Really high water bill..stumped

Hi,

I have just received our first water bill from thames water, dated 02 Apr to 16 August 2017.

The total amount is £373 :eek:

This does not seem right, its a 3 bed (2 double, 1 single, house), 3 adults, one bathroom, one kitchen, and one washing machine, and only 2 sinks (kitchen and bathroom) - Its rented accomadation.

I didnt take an initial reading, which I wished i did now, and the initial reading was 2270 (i've no idea if this is an estimate). The new reading is 2442 (it states on the bill as 'Actual'). So in total we have used 172m3 in 137 days, which is an average of 125litres per day, which does not seem right.

I have just checked the water meter reading tonight and it is 2445m3, so a 3000 litre increase in 4 days.

Does this seem right, to me it doesnt, is there anyway to find out what the actual reading was when we moved in from thames water. Are there any options of reducing the bill?

thanks!
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  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,036
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    Does the initial reading say 'estimated'? and does it give a date of reading?

    You are probably paying for the previous occupant's consumption. Give Thames a ring and ask when the 2270 reading was taken.

    They will sometimes reduce your bill after discussion. However 3m3 consumption in 4 days is still above average - that extrapolates to 274m3 pa. the average for 3 should be approx 150m3 pa.
  • dogshome
    dogshome Posts: 3,877
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    As Cardew has posted, not taking the reading when moving in was something of an own goal, so as he advises ask Thames the date of the 2270 reading.

    What is a seious worry is the the 3m3 consumption over 4 days.
    Turn Off all water outlets in the house and look at the meter to see if it's still moving.

    If it is the chances are you have a leak between the meter and the house, or the meter is supplying more then one dwelling - Either way ask Thames to visit and check.
    Jump on this quickly as whilst a leak repair will be down to the landlord, it's you who's paying for the wasted water
  • qwertyty
    qwertyty Posts: 48 Forumite
    So,
    spoke to TW, they were surprised with the amount as well, and have set the activation reading from the 2442 reading, so will be getting anotehr bill in a the next few days, The 2770 reading was done in January, and was the final reading given by the previous tenants. We moved in at the start of april.

    I did do a test, i turned off the water from the water meter (outside the property) for an hour
    Just before i turned it off teh reading was 2446 28
    An hour after it was 2446 29

    So the only increase was the red numbers... is this significant?

    Are there any other tests i could do? maybe turning off the isolation valve inside the property?
  • dogshome
    dogshome Posts: 3,877
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    Yes - It is significant, it shows that the meter stopcock is failing to turn off the water supply completely.

    However what you trying to establish is the possibility of a leak between the meter and the house.
    With the meter stopcock fully open, turn off the stopcock in the house and then turn on the cold tap in the kitchen to check that the internal stopcock really does completely shut down the supply - If it has check meter for movement, if there is you have an underground leak
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,036
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    qwertyty wrote: »
    So,


    I did do a test, i turned off the water from the water meter (outside the property) for an hour
    Just before i turned it off teh reading was 2446 28
    An hour after it was 2446 29

    So the only increase was the red numbers... is this significant?


    Yes it is significant.

    Assuming a leak, that is 10 litres in an hour.
  • qwertyty
    qwertyty Posts: 48 Forumite
    Thanks both.

    So i've tried to look everywhere for the stopcock in the house,cant find it anywhere, i have a feeling it is boarded up, behind the kitchen cabinet, need to get hold of the landlord.

    Silly question though, if i have turned off the water at source (from the meter) there shouldn't be any water coming in, so isn't that Thames Water's problem, so their stopcock isn't doing its job?
  • dogshome
    dogshome Posts: 3,877
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    Yes - It is TW's responsibility to fix the meter stopcock, but this is not your main problem

    As you can't find the house stopcock, carefully check that all the water outlets in the house OFF - Pay particular attention to the toilet which could possibly be leaking water from the flush tank into the pan.

    Then with the meter stopcock fully open, check the meter for movement.
    Report any movement and it's rate to TW, along with the faulty meter stopcock
  • So, i was able to find the internal stopcock, and did some meter readings for a few days

    Capture111.jpg

    So some days there was a small increase, and other days no increase at all.

    and from today's reading of 2456 73 ,the household has used 6,000 litres in 12/13 days, so 461 litres per day :eek:


    Whats the best course of action or the next step?
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,036
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    edited 10 September 2017 at 6:22PM
    qwertyty wrote: »

    and from today's reading of 2456 73 ,the household has used 6,000 litres in 12/13 days, so 461 litres per day :eek:


    Whats the best course of action or the next step?

    The UK average consumption is 55 cubic metres(m3) per person per year. So for 3 people in your house that is 165m3 a year or 452 litres a day.

    So your consumption is roughly the UK average.
  • Cardew wrote: »
    The UK average consumption is 55 cubic metres(m3) per person per day. So for 3 people in your house that is 165m3 a year or 452 litres a day.

    So your consumption is roughly the UK average.

    55 cubic metres per person PER DAY !!
    I think you might have a bit of a typo here Cardew.
    :D:D
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