A WOMAN has hit out at her utility provider after receiving a water bill amounting to nearly £1,000 for six months’ usage.
Carla Francome slammed Thames Water yesterday for the eye-watering charges for her North London home.
Her bill was five times as much as the same period in the previous year, which is the equivalent of over 1,000,000 cups of tea or over 4,100 showers, and a third of her monthly wages after tax.
The 46-year-old marketing manager says she contacted the company asking them to investigate it but received no reply and instead just had the money “swiped” from her account.
Carla’s four-person household has been with Thames Water for six years and had previously had no issues with them.
After the payment was taken, she contacted them again and was informed they had fitted a meter and decided that the previous two bills were too low, resulting in a shortfall charge.
However, this was not explained in the bill, nor was the source for their figures.
Carla and her family are now shelling out for a plumber to find any leaks that may be adding to the problem and are keeping a close eye on the meter to see if it goes up without them using any water.
Carla’s post to social media reads: “The absolute state of Thames Water.
“I got our bill through recently for a 6-month period (20 Feb – 14 August 2024) and it’s a tenner shy of a thousand pounds.
“A thousand pounds for six months water. Seriously, who can afford this sort of thing? We gave them a call and asked them to look into it.
“But no-one came, we didn’t hear back and they just swiped the money from our account.
“How the heck are people supposed to be affording this sort of thing for them and their family? Our bill for the same period last year was £205.88.
“How has it gone up by five times? And why did they take the money before looking into it?
“Perhaps there’s been a miscalculation, perhaps there’s a problem with the meter, perhaps there’s a leaky pipe, but they didn’t bother checking, they just took the money. “We’ve not changed our water use, but apparently we’ve used enough water in 6 months for a million cups of tea or 4,000 showers.
“Given the price of food at the moment, mortgages and rent going up, and 6 months of water being a grand, I wonder how people are supposed to afford to live.
“This water bill for 6 months is a third of the monthly wages I get after tax. Oh and by the way their CEO earns around £2.3m a year.
“So as long as he can have nice holidays that’s all that matters isn’t it.”
She added pictures of the offending bill, which also contained a faux-cheery message which read: “Your water use is quite a bit higher than last time… have you checked for a leaky loo or dripping tap?”
Her post has since received over 230 likes and more than 79 comments from Brits keen to share their take on the situation.
One wrote: “Welcome to private water. And they charge you extra for sewage to go into the rivers.”
Another said: “They are incompetent. They just stopped using my direct debit details and didn’t send any invoices or correspondence for a year or so.
“Asked them to investigate why they didn’t take payments. Met with silence until their debt collector letters started coming regularly.”
A third joked: “The fat cat shareholders need their payout. How else will they afford their new Range Rovers- have a heart.”
A fourth commented: “Ex Thames Water billing person here (mid-90s, before they became corporate shysters).
“A spike in water usage like that very much looks like a leak on your side of the meter. Some advice below. Hope you get it sorted.”
Another added: “Equally if there’s a sudden change in somebody’s use, they should get in touch.
“Have you installed a swimming pool? Taken a lodger? Started hosting water births? If not, you may have a leak. We’ll come and check it out.”
Speaking today, Carla said: “I think it’s outrageous that Thames Water can go around charging people nearly £1,000 for 6 months water, and even after a worried phone call from us, think it’s okay to just take the money from our account.
“I don’t think they care about their customers, we’re the ‘little people’. Thames Water must think they’re providing liquid gold for the amount they’re charging us. It’s a disgrace.
“Recently our mortgage has gone up by £700 a month and food costs a fortune.
“I bought four nice sized apples the other day in Tesco, and they were £3.20- how are people supposed to afford to live when the basics are this much?”
Thames Water has been contacted for comment.
