If you want to see some unashamed PRICE GOUGING on a Bristol-wide scale, you could do worse than check your latest bill from Bristol Water. The price of metered water went up 4.6 PER CENT on 1 April 2018. At the same time, the Office of National Statistics shows the Consumer Price Index for March 2018 up by just 2.3 PER CENT.
If consumer prices are going up 2.3 per cent a year while Bristol Water is raising prices by 4.6 per cent, then it seems that water prices are going up at TWICE the current rate of inflation. Bristol Water is a local MONOPOLY, which means that you or I or anyone else in Bristol and the surrounding area can’t buy our water from any other supplier. We just have to STUMP UP.
So where does the extra money from this big price rise go? Yup, you guessed it; to the company’s owners of course. And who’s that? Bristol Water is now largely owned by the secretive private equity firm iCON (great name, eh?). So iCON FUND MANAGERS and their INVESTORS are happily enjoying inflation-busting increases in cash flow and dividends, all financed by inflation-busting PRICE INCREASES levied on the captive customers of Bristol.
Nice work if you can get it!
Well done… two excellent posts in a row. (This and WEALTHY CASH IN ON THE HOMELESS)
Careful now. We wouldn’t want to have to accuse you of good journalism instead of the usual foul-mouthed diatribes.
(No doubt you won’t want a backslap from a filthy right-wing, no doubt Tory bar steward(ess) like me but… hey-ho
)
However, honest question… how on earth did the Bristol Post beat you to its ‘Bristol City Council broke its own rules and spent £2million on senior interim staff’ article? C’mon… we expect better!
Sue, go and get a life… you need to get out more
We have covered ludicrous council salaries quite recently:
https://thebristolian.net/2017/12/15/tax-efficient-employee-of-the-month/
https://thebristolian.net/2018/02/18/tax-efficient-employee-of-the-month-2/