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UK’s most expensive brew

Jeni Harvey
18/ 5/2006

A LONG-ESTABLISHED local business found itself facing the prospect of temporary closure after being hit with a water bill for almost £7,000.

Ian Halpin, owner of Halpin and Stanley Ltd, usually receives quarterly water bills from United Utilities for between £280 and £300.

So in January when the company - which employs just 10 people and has been based in Blackley's old Co-op building on Domett Street for 100 years - received a bill for £2,441.65, he knew something was amiss.

Mr Halpin said: "I rang them immediately and they said they'd send somebody round in case there was a leakage.

"But in March another bill arrived, for almost £7,000."

On 5 April, Mr Halpin sent the March bill - for £6,931.07 - back to United Utilities asking for someone to investigate.

This bill was made up of £4,489.42 in new charges, which had been added on to the erroneous bill from January.

That same week someone from another department visited, saying that a new meter had been put in and was being read wrongly.

Mr Halpin said: "She said she'd sort it out and send an amended bill, but no amended bill came."

The next correspondence he received was a notice saying the water supply would be disconnected on 22 May if he didn't cough up the £6,931.07 by 15 May.

And, if the water supply was disconnected, he would be expected to pay not just this amount, but an additional £74 reconnection fee.

Mr Halpin said: "I rang them again, immediately, when I got this and had a lengthy conversation, asking what was going to happen. They said they were going to sort it out.

"But they keep saying they're going to sort it out and the letters keep coming - what if someone comes round to cut the water off? We can't operate without water and toilets.

"We're a long-established manufacturing company. I've been the owner here for 25 years and I worked for the previous owner for 10 years before that.

"I got very frustrated on receiving that last letter. They can't just close our business down for a ridiculous reason like this.

"The longer this goes on, the bigger the bill will get. I don't know what's going on - is somebody using my water? I don't know."

When they spoke to the Guardian on Tuesday, a spokesman for United Utilities said that they had now been in touch with Mr Halpin to resolve the problem.

They said: "We have apologised to Mr Halpin, he should not have been sent the letter while we were still investigating.

"We have spoken to him today and have now put a dedicated person in touch with him to resolve this issue."