should my son get a water meter

welshmaiden

hi my nineteen year old son has just moved into a council flat. what i would like to know is would he save money by having a water meter installed.
it is a one bedroom flat and he lives alone only baths once or twice a week and only does one or two loads of washing a week. he will currently be paying 11 pounds a week for his water.would he also have to get the councils permission to install a water meter. he did ring the water board and they said there is a three month waiting list to have one installed which is quite a long time. can this be speeded up.
this to me seams high in his circumstances. he is going to struggle as he is currently on jsa and doing a part time course in college. he would love to work but desperately wants to finsih his course which he wont be able to do if he works full time.
he has also noticed that when he boils a kettle it is costing him 15 pence in electircity. is this right he is on a payg electricity meter for his electricity and a quarterly meter for gas.
can anyone suggest any other ways he could save money so that he doesnt get into trouble during the time he is in college. when he finishes his course he fully intends to work full time.
he is probably entitled to dla. but refuses to claim it as he is scared he will become dependant on it and will fall into the longterm benefits trap and become unable to work because he becomes to dependant on the dla.
he does have severe adhd and other related problems. i am proud of his attitude but cant help think that he is cutting his own nose off to spite his face. as his adhd does seriously affect him in many many ways. this would also make it very hard for him to work as other people really dont understand how his adhd affects him. when he was diagnosed the psychiatrist said it was one of the worst cases of adhd seen in this country.

kido_2

I think 15p is too high for boiling water.I would suggest switching energy supplier if he has not done so already and not overfilling the kettle.
11£ weekly for the water sounds to high .My electric bill is cheaper than that.Maybe the water meter is an option

olly300

Firstly 3 months is the standard time taken for water companies to come out and do a survey. It does not mean the water meter will be installed in this time scale. There is no way of speeding this up. Water companies are a monopoly and tend to have poor customer service.

Also don't assume the property can have a water meter installed. Lots of older properties particularly flats cannot have water meters due to the pipe work. This means the occupier can choose to go on an assessed charge which may or may not be cheaper than the current water bill by rateable value.

Secondly credit meters for electricity are more expensive then paying quarterly and by direct debit in that order. So if he wants to save the most money on electricity he needs to change suppliers and/or change the way he pays, and then change his usage.

llh189

I live on my, shower everyday, bath 2/3 week and use my washing machine an average of three times a week. Don't use any water outside ie not watering my garden of washing my car.

I am with Anglian Water on their solo tariff, I get billed once every six month and pay an average of 15 / 20 month my rates were about 30 per month. Although I haven't paid rates for nearly 18 months so they might be more than that now.

I would suggest that he gets a meter if he can, but he has to be mindful of the amount he uses.

Hope this helps

Paul_Roberts_Liverpool_FC

It depends on how many people live in the property, in my part of the country on average it works out cheaper to have a water meter fitted if you live alone but say if you have a family of 5 then you may be better off without a meter.

Anne3333

There are sites online where you can roughly calculate your water usage and make a decision from there. I believe I read somewhere that it will generally work out cheaper if you have more bedrooms than people.
With my water company if you 'choose' to have a meter, you can switch back within 18 months if you find it more expensive to run, at no cost. However meters are fitted automatically when a property changes ownership and the new owners have no choice but to be metered.
Personally , I have 5 bedrooms and only 2 people and my bill has come in nearly £300 cheaper than it was last year when it was was based on rateable value.

edgex

You would need to find out from the council whether they would allow a water meter to be fitted, as it is their property.

In terms of saving money:
make sure all lights are using energy efficient bulbs
depending on the heating, see if it can be turned down in areas that dont really need it, eg hall & kitchen
thick curtains at the main windows, to help keep more heat in
are the appliances energy efficient?


As for DLA, if they assess him as being entitled to it, he should apply for it.
I dont know enough about it, however id assume it will also come with other support, eg in terms of access to training, help with finding employment.
Hes at college, & wants to work. He dosnt sound the sort of person that would become dependant on benefits, & is exactly the type of person they are meant for.

LillyJ

Anne3333 wrote: »

However meters are fitted automatically when a property changes ownership and the new owners have no choice but to be metered.
.

Not sure this is entirely true. We have just bought a house and we are not on a meter.

Rikki

Anne3333 wrote: »

There are sites online where you can roughly calculate your water usage and make a decision from there. I believe I read somewhere that it will generally work out cheaper if you have more bedrooms than people.
With my water company if you 'choose' to have a meter, you can switch back within 18 months if you find it more expensive to run, at no cost. However meters are fitted automatically when a property changes ownership and the new owners have no choice but to be metered.
Personally , I have 5 bedrooms and only 2 people and my bill has come in nearly £300 cheaper than it was last year when it was was based on rateable value.

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]There is a time limit within which customers can revert to an unmeasured charge. [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The time limit is within 12 months of meter installation. Customers will, however, have the opportunity to establish how their measured bill compares to the unmeasured bill before a decision has to be made.[/FONT]


From www.ofwat.gov.uk

GLN

when they say a 3 month waiting list thats just a guide to say it will be no longer than 3 months.. in my experience (working for a water company) its no longer than a month

Rikki

LillyJ wrote: »

Not sure this is entirely true. We have just bought a house and we are not on a meter.

Water companies may install meters in properties when there is a change of occupancy, and charge the new occupier according to that meter. Most companies install meters in new properties. The new occupier, in both circumstances, will be charged on the basis of usage without the option to move to an unmeasured supply.

From .. www.ofwat.gov.uk