Wyre Borough Council (WBC) were approached by Focus Green and Focus Green asked if WBC would like to undertake a water audit to see if any of our sites were being charged incorrectly. Focus Green was working in the Northeast and North West of England with many councils including Redcar & Cleveland Borough, Hartlepool Borough, Middlesbrough, Gateshead, Sunderland City and Northumberland County, Eden, South Lakes District, Carlisle City, and Cumbria County etc. Work would be carried out on a “no win no fee” basis.
The process to start the ball rolling was very quick and easy. Once we provided Focus Green with details electronically of all our sites. This information included site addresses, account numbers and billing information. After the information was provided to Focus Green, they started their process of the water audit, looking at the various charges for each of our sites. The audit enabled both current and historic charges to be checked, consumption was looked at for every site, suitability of tariffs etc so it was a comprehensive review.
Wyre Borough Council over the next few months were asked various questions regarding a few different sites, so Focus Green could gather as much information to determine if there was a claim to be made.
Focus Green's expertise revealed historical issues on a small number of sites, resulting in rebates of over £72k with ongoing savings of almost £10k per annum. The process of recovering the money from the water company was carried out with Focus Green. In one of the cases, detailed negotiations with the water company were required and Focus Green's expertise was vital in securing this reduction in costs.
As you can imagine WBC are delighted with the outcomes of this exercise and without Focus Green's understanding of the water industry, the historical rebates and ongoing annual savings would have not been realised.
