Just a rant - United utilities

[gyzmo]

Got a reminder letter from these as my flatmate had forgotten to pay the water bill. Letter dated 25th April, which was received on the 5th May. Paid water bill online the day after. The day after that, I received another letter from them saying that the full amount is now payable as the last request for payment (pay half yearly) was not met. This was accompanied by a solicitors letter threatening court action, their (rather exhorbitant) fees etc. This letter said I must pay within 7 days of the date stated on the letter. It was dated the 2nd May and was received on the 10th.

So called UU to advise that I had made the payment originally due, and to ask them to please recall their solicitors off.

But no. Once an account goes past a certain date, I was told, and payment was not made, then there was nothing that they could do. They couldn't amend their records, or change the circumstances. The computer simply would not allow it. On asking for a supervisor, I was put on hold, and I am not kidding, was told:

"Just spoke to my supervisor and he said that there is nothing we can do". On asking to speak to the supervisor I was told "There aren't any here at this time of day [5 pm]."

After a few more seconds of bulls**t I hung up and called again to get someone who seemed to have a brain and advised properly (ignore letter, payment made, problem with our letters getting out late, don't worry). But I have to call again to make sure that the payment was received.

Fair enough, but why on earth do these companies release such dimwits onto the public? Do they have a marking system (do you breathe?) to determine if people are capable of representing them?

I really do despair. Will keep you updated. I am expecting, but not hoping for, a long and sorry saga. Otherwise, I will eat my cat's leftovers

[ShootMePlz]

I have much more fun with UU. In 2006/2007 I have had service issues stemming from low water preasure, from 0.4 to 0.7 BAR, they are required to supply 1 BAR min preasure. I have it in writing from them that there is was a local problem in the area and that my pressure had been reduced until they could resolve the fault, this took them 9 months. I am luckier than most in the area as I own a water cooler company and have pressure monitoring devices that record the water pressure 4 times a day. So I am currently locked into battle with them about the service issues, as they have invoiced for the service and not supplied it.

Quote from UU website

"We will maintain your water pressure at a minimum of 7 metres static head.
If you inform us that your water pressure has fallen substantially below this and we identify that your water was below 7 metres static head for at least 1 hour, twice in a period of 28 consecutive days, you can claim compensation of £50 (payable once in any year). This does not apply if the drop in pressure is because of a burst, planned work we are doing on our water mains, or because of problems with your own pipework".

So when does it apply is what I want to know as they can turn down the pressure at anytime in any area, Plan works for however many months time and not even have to reduce what they charge.

[missphoenix]

UU are ridiculous. I received a letter from them a few months ago telling me I owe them over £200 for a property I haven't lived in for 2 years! I ignored the letter and received another one a few weeks ago, this time from their Solicitors asking me to pay within 7 days.
I contacted UU about it and asked how they can charge me as i don't live in that property anymore, and the guy told me it was an error in their system and they've been sending bills out to ppl by mistake for old addresses!!
They're a joke!

[gyzmo]

Just phoned back and, praise the lord, got through to someone sensible who confirmed my payment and called off the rottweillers, sorry, solicitors.

[ShootMePlz]

Lucky you!!!

I want them to take me to court however lol

[Finalreminder]

I havent paid a water bill since...well...ever, in 20 years.
Just never had a bill.

Not that Im complaining.

[curtlyb]

Originally Posted by ShootMePlz

Lucky you!!!

I want them to take me to court however lol

Hi ShootMePlz,

We've a similar problem to yours, low pressure/flow means that it takes 35mins to run a bath, combi-boiler is starting to malfunction and the shower is useless because there isn't enough cold water to cool the water from the hot water tank.

Are these measuring devices expensive and available on the market ?

Has anyone taken these companies to court before for pressure/flow problems ?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

thinking of stopping my direct debits now to try and create some sort of reaction as their complaints procedure is non-existant

[gyzmo]

If it's relevant, contact your Trading Standards department if you think that you are not being charged correctly. The Weights and Measures officers can perform a (free) reference test of your water supply and determine if there are any problems with billing. The process takes about an hour or so, and you will need to ensure that you have some water stored beforehand, as you will not be able to use your water during the test.

[ShootMePlz]

The first thing you should do is contact UU direct first with a service issue complaint, they will then arrange for 1 of there inspectors to call round and check the pressure on the system, they try to do this on an outside tap wherever they can as these tend to be cut into the Kitchen supply which is normally the first thing supplied after the inlet to your house. You have to give then first crack at the whip to find the fault and resolve it. Also this may sound crazy, but if you dont have a water meter you can ask then to fit it. They have to do a full pressure test to make sure the meter will work correctly. Now at anytime in the first 12 Months you can ask for it to be removed and they have to remove it. After 12 months its in for good, so if you find youself saving money they worth having. As for pressure monitoring devices you can get a manual 1 for around £15 however you would have to record all the info yourself. Not sure on how these would stand up in court however as they would be your own results. Ask other around you, not just next door but up and down the street if they are having problems, if so all send a letter to UU in the same envelope Recored Delivery of course.

[nish40]

Gyzmo, ive had that line, you know "theres no supervisors here" so i asked the muppet on the phone to put me in touch with the person who locks up when they close, the idiot said they all do lol, one thing i would like to know is that, if they dont put you on to a supervisor or higher when you ask, is there anything that we can threaten them with for not doing so?

[gyzmo]

Well I used to work in a call centre and I hated it when people asked to speak to a supervisor for the following reasons:

1. The supervisor did not want to speak to the customer at all
2. the supervisor would not know what they are talking about even if they did speak to the customer
3. The supervisor, in my case, did not have the necessary authority to do what the customer demanded

the whole thing was pointless. the line "no supervisors available" is just an excuse for one of the above three points