Frequently asked questions for tenants in properties managed by Lewisham Homes. Residents entitled to repayments will receive a letter during the week ending 26 November 2021.
What has happened?
Alongside many other London boroughs, Lewisham Council had a written agreement with Thames Water Utilities Ltd for the supply of water to its properties. Thames Water calculated each bill, and the Council passed the bill on to tenants and collected payment along with rent. Thames Water paid the Council a small commission to carry out this function, to account for the risk of non-collection of charges.
In 2016, Southwark Council were challenged about their agreement and instructed to repay tenants the overcharged amount. The position was clarified in late 2020 following a Court of Appeal case involving Kingston Council. As a result, we now know we unknowingly overcharged tenants by the amount of the commission Thames Water paid us.
The Council made an early decision to credit tenants who have overpaid these water charges, as we are committed to putting this situation right.
Why didn’t Lewisham Council take action earlier?
Before the Kingston Council Court of Appeal case, the situation regarding the refunds was very unclear. Before committing to refund tenants, we needed to receive clarification from the Courts on the exact position. This Kingston Council case decision clarified the position for Lewisham Council and enabled us to proceed with a recommendation to Mayor and Cabinet to approve refunds being made to residents.
How much will be credited to my rent account?
If you are entitled to a refund you will receive a letter during the week ending 26 November 2021 setting out the amount to be paid based on your individual circumstances. The credits will apply either from 1 April 2001 or from the date you became a tenant, if that was after April 2001 and before 31 March 2017. These dates are important because 1 April 2001 is the date the Thames Water agreement came into force and 31 March 2017 is the date that it ended. If you are in rent arrears or have other debts with the council the credit will be used to reduce/clear these.
Does my refund cover all my water charges?
No, the payment is just for the part of the water charges which the Courts have ruled have been overcharged. We unknowingly overcharged residents because of the commission we received for collecting the water charges, not the part of the payment which covered the actual water charges.
My payments were made a long time ago. Has interest been added to my refund?
Yes, interest has been added to the amount payable. The interest calculation is made in two time periods: 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2006 and 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2017. The reason interest is calculated differently for these two periods is due to the change in the water resale order in 2006.
From 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2006, interest is added at the Bank of England base rate plus 1% applied from the date of the charge to the date the refund was applied to your rent account. For the period from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2017 interest has been added at twice the average Bank of England base rate for the period from when the charge was made to when the refund was applied to your rent account.
When will my account be credited?
We have already credited the rent accounts for all eligible current tenants. If you want to check the current balance of your rent account you can text the letters BAL followed by your rent account number to 07535 412 412 and receive your balance by text. Alternatively you can call 0800 028 2 028 and select the automated balance option to hear your balance, or view your recent rent transactions by logging into the Lewisham Homes resident portal. Any queries can be directed to ThamesWaterQueries@lewishamhomes.org.uk .
Why are payments being made to rent accounts rather than directly to residents?
We do not hold bank account details for all tenants, so paying the money into rent accounts means we can pay the amounts due to tenants quickly.
How can I request a refund of the credit on my account?
If you are in credit on your rent account you can complete this refund form to request payment is made to your bank account instead. You will need to have your account name (your name as it appears on your bank account), sort code and rent account number to hand. The form cannot be submitted if the bank account details you enter are incorrect. If this happens, you will need to re-enter the information and try again.
A staff member will check your form has been completed correctly and review your accounts with the council, for example former tenant arrears, garage arrears, court costs and housing benefit overpayments, to check if you have any debts.
Once any debts have been deducted from the credit on your rent account, the remaining amount will be paid into your bank account. We will aim to do this as quickly as we can, but it may take around 8-12 weeks to process. The credit that we have placed on your account will be removed.
Credit balances can be refunded to a deceased person’s estate (next of kin). Rent refund requests presented in such circumstances must always be supported with proof that the request is being made by the legal executor or next of kin of the deceased tenant’s estate, along with the death certificate. Without this supporting evidence the refund request will not be processed.
I am in arrears on my rent account. Can I have a direct refund?
It will depend on whether there is any credit left after your rent arrears and any other debts have been deducted. If your rent arrears are more than the credit due we will not be able to make a direct payment to you. The payment to your rent account will be used to clear or reduce your debt, depending on the amount of arrears on your account. You should still continue to make rent payments and to pay off your arrears in line with existing agreements.
If there is some credit left over after your arrears have been cleared, you can request the remainder is paid to you by completing the refund request form. Please note your rent is due in advance each Monday and this will be considered when calculating any refund due.
I have moved home between 2001 and 2017. Will my payment cover the time that I lived in my previous home?
Yes, we have combined payments to cover circumstances where residents have moved between properties managed by Lewisham Council, Lewisham Homes and Pinnacle for the Brockley PFI.
If I submit a refund request form, can I contact you to check when my payment will be made?
We hope to process the refund as quickly as possible and expect it to take 8-12 weeks, but due to the high volume of refund requests, we anticipate there might be occasions where it may take longer to process the refund. We will do everything possible to keep delays to a minimal. Please allow at least 8 weeks before contacting us if you haven’t received your refund.
I wish to keep the credit on my rent account. What should I do?
If you decide to keep the credit amount on your rent account you do not need to do anything. Keeping a credit on your rent account can be a good idea, especially if you think there might be a change in your circumstances as the credit could help cushion any rent shortages.
If you have further enquiries please visit Lewisham Council’s Thames Water Refund information webpage or contact ThamesWaterQueries@lewishamhomes.org.uk or 0203 889 0647.
We expect to receive a high number of enquiries so you may find phone lines are busy and it may take us up to 5 working days to respond to emails or letters. We ask that you only contact us if you are unable to find the information you need in the letter you receive, these frequently asked questions or the information on the Thames Water Refund information webpage listed above. We appreciate your patience during this busy time.