Thames Water warns bills could 'SKYROCKET by 40%': 'this looks like privatisation gone wrong'

[@SRTC1perceptions]

There is no excuse for giving control of our national resources to foreign companies

[@r35tores4nity]

Yes absolutely right. Privatisation gone wrong. Thames Water has been allowed to privatise profits and socialise the losses.

[@T5Zplayer]

Not true though.

[@oldshiny3012]

the only thing gone wrong is having successive tory and labour government failing proper oversight and enforcing regulation properly , and nationalising them will change nothing

[@T5Zplayer]

Have they achieved anything?

[@ulysees321]

last reservoir in the UK was built in 1991, country is a joke, everything has been sold and nothing works

[@anllpp]

Get the shareholders to fork out.

[@DruidzTV]

£70 per month for dangerous water full of chemicals.

[@jack_timber]

Well someone has to pay the shareholders, its only paid out £7.2 billion since privatisation.

[@oldshiny3012]

you can blame Tory and Labour successive governments for allowing that to happen they are the ones overseeing it all

[@uingaeoc3905]

how can this country have a water shortage?

[@ontheslide2339]

what makes you think there's a shortage..?

[@barrybirchmore3540]

Let the company go to the wall. The share holders have been taking all the profit out of the company for many years. Let the share take the pain let them take a bath. The government then take over the company with none of the debts.

[@geoffreymollart7311]

You have just hit the nail on the head. It will not happen any British Government will buckle like with most things.

[@jamesrashbrook9485]

Let them declare bankruptcy then nationalise and it won't cost is a penny

[@T5Zplayer]

Then we inherit the debts? Are you dim?

[@jamesrashbrook9485]

We don't inherit debt if Thames water goes bankrupt as the debt ends with the bankruptcy..That is the whole point of going bankrupt

[@ontheslide2339]

​@@jamesrashbrook9485 critical infrastructure companies cannot 'declare bankruptcy'... that's not how it works...

[@T5Zplayer]

@@jamesrashbrook9485 Capital projects underway?

[@jamesrashbrook9485]

When Wessex water owner enron went bankrupt Wessex water didn't pay a penny not did we it was just sold to ysl group,it is owners who borrow based on profit as infrastructure is separate that's why public can't take water companies to court under 1991 water act,in the water industry there are 2 companies in Wessex case Wessex water and ysl group but all water companies are the same

[@Muppet.master]

Imagine if one . million don't pay ? Will the shareholders come after you ? 😂

[@cailancook9720]

This isn’t capitalism. Capitalism requires free markets, and if these markets are free I’ve got a bridge in Baltimore to sell you.

[@alexedwards6509]

When I was young and thirsty, my mother said "Have some corporation pop" Corporation = body of the state. The water was run by the local authority known as the corporation in them days. It was added to rents or local tax. Then they privatised it and suddenly, something that falls from the sky became more expensive than thing you had to dig up and make into a product.

[@alhazed]

They'll never be free, because like banking, like trains, like water, the private companies know that these are essential for society, and that the government will have to step in and bail them out, because we need these services.

[@andyxox4168]

Why is a company which was badly run not allowed to go bankrupt. Why are investors protected?

[@icarus877]

MMMM, I wonder if any of the problems are linked to the increase in population????

[@Andrew-tx9jy]

Don't pay it. Stop your direct debits if this goes ahead, let them sink in their own excrement.

[@ianemerson5569]

The quicker they go bust the better.

[@Andrew-tx9jy]

cancel you direct debit and refuse to pay, they will then go bust.

[@ontheslide2339]

..they can't 'go bust'...

[@Andrew-tx9jy]

@@ontheslide2339 If their creditors call in the loans they can.

[@alanavery2002]

So we've allowed the shareholders to Bleed it Dry And expect the good old taxpayers to stump up the money They dont do anythingg They just fob customers off with getting Homeserve insurance

[@timfrancis8060]

Dividends should be banned then

[@stequality]

Who voted for this?

