Is boycotting legal
Yes. It is not a criminal offence under any circumstances to refuse to pay a water bill.
It has always been legal to dispute an unfair bill.
Is taking water into public ownership affordable
Yes. It is a matter of political will. In simple terms, shareholders do not deserve compensation. Bondholders should not be reimbursed for their bad lending decisions.
Campaigning organisation We Own It gives detailed well-argued practical examples of how water can be taken back at minimal cost to the public. Check out their blogs.
Can my water supply be cut off
No. Water companies cannot cut off a domestic supplier for not paying their bill. Its against the law to do so.
Can I take effective action which falls short of boycotting
Yes. One step that all concerned customers should take is to cancel their direct debit. There is no penalty for doing this. There is no financial advantage to having a direct debit.
Cancellation sends a powerful signal to Thames Water. It means that you can delay payment for a few weeks with no effective comeback. It means you will be ready to join a mass boycott if you prefer the idea of safety in numbers.
Do similar arguments apply to other English water companies
Yes. All of the regional water authorities in England were handed on a plate to private monopolies in 1989. There are nine companies in total. According to the GMB, over 71% of shares are owned from overseas.
It is not coincidental that for over 35 yeas every one of these companies has been ripping off consumers and trashing the environment.
Does boycotting put me at financial risk
The main risk in practice is damage to a boycotter’s credit rating. However, this can be minimised. Provided a dispute is raised regarding the bill, any threat to take proceedings or refer to a credit agency can be deferred for weeks, months and in some cases years.
Disputes can be pursued through an appeal process. Notice should be given by Thames of any proposed action. If you get cold feet, then pay up and start again.
How unusual is it for a country’s water industry to be owned privately
Chile is the only other country in the world which has an entirely privately owned water industry. Privatisation was imposed by fascist dictator General Pinochet in the 1980’s. Privatisation was undertaken in the UK by PM Thatcher in 1989, the same year she imposed a poll tax. That also ended badly.
Water is a precious natural resource which all life depends on. There are compelling reasons why the vast majority of the water industry in the vast majority of countries is publicly owned.
Why just refuse to pay the wastewater part of a bill
This is possibly the easiest part of a consumer water bill to identify and dispute. If, for example, you paid a company to remove asbestos from your address no one would think you were being unreasonable if you refused to pay after discovering they were dumping it in a local playing field.
We do recommend that those who have the time and energy also raise other areas ripe for dispute. Some of these are dealt with on our Tips page.
Is Thames Water right to say you cannot legally refuse payment for wastewater removal
We don’t agree. Law is often complex and uncertain. That’s why there are lawyers, who contest cases, and courts who ultimately adjudicate on them.
For years the water industry falsely asserted that the privatisation framework protected them from claims by individual victims of their negligence. In 2024 they were proved wrong. A judgement by the UK’s top court established exactly the opposite. Other cases are pending.
We say that deliberately or recklessly discharging sewage is an offence of public nuisance. It is only the spinelessness of the regulators that lets Thames Water get away with it. It is consumers who deserve compensation, not the other way round.
Where can I find details of my wastewater payment
Some customers have separate wastewater and mains water providers. For them the figure will of course be on the wastewater provider’s bill.
For those who have one provider for both services the figure for wastewater should be easy to find on the face of the bill, whether its a paper bill or set out in an internet account.
The Government say they are now cracking down hard on water companies. Why carry on the boycott
Nonsense. We of course welcome anything that helps improve the dire state of our waterways. But there has been regulation for 35 years which has not been enforced. Extra measures won’t make much difference.
A big test for the Government and regulators was the downgrading of Thames Water shares to junk status by two credit agencies in Summer 2024. This is a major breach of their licence conditions. Despite this, the Government and regulators have failed to revoke their licence.
Thames Water will continue to run rings round regulation so long as they know they can get away with it. They know they can get away with it because Secretary State for the Environment, Steve Reed, has repeatedly stated the Government is firmly set against taking them back into public ownership.
I’m nervous about courts, debt collectors and my credit score. Is boycotting for me
Boycotting isn’t about being a hero. Provided a formal dispute is raised it will take a minimum of a week or so for Thames Water to respond. The length of the formal dispute can be greatly extended by following our tips.
A company like Thames Water relies on cash flow and the confidence of automatically receiving direct debit payments from customers. Adopting our approach, even for a short time, helps undermine their faltering business.
How far you want to take it is up to each individual. Some of us have been boycotting for months and years without any adverse repercussions. But if you start getting cold feet our advice is to pay up. You can always start again, perhaps with a new ground of complaint.