Licensee in warning to trade over water charges

Peter Doyle, of the Wheatsheaf Hotel, has been refunded £900 by his supplier, Severn Trent, but this falls short of the six years’ worth of additional charges he feels he is owed.

Doyle contacted Severn Trent in September 2011 to query a charge on his bill for water drainage and was told this was based on the size of his property, which the firm said was between 1,000 and 1,049sq m.

However, he called out a surveyor to check the actual size of the property, which is 481sq m. Doyle had been paying £770 per year for water usage, when he should have been paying £248 — a difference of £522 a year.

He believes he is owed more than £3,000 dating back to 15 August 2005 when he entered the pub.

Doyle contacted the local council’s water regulatory board and the water regulator Ofwat, but was told refunds can only be issued for usage as far back as the start of the last financial year, 1 April 2011.

“I am baffled as to where they got the original assessment,” said Doyle.

“It is important other licensees find out before this April if they are being overcharged so at least they can be refunded back for a year.

“We run a small five-bedroom hotel and are working 60 to 70 hours per week. We do not have the time to check every bill.”
Severn Trent told the PMA it inherited the measurements for the Wheatsheaf from the local authority and that it was not something the company checked.

A spokesman said: “We are disappointed to hear a customer is unhappy with our services and charges.

“We will refund any overcharges back to 1 April in the year of the claim. This policy has been agreed with our regulators.”