[@MDaff-v2s]

Oh dear. It was Thatcherand the tory party that sold Britain

[@rogerpeberdy1878]

Let me point out that the water is free to everyone in England and they should not pay for it

[@raymonddonaghy2314]

But how do you wake up the people

[@rogerpeberdy1878]

@raymonddonaghy2314 this is the problem the only way to get people to know is just let your friends know and get them to let others know

[@robertwalker9130]

What about taking your waste away ?

[@Set-ri6rs]

I see no benefit to our potential enemies owning our critical strategic resources, some may rightly call that a liability.

[@ShallowDepression]

I should send them my electric bill, for having to use a water distiller to clean up their dirty product.

[@AllenTaylor-lu9bu]

Most Countries do not allow their utility companies to be sold off and then allow them to take £Billions (in profits) out of this Country. Just fine them for every discharge and double the fines each time, they will soon give back their companies.

[@uingaeoc3905]

If the value of the company is less than the expenditure required by government to make the improvements then they should be nationalised without compensation.

[@WideCuriosity]

Should never have been privatised and never allowed to be sold to foreign buyers. We need utilties brought back into public ownership as soon as possible. Bills need not change. The company took out loans, the investors took dividends, and failed to maintain/invest. Let the investors sort it. Preferably by giving it back to the public having already milked it for all they could.

[@T5Zplayer]

Good. Why should my pension pay for clean water in London

[@nigelvaughan429]

Shareholders profited from this now they should be first to pay

[@ruthcollins2841]

AND the CEO & Board of Directors 😊

[@ciupak7932]

How many NEW water treatments plant was built in last 20 years ??? Capacity compared to lites of water used ???

[@3rdeyegeneral]

I won’t be paying for it

[@stephenrichards5386]

I remember them buying hotels to diversify

[@georgethompson453]

The answer is don’t pay your bill and then they’ll go bust quicker!

[@pmarmify]

Thames water should be allowed to go BUST & then government buys them for £1 NO pension or loan bailouts!

[@hunsey]

Thames Water who were given a debt free start in 1989 when "Our " water was virtually given away, have paid out in dividends to shareholders almost as much money than they are in debt for is handing its new boss an annual salary worth £850,000, on top of £102,000 in yearly pension payments, and a £15,000 car allowance. He is also eligible for an annual bonus worth up to 156% of his salary - or £1.3m - that could swell his total pay to £2.3m. not bad just imagine if is company made money, it would be mindbogglingly

[@stumac869]

This is yet another example of malinvestment because of the bank of England ZIRP (zero interest rate) policies that allowed business to load up on debt when it cost nothing to do so. It's the consumer that's now forced to pay the price when interest normalised. Where was the regulator (another useless overpaid quango) when this mess was created? Let Thames Water go bust after which the government can buy the assets for pennies in the £ with the shareholders and bondholders taking the hit.

[@jeffbinder3085]

I'm old enough to remember part of the justification for privitisation, was the free market could solve the problems of under investment in infrastructure, that nationalised industry couldn't.

[@jondobbs]

We will look back and realise just how cheap water once was

[@dizzydaydream9647]

My dad was a commercial diver in the late 1970s and he worked for 4 years on the construction of the Thames Barrier…..he used to say that he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face as soon as he went under the surface……it was a filthy brown colour even back then……45 years on and it’s still a rancid waterway!! Reminds me of the cesspit Ganges in India!!

[@cathymartens7478]

Looks like there's too much bleach in that water.

[@slider799]

What actually needs to occur here is all bonuses, share holders for the last 15 years of Thames Water need to repay any proceeds gained from the company until the debts are met. If this is not managed in the UK all other private companies which can hold people to randsome in this way to get more money will continue to do so. This is the banking bail outs all over again after they extract the money. Then the tax payer pays..... we cannot have this.....

