Water Bill received today is extortionate

ste_coxy

Hi guys I am looking for a bit of advice what to do please.

I have received my 6 month bill from January to July and it is extremely high especially compared to our last 6 month bill back in December. It is around £400 more than the last 6 month period.

We have had a leaking tap in our kitchen for some time now and I have been requested that our landlord/agency get this fixed. This has not been resolved as of yet as the tap still leaks.

I do not think this is fair that we should be held liable for this as this is not our fault and we have certainly not used this amount of water in this time.
I have phoned up the agency and they are getting someone out to repair the leak within the next few days.

What can be done regarding this - there is no way we have used that amount of water in 6 months.

I did ring up United Utilities and they mentioned something about averaging the bill out - how is this done and arranged - they themselves admitted the meter reading was exceptionally high.

ste_coxy

A lot of people have viewed this - could some one please offer some guidance?

PasturesNew

Are either of the bills you mention estimated? Or are they actual readings?
How bad is the leak - it seems a lot extra for a small leak.

ste_coxy

It is an actual reading that has been taken apparently.

It is a leak from the kitchen tap - whenever you turn the tap on and then off, water will leak and cover the worktops. This has been happening for some time now.

There are only 2 of us that live there - our last bill was about £130 - so something is clearly going wrong here.

PasturesNew

ste_coxy wrote: »

It is an actual reading that has been taken apparently.

It is a leak from the kitchen tap - whenever you turn the tap on and then off, water will leak and cover the worktops. This has been happening for some time now.

There are only 2 of us that live there - our last bill was about £130 - so something is clearly going wrong here.

Is it an actual reading on both the bills though?
Did you take a meter reading when you moved in?
Have you checked your meter now, in case they misread it?

ste_coxy

PasturesNew wrote: »

Is it an actual reading on both the bills though?
Did you take a meter reading when you moved in?
Have you checked your meter now, in case they misread it?

Yes they are accurate readings on both bills, we took a reading also when we first moved in. I will have to arrange for the door to be unlocked so we can get a reading to make sure it has not been misread.

deanos

Could the meter have been misread ?

Cant understand how a leaky tap could use £400 worth of water unless it was gushing out 24/7

Dharri5

As a tennent at the property it is your responsibility to pay the water charges. Of course if you believe the charges to be caused through the leaking tap then you need to take this up as a seperate issue with your landlord.

From a water company perspective if the bill is really high compared to other bills they may ask you to fill out a leakage allowance form. The water company may then ask some questions to validate your claim of a leak (ask to see proof work was carried out etc) Once satisfied the water company may then amend your bill and base it on previous consumption at your property.

Hope this helps!

deanos

I really dont think you will be able to claim for a leaky tap thats been leaking for months.

ste_coxy

deanos wrote: »

Could the meter have been misread ?

Cant understand how a leaky tap could use £400 worth of water unless it was gushing out 24/7

It turns out after the maintenance guy has come today that the meter had NOT been read as they do not have access to our block of flats.

He took the meter reading and it was 196 units off what they had apparently read.

We rang up United Utilities again and apparently there were notes to say that we had refused entry to allow them to read the meter (this was not said to me when i rang originally - which is not the case as we work during the day and have not heard anyone knocking on the door. Also the maintenance guy said only they have the key to open the door to where the meter is located.

Thank you everyone for giving me your advice - much appreciated - I am looking forward to a much reduced bill coming through the post now pheeeeww!

(Can't believe the water company has just made up a reading though - defo wasn't an estimate neither!!!) :mad:

deanos

I would complain to the water company and put it in writing, it could be the meter reader has guestimated the reading as they couldnt be bothered to read the meter for whatever reason.