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Who is my water supplier?
Are you struggling to locate a recent water bill and unsure who to pay? You’re not alone! Water suppliers typically only send bills once a year, often using an unreliable postal service.
This guide will help you identify your water supplier, in it, we cover:
Finding my water supplier
Figuring out who your water supplier is can be more complicated than you think. Your water supplier is the company that bills you for water and provides a customer service department if anything goes wrong.
In the British Water Industry, the identity of your water supplier depends on your type of property, as follows:
- Homes – Either your local water company or wastewater company. In the UK, there are 17 regional water companies. Here’s a map from Ofwat.
- Businesses and other non-domestic properties – One of about 20 licensed business water suppliers.
How do you find out who your water supplier is?
Here’s our quick list of ways to determine your water supplier, starting with the easiest.
Check your water bill
Whether you are a household, company, or other entity, your water supplier will be the company that sends you bills and asks for payment.
Check your direct debit
Most homes and businesses pay for their water bills automatically via direct debit. You can refer to a bank statement to see who you pay for your water.
Water UK tool
Water UK has provided an online tool to help you find your local water company using your postcode. Note that this only works for households, not businesses.
What’s the difference between a water company and a water supplier?
A water company is an organisation that owns and operates the regional water and sewerage networks. They are responsible for supplying clean water and removing and treating wastewater. These local water companies are the suppliers to homes in their region.
In contrast, a business water supplier does not operate the water network. It provides customer service, takes water meter readings, and bills its customers. A licensed business water supplier can have customers across the country.
The flowchart below summarises this situation:
Why do I have different suppliers in different locations?
Businesses with properties nationwide often find that several different water suppliers are billing them. This situation creates unnecessary work for your accounts payable team and makes it difficult to understand and analyse your water costs. But why does it happen?
Upon the deregulation of the water market in April 2017, the supply of water services was transferred from the local water company to the default business water supplier for that region. So, if your business has many different properties, you may be billed by many different water suppliers.
If your bookkeeping is organised and you want to find out who supplies water to each of your properties, you can quickly find this information in your invoices or direct debits.
Consolidating water suppliers
Trust us when we say that keeping on top of multiple suppliers across multiple properties can be a headache for your business. Complicated invoicing, confusing customer services and billing– the issues rapidly spread from accounting to maintenance.
The solution is to consolidate your business’s water and wastewater supply. This means you’ll receive just one bill each month and deal with only one customer services department. Our water experts are here to help with this process. Enter your details on our business water comparison page.
Who is my water supplier? – FAQs
That wraps up how to find your water supplier! Now, let’s dive into some of the frequently asked questions.
What if my business is being billed as a household?
If your business is being billed as a household for water, you’re likely paying incorrect rates, which could be cheaper than business rates.
However, you should still contact your water supplier to correct the error and provide evidence of the property’s business use. Once corrected, you’ll need to choose a business water retailer, as commercial properties must be billed under business tariffs, which may result in higher charges.
What if my business is not being billed for water at all?
The water industry has a significant problem with “gap sites.” These are business water connections that haven’t been registered with the water suppliers.
Since water suppliers are unaware of these connections, the water used at gap sites is simply accounted for as leaked water. For more information, refer to our guide to gap sites.
How do I change water suppliers?
The domestic water market is not deregulated, so you cannot change water suppliers.
The non-household market is deregulated, which means businesses can choose from any licensed business water supplier.
At AquaSwitch, our business water comparison service has helped thousands of businesses switch business water suppliers to get a better deal.