Waste Water Billing

[black21]

Hi guys and gals. I have lived in Hua Hin for 15 years and suddenly have had 4 large bills for "waste water". They had been taken from my bank account by cut in bank, which is my method. Normally water bills are quite small for water. This was the equivalent of 7 years water provision bills. (I do know that if you leave your water running eg on a garden for a day with a pump, you can use a serious amount of water). I went to the Water Board office with a Thai speaker and was given an inadequate response. They basically said it was normal waste water charge. I explained it had never happened before. This month it has happened again, so that is 4 payments out in 4 months. About 1500 baht a month. Has/is anyone else experiencing this? Mucho thanks for any info.......John

[HHTel]

I've had problems with random spikes but has usually been sorted out after several visits to the office.

I run several sprinklers for a few hours almost daily. More so in the dry season of course but bills have remained stable through the whole year whether it's 'sprinkler weather' or rainy weather. Never had bills as high as yours.

[PeteC]

Have some villages now been hooked up a real sewer system where waste water goes to a waste treatment plant, instead of down the trough next to your house, down the road and into the sea?

If some places have been hooked to a new system like that, it may explain the charges. I've read several times on here that digging for new underground utilities is ongoing...for years.

[Nereus]

Sounds lke a scam to me! First thing to do is to stop the automatic bank cut. There is, or was, a 20 Baht per month charge for "waste" collection included in monthly water bills. That is; household waste that goes in the rubbish bin.

Unless it has changed recently there is NO deep sewage system in Hua HIn, or anywhere else for that matter. The only treatment plant in Hua Hin is used by trucks that empty out full septic tanks.

[PeteC]

I'm having a strong deja vu moment about this. I recall we've talked about this fee on another thread in the past?

[Big Boy]

I was thinking the same thing, and I'm fairly sure it was a scam. However, 'fairly sure' is not definite, so waiting to hear the outcome.

[PeteC]

I'll do some thread searching when get a chance. This one is not easy though as it could be in a few different forum sections. Quick look at "Home & Lifestyle" so far showed nothing.

[hhinner]

Can't remember exactly, but some time late last year we got a letter saying we had to pay water treatment charges and should go to the water treatment station in Naebkehad. There were quite a few other people who turned up after we did and such a tiny office. We asked what this was about as we had never had such a bill and this was back-dated to the start of the previous (?) year. It seems that new waste water charges have been put in place and the office still hadn't got around to doing proper monthly (or even yearly) billing.

[hhinner]

Just remembered a bit more. It's no longer a flat monthly charge but is assessed on the amount of water used through the meter. I guess the two departments hadn't (maybe still haven't) figured out how to get their billing together.

[hhinner]

Based on the OP it seems like they've managed to do direct bank debit. When we went to the waste water office they said they couldn't do that yet. Progress of a sort.

[Nereus]

This needs looking into by somebody outside of the both the water department and the Tessabhan.

Which areas where this is happening? It would not be the first time some obnoxious official has set up a little fiefdom of his own. IF there has been a major change in government policy, then it surely would have been well advertised.

My house is rented out and the client pays the water bill, but for sure if she has been hit up for some exorbitant amount I would hear her complaining from here in Bangkok!