Suspected faulty water meter

Dawn_1948 · 31 January 2018 at 3:50PM

I had a water meter installed in April 2016 after researching and working out how much water we actually use. I believed that I could reduce my bills by approximately 50%. The meter readings for the first year were 198 cubic meters. There are only two of us in the house and on my bill it says the typical usage for 2 people is 45 cubic meters for 6 months making this reading more than twice that.
I contacted my water company and they did a check of the meter in July 2017 and said the meter was fine. I am unable to read the meter myself as it is under a pavement outside of my house.
My latest bill has a reading from July 2017 to November 2017 which shows a reading of 67 cubic meters for four months. This would equate to 100 cubic meters for 6 months more than double the typical usage. I have contacted the water again and they said they will check the meter again in the next few weeks and get back to me by the end of February.
I questioned as to whether or not the water meter could be faulty and was told I could have the meter taken away to be checked and the cost would be £79. If a fault is found my £79 would be refunded but if not I would lose this money. I am a pensioner and don't have £79 to gamble with.
The company said I could go back to not having a meter if I request it to be removed before 26th April. I do not want to do this as I know other people who have gone onto metered water and have saved about 50%. Can anyone help me with this dilemma.

Oakdene · 31 January 2018 at 3:52PM

I know it sounds dull but is there any chance you could have a small leak somewhere, for example a tiny (unnoticable) trickle of water coming from your cistern into the toilet bowl?

Dawn_1948 · 31 January 2018 at 4:28PM

Thanks for replying. We did have a small trickle in the toilet but replaced the valve and it's fine now. Have checked out everything in the house.

matelodave · 31 January 2018 at 6:03PM

Why cant you read it yourself - the fact that it's in the pavement doesn't preclude you from reading it. Just make sure you replace the cover properly so you dont cause a hazard.

You should turn off the inside stop-valve, make sure that there;s no water flowing and then check that the meter isn't rotating - if it is then there's a leak between your stop-valve and the meter which needs to be fixed.

By checking the meter yourself a bit more frequently than once every six months or a year when the meter reader comes you'll have a much better idea of your consumption and it would help you control it.

Suspected faulty water meter

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