£500 refund for water bill error

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A water company has admitted overcharging a woman on her bills for the past seven years.

Sarah McCreath, from Alford in Surrey, was taken to court by Thames Water and pursued by debt collectors after falling behind on her payments.

But engineers found that pipes going into her water meter had been muddled with those of a neighbouring house.

The company said it had reimbursed Mrs McCreath for the £500 she was owed and apologised for the distress caused.

Water engineers were investigating a leak in the street when they discovered the pipes had been mixed up when the properties were built seven years ago.

'Metering error'

Mrs McCreath said: "It's been extremely stressful. Every time a Thames Water letter has landed on the doorstep it's like 'how much have we got to find now?'

"The constant conversations with Thames Water and not being able to get through to the right departments has been extremely frustrating."

In a statement, Thames Water said: "The legal action for non-payment of bills happened last year before the metering error came to light.

"As soon as the error was discovered we transferred the property onto the correct meter.

"We apologise for the distress and inconvenience caused and are pleased to pay all legal costs and offer them compensation."