Surbiton residents wins water bills battle against Kingston Council

Kingston Council has been ordered to pay £745 to a woman who was overcharged for water bills in a decision legal experts believe has “set a precedent” for other cases of its kind.

Nannette Herbert, 47, of Hobill Walk, Surbiton took the council to court after being overcharged for water when she became a single occupier following the death of her mother in 2007. After being moved back and forth between the council and Thames Water, Miss Herbert was finally fitted with a meter running on the correct tariff in December – but a refund was only backdated to September 2012. On Tuesday at Kingston County Court the case was struck out in her favour after the council failed to produce the written agreement with Thames Water for the property.

Last year the Surrey Comet revealed social housing tenants may be owed thousands of pounds in overpaid water bills after the council failed to inform those living alone about the single occupier rate.

The council will now pay Miss Herbert £745.76 and £3 travel costs by May 1, as well as £600 in legal costs.

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