RESIDENTS have accused Thames Water of 'cheating' them out of cash after it refused to refund years' worth of incorrect charges.

Bill payers in a North Abingdon housing estate recently realised they had been paying the water company for a service they have never received, and began pushing to get their money back.

Dozens of homes in the Mons Way estate claim to have been wrongly charged for surface water drainage - rainfall that lands on a property and runs into the sewers - for the past 16 years, but residents have been told they will only be refunded for a fraction of that time.

Harry Shet'e, who is among the affected residents, has spent months unsuccessfully battling the company's decision to refund him for just two years of payments.

The retired chartered civil engineer said: "Most of the properties' [surface] water goes straight into the ditch and has nothing to do with the Thames Water pipe.

"They are taking too much money. I feel people should not be cheated. There is injustice. Why pay money you don't owe them?"

Thames Water offers rebates for anyone whose rainwater does not drain into its sewers, with refunds varying from £14 to £30 per year.

Surface water drainage charges used to be lumped into the same bill as general wastewater charges, until 2001 when new national regulations came into force.

Thames Water changed its charges that year so that surface water charges were separated from other services, meaning customers can opt not to pay if they can prove they are not connected to its sewers.

Mr Shet'e said all of the 93 homes on the estate, which encompasses Mons Way, Inkerman Close and Ypres Way, are not connected - as shown in papers drawn up for the estate when it was initially built in the 1980s.

He said: "Hundreds of homes could be affected in North Abingdon – it's a very big issue.

"Thames Water disputed they knew at the time [that we were not connected], but I believe they have ignored information."

The 78-year-old has spent months arguing his case with Thames Water, as well as consumer body The Consumer Council for Water and expert adjudicators at the Water Redress Scheme (WATRS).

But in a final response sent to him on Monday, WATRS said they could not take his claim further as Thames Water had complied with rules set by the water company regulator Ofwat.

Mr Shet'e has been refunded £60 for two years of the charges, while several other residents on the estate have been refunded for six years worth.

He said: "I don't know how they have worked it out."

The grandfather-of-one also highlighted concerns about lack of communication from Thames Water, claiming it should have contacted residents in 2001 to let them know about the change.

Ofwat requires water companies to refund charges from the point at which a resident applies for a rebate, but warns against refunding retrospective payments as the expense could increase charges for other customers.

A resident of Ypres Way, who asked not to be named, is also pursuing a backdated rebate.

She said: "I expect I will get exactly the same response as Harry. I haven't got the money to fight it. If I were a millionaire, I would take it further. I believe Thames Water did know we were not connected, but they just kept quiet and kept the money.

"We have opened a can of worms, and the lid might be difficult to put back on. It's a big web of lies. All the water companies stand together and I have lost trust. It's not the money that I want, it's just the principle. It's wrong."

Thames Water spokeswoman Becky Trotman said: "We follow guidance from our regulator when it comes to surface water charge rebates and actively promote the fact that rebates are available to our customers.

"Rebates are granted on a case-by-case basis and anyone who believes they are being charged unnecessarily can apply for a rebate through our website or ring our freephone customer number."

Anyone who thinks they are entitled to a rebate can apply by visiting thameswater.co.uk and navigating to the 'apply for a surface water drainage rebate' page.