1. What happens if I disagree with the amount shown on my bill?
Contact us as soon as you can, and no later than 7 days prior to the payment due date, to let us know the amount in dispute and the reasons why you disagree with the amount. Any amount not in dispute must be paid in full by the payment due date shown on the bill. See question 2 if you have a consolidated bill i.e. a single bill which links together multiple sites into one account.
In addition, you must also pay 75% of the disputed element (not 75% of the full bill) by the payment due date, whilst we investigate. For example, invoice = £1000, water charges of £400 are in dispute. 75% of £400 = £300 payable plus the remaining £600 which is not in dispute. Total to be paid by payment due date = £900.
If you raise a dispute for a bill after the payment due date, payment is due in full whilst we investigate.
If we confirm that the amount billed is correct following our investigation, the remaining 25% must be paid within 7 calendar days of our confirmation to you. If we confirm that you've been overcharged, we'll provide a credit to your account.
If our investigation confirms an issue with the meter, meter read or billing, we may at our discretion retain the right to consider an arrangement where you will pay the amount on your last correct bill until our billing system has been corrected. Once our billing has been corrected, any under or over payments will be corrected.
2. What happens if I disagree with the amount shown on my bill and I have a consolidated bill?
Contact us as soon as you can, and no later than 14 calendar days from the invoice date, to let us know the amount in dispute and the reasons why you disagree with the amount. A consolidated bill is a bill which links together multiple sites into one account. Because of the more complex nature of this type of billing, which has a main ‘parent’ account (for example, the Head Office of a business) and other ‘child’ accounts (for example, offices, depots, shops) linked together, you will need to pay in full whilst we investigate. You cannot withhold payment even if you dispute the amount. After we've investigated, if we confirm that you've been overcharged, we'll provide a credit to your account. If we confirm that you've been undercharged, we'll either provide you with a further invoice for the undercharged amount or add the undercharge to your next invoice.
3. What should I do if I’m moving out of a premises?
Contact us as soon as you're aware, and no later than 7 calendar days after you've moved out. You'll need to provide us with your forwarding address and contact details so that you can receive your final bill. If you can provide us with a meter read this will help us to provide a final bill to you quickly. If you don’t notify us within 7 calendar days or you don’t notify us at all and we establish from our own enquiries that you're no longer the occupant of the premises, then you may be liable for any charges, bills, losses, costs and other fees for that premises until you have provided us with proof (and that we're reasonably satisfied with the proof) that you've moved out or such time that we can establish and bill the new occupant or billable entity. Such costs may include the fees we incur in identifying occupancy. Proof can include documents such as a final utilities bill or business rates bill or evidence that your business has been wound down (depending on your circumstances we may require further documentary proof and if that is the case we'll of course let you know what documents are required as proof).
4. What should I do if I’m moving into a premises?
Contact us as soon as you're aware, and no later than 7 calendar days after you've moved in. We'll then set you up on our systems and begin billing you. If you don’t notify us within 7 calendar days then you may be liable for any charges, bills, losses, costs and other fees for that premises from the date the last bill was paid, the date the previous occupant moved out or the date when usage was last recorded at that premises. Such costs may include the fees we incur in identifying occupancy. You must provide us with proof of the date you moved in. Proof can include documents such as a lease in addition to a utilities or business rates bill (depending on your circumstances we may require further documentary proof and if that is the case, we'll let you know what documents are required as proof).
5. I’m a landlord in England, do I need to let you know when there is a change of tenancy?
Yes, you should contact us as soon as you're aware to let us know the name of the new tenant, and no later than 7 calendar days after the change of tenancy. If you don’t notify us and we've been unable to bill the new tenant (or occupier) then you may be liable for charges, bills, losses, costs and other fees for that premises from the date the last bill was paid, up to and including such time that we can establish and bill the new tenant or occupier. Such costs may include the fees we incur in identifying occupancy. We may need documentary evidence of your tenant (or you) moving in and out, if that is the case, we will let you know what documents are required as proof. You should be aware that even if a premises is vacant, charges can still be incurred.