[@ruthcollins2841]

I'll get a large water butt, use rainfall and charge Thames Water for a waste of sewage & water pipes, at least 100% more!🤣🤣🤣

[@lindaayling1645]

Dont pay your water bill...ITS AGAINST THE LAW TO CUT YOU OFF...DONT PAY AND GIVE YOURSELF A FEW EXTRA QUID IN THE COST OF LIVING HORROR

[@fazertace6837]

Haven’t paid a penny in ELEVEN years. They’ve done absolutely nothing. Get emails and texts ASKING me to pay my water bill and thats it. F**k em.

[@repentmaster2842]

Great information and analysis from GB news/Liam that serves public interest. Oligopoly or Monopoly utilities should be de-privatized (democratically elected government would be a lesser evil than the profit-focused shareholders, and it would be a good revenue source for our Gov too). I think it's time the government to start take ownership and be accountable to the public; Waster Service Department to take over Thames Water please

[@raljix1566]

What they're describing is embezzlement

[@123parkhurst]

anyone see the thames water guy when asked about sewage being pumped in to rivers and the guy laughs saying they been doing it for ages....

[@AdrianRouse-e1f]

The shareholders and ceo,s need to be held to account. What they took was not proffits. They have failed to invest and should be made to foot the bill.

[@m0o0n0i0r]

Best thing could be that they go bankrupt and bring water companies back to government ownership.

[@oldshiny3012]

haha that not gonna solve the problems lol we're in this situation from lack of governmental oversight in the first place, nothing gonna change if its nationalised lmao

[@m0o0n0i0r]

@@oldshiny3012 it will take a long time to sort out the problems. At least if it is under government ownership, voters can kick the lot out. The situation currently is you have a bad service with no say while being forced to pay with shareholders walking away with cash. Due to the fact that it is a monopoly, thse services should not be privatised.

[@Muppet.master]

You can make.that happen .

[@oldshiny3012]

@@m0o0n0i0r Lmao it would be even more of a basket case , or have you not been paying any attention to the remaining Nationalised services in this country , just because you think you can change things by voting in a new government your wrong. both Tory and Labour have already shown you they can't be trusted to run oversight on these companies what makes you think they would do a better job if they were fully re-nationalised Lmao

[@oldshiny3012]

@@m0o0n0i0r its already under governmental ownership, the only thing they did was to auction off the privilege to run them . And both Tory and Labour governments have failed time and time again to show that they can be run properly. re-nationlizing it too be fully under the government will change nothing at all part from you'll get even worse service at twice the cost

[@nickbutler7935]

Borrowing money to pay the share holders!, who said comedy is dead???.

[@grahamcook9289]

Privatising a monopoly without stringenent and enforceable safeguards was always going to be a disaster. But the horse has bolted and so it is soon be Starmer's problem, but what can we expect from a man who cannot even say what a woman is?

[@andylane247]

Blame the tories and Thatcher...

[@williammerritt6137]

Why pay for lack of maintenance just to pay foreigners and shareholders.

[@kitcat4512]

We need National government back in control to care for this country, replace all the global leaders with real, thinking people.

[@DavidGetling]

As long as this is conditional on NO DIVENDS and NO BONUSES being paid for at least 5 years I think I can live with it. Oh, forgot to add, salary rises should also not be allowed to exceed inflation.

[@t.jconnolly6492]

Fine the private companies and then nationalise instead of them letting the puplic pay for their failure and neglect

[@alhazed]

What about the privatisations of the railways? Also ridiculously overpriced. This is not "privatisation gone wrong", its privatisation doing exactly as expected. Cut some of the civil service HR woke nonsense and keep the fundamentals going, like trains and water.

[@brett76544]

Here in the US some of the companies that own water and sewer systems get 1 to 3 cents a year in dividends. For one company this year it is looking like maybe 4 million dollars in dividends for the entire year with over 273 million stock issued. There are many things the UK could look into from different states here in the US from their public utility commissions. Five year plans, out to 20 years or more to replace aging infrastructure and are they bringing in enough now to pay for those replacements. This is all the way down to how much could they give out in dividends. Still the barrowing to give a dividend is just down right fraud to the customer and I am a chairman of a sewer authority.

