong address
Resolver covers the issue Bill Sent To Wrong Address for 6 companies and organisations: