VALE companies have been told to check their water bills after reports that some firms have been charged as much as £57,000 for disposing of rainwater that falls on their property.

A leading Midlands valuation expert warned that Severn Trent and South Staffordshire Water were attempting to claim backdated Surface Water Drainage charges for anything up to six years.

"Clients have been issued with bills which range from around £5,000 to amounts up to as much as £57,000," said David Evans, a senior associate who heads up the Business Rates team at King Sturge.

Surface water is classed as rainwater that falls onto a property and its surrounding site that drains to the public sewer.

The charge covers the cost of taking away and treating surface water that runs from properties into a sewage company's drains, including water that flows through gutters or which simply runs into the road and ends up in a sewer.

Mr Evans said that if any surface water from a property entered into a public sewer then the company would have to pay the charge.

"There are certain areas which should be excluded," he said. "It is vital therefore to ensure that the site area has been calculated correctly."

Some water companies fix their charge by using the rateable value of the premises, but others charge by the site area of the premises.

Mr Evans said: "Severn Trent and South Staffordshire Water have been re-surveying properties which they consider to be "under-measured" and are subsequently issuing bills based on the correct site area.

"We are currently in the process of challenging the amounts they are claiming."