How to read your bill

If you need help reading your bill, find out what each section means.

The bill below shows what a metered customer who pays by Direct Debit will receive. Learn more about how Direct Debit payments work.

Most of our customers have a meter and pay by Direct Debit, but If you don’t have one and/or pay in a different way, your bill may look slightly different in certain areas.

An example of a water bill showing amount due and your payment plan

Customer number

Your customer number is a unique number that has been assigned to your account. You may need to quote this number if you call us or submit a form online.

Payment reference

If you want to make a payment online or by phone, you will need to quote this number to ensure the payment is allocated to your account. Direct Debit customers will need to quote it if they want to make an ad hoc payment.

Total due

This is your balance at the end of the billing period. If your balance has ‘CR’ after it, you are in credit. If this amount is over £50 at the end of the billing period, we will fully refund it. Anything below £50 will roll over to the next billing period. A negative balance means you owe that amount. Please contact us to discuss this.

Your payment plan

If you pay by Direct Debit, your payment plan will show your next and future payments throughout the billing period. If you would like us to review your payment amounts or preferred payment date, please contact us.

Payment amounts

If you're on a meter, we may adjust how much you pay based on your usage, the balance on your account, and any changes to our charges. If you’re not on a meter, your water usage will not affect your bill.

Example of a water bill showing total

Account summary

This section shows your previous balance and total payments made to date. This is used to calculate the amount brought forward, which will act as credit for your next bill

Daily water usage

This section shows your average daily usage per day in litres in comparison to your previous bill and the same period last year.

Water use

Your water use is calculated by working out the difference between your previous meter reading and your most recent reading, showing you the total cubic meters used for that billing period.

Total charges

If you have a meter, this figure is calculated based on how much water you have used plus your sewerage charges for the billing period. If you do not have a meter, this figure will most likely be based on the rateable value of your property.

Example of a water bill

Detailed account statement

This table shows a detailed breakdown of the payments you have made since your last bill.

More help with your bill

Unusually high bill

There is often a simple reason why your bill or meter reading is higher than usual. Find out some of the common causes.

Our charges

View our current charges for both metered and unmetered customers.

Bill increases

With household costs rising due to the current economic situation, we thought it would be helpful to explain what's happening with water bills so you can plan.