[@3chords490]

……why are we surprised that this happened ? Ultimately its not “privatisation gone wrong” it’s England gone wrong . We just don’t invest properly in our infrastructure. Over priced Railways that are often late where season ticket holders stand next to toilets in rush hour. Roads with potholes not repaired. Health care on its knees. Education struggling….and poo in our rivers. This goes right back to the 70s. We’ve always either underinvested or embarked on doomed privatisation schemes. We don’t plan for the future properly. We don’t cough up the money needed to do the work. We sell off our infrastructure to foreign investors who don’t even live here and then let them rip us off. It’s a total joke. We desperately need to work out why we are doing this to ourselves. It’s National self harm. We are a nation in denial. Everyone knows you get what you pay for and if you give a company no incentive to invest in upgrades and allow them to make obscene profits from ripping off customers then that’s exactly what they will do. And yet we just sat back over decades watching the steady decline of our water services and allowing foreign investors to orchestrate the dumping of raw sewage into our rivers and beaches whilst paying out billions to shareholders. What kind of Englishman would allow a burglar into their home , watch them smear poo on their walls , raid their jewellery and then make them a nice cup of tea and cucumber sandwiches afterwards? Wake up England , your “green and pleasant” lands are dying in front of you.

[@oldshiny3012]

Don't cry at thames water they just out to make money like any other business , blame tory & Labour for weak governmental oversight and regulation

[@steveedwards90]

Don't put bill's up claim the money back from the shareholders

[@drd6416]

Greed. Why not pour some of that shareholder money into reducing bills,and strengthening infrastructure? Ohhhh because that cuts their lavish lifestyles... the day someone does something right for once will start to believe in miracles

[@chaos6876]

This company needs to fail

[@willhall4037]

Have they broken the law? What has Offwatt been doing? What has the House of commons been doing? This is so like our rivers, full of shit. Names and prosecution please?!

[@grumblegroan]

Greedy bosses paying themselves vast wages for total failure and paying out vast dividends by borrowing

[@robertwalker9130]

They should charge all the immigrants to update the system to accommodate them. 😂

[@Paradoxian2]

As if there is such thing as privitisation going right.

[@BV-co7hy]

Everyday I thank the lord, that I have a Borehole 😮

[@drd6416]

Profits before people. Always is. The men with spreadsheets are overjoyed

[@youngsteph1]

The government will certainly pay if the bills rocket.

[@markchandler5860]

If we’re going to pay either way then nationalise it and we’ll own it

[@stephenrichards5386]

Let them go

[@gordonferguson4370]

Take take take you pay pay pay & every1 laughed at & mugged off again

[@mohammedhussain6749]

Standard Tory policy.

[@chaos6876]

Obvious answer is to switch suppliers

[@stephenrichards5386]

Either every taxpayer pays or the water bills rise or they go broke

[@T5Zplayer]

However, TW have been repairing and upgrading their infrastructure. But Halligan seems incapable of telling the whole story. Why?

[@sallyhobbit1956]

Move North most have!

[@Mark-mu6bc]

United utilities put it up £7 a month

[@Mark-mu6bc]

April 1 to January 1

[@johntaylor4084]

I wish commentators would get a grasp of the powers of the regulator and how he dictates to the Companies what the priorities are, what is to be funded , what the profit margin will be etc This is a Labour political target so they are able to take the profits of the companies and re invest in their priorities, it will not be sewers or other water infrastructure more likely to be the NHS, Housing or funding those that can work but choose not to, etc. I hope we all recall the reason why the companies were privatised, water delivered to homes unsafe for human consumption, discolouration of clothes , baths etc, failing sewage treatment works that discharged to water courses on a daily basis etc And least we forget Public companies have a tendency to be maned with Unionised workers who at time are compelled to hold the country to ransom !!

[@stephenrichards5386]

Audit their accounts

[@alanavery2002]

Keep the increase Level with our Supposed low inflation😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@MDaff-v2s]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@aleccap5946]

LOL

[@markchandler5860]

If we’re going to pay either way then nationalise it and we’ll own it