Water Bills questions and comment

zulfia

I am in exactly the same situation as Doreen, only my water supplier is Northumbrian water. From 2013 to 2016 my water bill increased by one third. A the same time I stopped watering the garden, I stopped taking showers and baths (I do this in the gym now), my husband moved out long time ago and I lived on my own. I should have reduced water usage at least by half, instead every bill shows increase and the bill increased by 1/3 in the last 2 years. I wrote to the company. I wonder how they take water meter readings. Does anybody anybody come and take the reading?

zulfia

I can see that many people experience a sharp and unjustified rise in the water bill. Does anybody actually take the water meter reading? Do they come to the property for that? How does the meter work? Can it be wrong and why? Is there a diagram of water usage? I wonder if anybody knows the answers.

My water bill from Northumbrian water increased by 1/3 in the last two years. At the same time I stopped washing at home and have been doing in the gym for at least a year, I do not water the garden but I did it previously (two years ago), my husband moved out 1,5 years ago and he was staying at home only occasionally for a year before that. I use the washing machine only once or twice a week, less than before. Why does my water usage go up significantly in every bill?

squinz

My husband and I rented our last property. Two showers a day, careful with our water. Our monthly bills were £20.80 for 2 bed terrace. It didn't have a water meter.


We moved in March to a 3 bed bungalow. It has a water meter and prices were hiked to £35.25. Its still just us and no changes to water usage. I did question it with the first bill and think I was fobbed off with it being due to the size of the property/historic ratable values? However reading on here, that shouldn't come into it with a water meter in place?


Can I challenge it again? I submitted a reading the other day and it has reduced slightly to £33.12 but its still considerably more than we used to pay...I will follow the advice about checking the meter with 2 people in case of leak etc.


Can anyone advise? TIA

Cardew

squinz wrote: »

My husband and I rented our last property. Two showers a day, careful with our water. Our monthly bills were £20.80 for 2 bed terrace. It didn't have a water meter.


We moved in March to a 3 bed bungalow. It has a water meter and prices were hiked to £35.25. Its still just us and no changes to water usage. I did question it with the first bill and think I was fobbed off with it being due to the size of the property/historic ratable values? However reading on here, that shouldn't come into it with a water meter in place?


Can I challenge it again? I submitted a reading the other day and it has reduced slightly to £33.12 but its still considerably more than we used to pay...I will follow the advice about checking the meter with 2 people in case of leak etc.


Can anyone advise? TIA

On your last unmetered property the amount of water you used simply didn't matter. Your charges were based on the Rateable Value(RV) which would have been assessed between 1973 and 1990.

With your current property its size doesn't matter and your bill will be based on your water consumption and standing charges.

You might also check to see if you are being charged for Surface Water Drainage - which you might be able to get refunded.

You don't say your water company, but generally £20 a month for RV based charges is below average, and £33 a month for metered is not high.

squinz

Thank you for your reply, Cardew.

Ive just checked my bill and it appears there is a surface water charge. Im with united utilities if that helps. Why might that be refundable?

Thanks again.

reeac

If the water coming off your roof is piped away to soak aways rather than down the drains that take foul water then you can get that element removed from your water bill. I did this by sending the water company a copy of our bungalow plans which showed the drainage system. I believe that you can achieve the same end by other means but I happened to have the plans as I had the place built for our occupation.

Cardew

squinz wrote: »

Thank you for your reply, Cardew.

Ive just checked my bill and it appears there is a surface water charge. Im with united utilities if that helps. Why might that be refundable?

Thanks again.

Your Charges are here:

http://www.unitedutilities.com/our-charges-2015-2016.aspx

You pay £126 pa in fixed charges, and as you pay approx. £400 a year in total, you are paying for approx. 92 cubic metres a year; which is below average for a couple.

The UU section on Surface water Drainage is here:

http://www.unitedutilities.com/surface-water-drainage.aspx

If you can reclaim SWD charges it is a £54pa rebate.

Ask neighbours if they pay the SWD charge? If you have a sewer/drains cover it is fairly easy to check, spray some water on a gutter(or wait until it rains) and check nothing enters the drains/sewer.

phsci

zulfia wrote: »

Is there a diagram of water usage?

Look at this report from the Energy Saving Trust (At Home With Water 2):
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/reports/AHHW2%20final.pdf and go to page 14 for a diagram. Good evidence-based summary of typical domestic consumption patterns.

Dunenergy

Hi,

I recently moved into a flat which is about 2 years old but has never been lived in. I sent Thames Water an email with a picture of my meter reading. They replied saying that my bill was set at £18 a month. Today I received a bill saying my direct debit would be £8 per month. I'm the only occupant and am generally not at home between 8.30 - 6pm on weekdays. I was wondering if this is a normal bill or does it seem low (not that I'm complaining)

Cardew

Dunenergy wrote: »

Hi,

I recently moved into a flat which is about 2 years old but has never been lived in. I sent Thames Water an email with a picture of my meter reading. They replied saying that my bill was set at £18 a month. Today I received a bill saying my direct debit would be £8 per month. I'm the only occupant and am generally not at home between 8.30 - 6pm on weekdays. I was wondering if this is a normal bill or does it seem low (not that I'm complaining)

Thames water charges are here:

https://www.thameswater.co.uk/tw/common/downloads/literature-water-waste-water-charges/Charges_schedule_2016-17.pdf

It is not possible to work out accurately your water sewerage charge per cubic metre(m3) as it varies by area.

However the minimum standing charge is £60.16 a year and you can work out the average cost per M3 from the link above - the average is 55m3 pa for a single occupant.

Could it be that the developer paid your standing charges for 2016/17 and your account was in credit?