Business Water services for commercial premises.

The water industry in England and Wales is a series of regional monopolies with exceptional statutory powers to charge you simply because you are in their territory. A typical water company would charge for incoming water supply, sewerage, and a range of charges relating to property and roads (disposal of surface water from your property and the surrounding roads).

Research shows that 20% of water bills have an error of some kind and dependent on circumstances, this is leaving business consumers out of pocket by tens of thousands of pounds per year. Most notably overcharges are often undetectable to the untrained eye, which is where our expertise proves invaluable in saving our clients’ money on their water bills. LSI ensures that you only pay for the services you actually receive from your water company and not the services they say you receive from them. There is a big difference between the two!

We believe there is a need for a complete water services package and therefore our ancillary services include:-

• Water Smart Metres

• Full leak detection and repair services

• Water benchmarking

• Water harvesting and abstraction solutions

• Water limiting devises

All ancillary services are charged on an agreed cost basis.

Appeals Process

Should we identify charging discrepancies as a result of our investigations, the water companies require that the official appeals process is followed. These appeals can be highly technical, complex and have to be to the water companies’ satisfaction this is why it is beneficial using a specialist water provider.

It is important to understand that UK water companies will only refund in line with their policy (usually 1 year) unless there is compelling evidence why refunds should be extended – this is where we can help.

Our appeals service is charged on a completely no win no fee basis which give our clients the peace of mind that fees are only payable upon a successful appeal. Examples of refunds achieved/savings identified to date include –

4* UK Hotel Chain

City centre property was being charged by the water company for services from which it had never benefitted. Total refund achieved = £33,000 and an on-going annual saving of £6,000

Commercial Property Management Agency

An investigation on a business and leisure complex based in the West Midlands revealed duplicate charging resulting in a refund (in excess of 6 years) of £55,000 and an annual on-going saving of £7,000

National pharmaceutical manufacturer, distributor and retailer

An historical water investigation identified multiple charging errors where both the historic rateable value and current surface water drainage charges had been applied incorrectly by the water company which resulted in a refund of £333,000

For more information on historical water investigations and advice on how we can negotiate cheaper water bills or if you have concerns over charges relating to surface water/ highways drainage, metered water supply, trade effluent and associated sewerage charges then please contact water@lsiutilitybroker.co.uk or telephone 01727 877020 and ask to speak to your LSI Account Manager.