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An investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has found that the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham overcharged 58 tenants by more than £38,000 on their water bills between April 2008 and March 2013.
Following a complaint about the lack of meters in council-owned homes, an investigation by the LGO found that the council had been charging residents more than it had paid Thames Water for its supply. This contravened the Water Resale Order, which sets out rules to protect tenants who pay for water bills through their landlords.
Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin said she hoped the report would highlight to other councils the importance of complying with the Water Resale Order by clearly explaining to tenants how it calculates their water rates when it demands payment.
An unnamed woman who brought about the investigation had complained that the council refused to provide individual water meters even though residents had asked for them.
Thames Water, which supported their requests told Utility Week it always tried to fit a meter when it could and that the case “highlighted the importance of metering and it being a fairer way to pay for what you use”.
In April 2010, the woman complained to the council that, rather than paying the Thames Water assessed household charge for an unmetered property of £175, she was paying a yearly charge of £332.80.
The LGO did not find fault with the council’s decision not to provide individual water meters but ordered it to refund all residents who have been overcharged after it failed to comply with the Water Resale Order.
The council has also been told to review how it collects water charges from council tenants across the borough.
Cllr Andrew Johnson, H&F cabinet member for housing, said: “I can only sincerely apologise to the residents who have been overcharged for water and I want to reiterate that the council is absolutely committed to sorting this out so that everyone pays for the water they use.
“It is clear that the system for apportioning water bills for these homes, which we inherited from the now defunct ALMO, was not fit for purpose. Historically, overall we have been charging tenants less for water than the council is charged by Thames Water with some people paying too much and some people paying too little.”
Johnson said the housing department would undertake “a thorough review of what went wrong” but warned that some tenants’ bills could go up next year as a result of the Ombudsman’s ruling.
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