6. I have applied for an allowance (for example, in respect of a leak or water used for firefighting) so why should I pay in full?
Allowances are decided by Wholesalers and not by Wave. Each Wholesaler has its own policy and timescales and many will allow an allowance where prescribed conditions are met. We'll make an application to the Wholesaler on your behalf after liaising with you as to why an allowance is required. You must comply with the relevant timescales, otherwise the application may be invalidated.
We're required to pay Wholesale charges to Wholesalers in full, and where an allowance is granted, the Wholesaler will adjust the Wholesale charges accordingly. For this reason, you're required to pay charges to us in full, and where an allowance is granted by the Wholesaler, we will apply a corresponding adjustment to our charges to you. We'll apply the same effective date as the Wholesaler, which could be backdated.
7. What if I use a Third Party Intermediary (TPI) to act on my behalf?
You'll need to provide us with a Letter of Authority (LOA) which is on your company letterhead (or if you are a sole trader, in your business name), signed by a named contact on your account, providing the name and details of the third party you have appointed, has a start date and an expiry date and makes it clear that you've authorised the third party to liaise and/or act on your behalf. It's your responsibility to ensure that your LOA is within date, valid and clearly states the level of authority you want to provide a third party.
- If your LOA states Utilities – water is included in this and does not need to be added.
- If your LOA states electric and or gas as specifics, this will not be accepted for water as it only covers the two services mentioned.
- A Letter of Authority usually lasts for 12 months, unless a specific amount of time is advised. If it states "until further notice" we will have to ask for a new one after 12 months.
Once we are in receipt of your LOA and the correct level of authority has been granted, we will be happy to interact with your TPI, but our contract is ultimately with you as our customer and you're ultimately responsible for meeting your obligations.
You need to ensure that your TPI is fully aware of our timescales and that they have processes and communications in place with you to ensure delays do not occur. For example, if you wish to dispute your bill, your TPI will need to let us know the amount in dispute and the reasons why you disagree with the amount, no later than the payment due date. If your TPI raises a dispute after the payment due date, payment is due in full whilst we investigate. In the event that delays, or non-payment occur, we reserve the right to contact you directly and you are obligated to respond and resolve the issue. You may be in breach of your contract if you refuse to liaise directly with us. If you wish to withdraw your authority with your TPI you must notify us as soon as possible.
8. Why would a Wholesaler or Retailer (or their authorised employees, subcontractors or agents) need safe and unobstructed access to my premises?
As a Retailer, we are obligated to read your meter(s) and therefore we (and our authorised employees, subcontractors and agents) need safe and unobstructed access in order to do so.
Wholesalers are responsible for maintaining all pipework from the boundary of your premises including the water meter and therefore Wholesalers (and their authorised employees, subcontractors and agents) need safe and unobstructed access to fix and (where necessary) replace broken meter(s).
In an emergency, such as a burst main, flooding event or pollution incident, Wholesalers may need access to your premises to mitigate damage to your property and minimize the impact on public water supplies and waste services.
9. How do I get notified of a change to the Deemed Contract?
Our website will highlight when changes are made to our Deemed Contract, aiming to give you 28 days prior notice before they come into effect. When Wholesalers update their Wholesale charges, we update our default tariffs accordingly also aiming to give you 28 days prior notice before they come into effect. Updates typically come into effect on 1 April each year. Wholesale charges are payable irrespective of which Retailer you choose, so if you choose to switch to another Retailer, there will be no impact on the level of Wholesale charges you pay.
10. What happens when I switch away to another Retailer?
To ensure you receive a correct final bill, you should check that your new Retailer has taken a meter read (known as a ‘Transfer Read’) and submitted it to the market within the prescribed timescales. Currently the market prescribes that a meter read must be taken by your new Retailer within a window from 2 business days before the switch to 7 business days after the switch and must be submitted to the market within 8 business days of the read being taken. This ‘Transfer Read’ will also help you receive a correct first bill and experience a smooth transition of switching between Retailers. If your new Retailer does not provide the market with a transfer meter read, we will have to calculate an estimate. You can help improve the accuracy of this estimate by providing us with a meter read.
