compulsory water meter

michael748

hi

I moved house on 20dec...and three valleys water fitted a meter to the house the day i moved in. i had no notice, nor did i give permission.

TVW say they have the right to meter under the water ind act.

Is it my right to have an unmetered supply ?

cheers

Mike

louise1234_2

I am interested in an replies - I am in a similar situation.

As one who is fond of long baths, watering garden, washing car etc I think meter will be expensive for me.

I have recently moved house into a property with a meter, speaking to united utilties they say as it has been there more than 18 months I cannot have it removed...

I was hoping just to pay unmetered water rates, as house is in council tax band A so was thinking water banding would be low as well. iIs this correct logic or not??

Having looked at the meter last week, I have noticed it has not moved since we moved in, and there is a cable missing from it.

Not sure whether it is in best interests to tell them or not?? Was thinking to save them repairing they could just switch me over??

Sorry for hijack!!

Robert5988

My understanding for the supply area I live in – Severn Trent - is as follows.

If your house was built before 1989(possibly 1990) unmeasured charges are based on the old Rateable Value(not council tax bands) – even though this is no longer in use. Houses built after that date had to have meters fitted. Similarly if an old house was substantially altered it has to have a meter fitted.

The calculation of Rateable Value was something of a joke and discriminated against (then)modern houses. There has been much discussion about the pros and cons of water meters for those who have the choice. If you live in a house with a low RV and use lots of water you could be better off on unmeasured charges. For me it was a no contest – I would be paying close to £1,500 under the old system as opposed to less than £300 metered.

Louise.
Cable to a water meter? They work on the same principle as a gas meter - by the water supply turning a impellor that causes your meter dials to turn. If you turn on the water the right hand dial(usually red) should turn. The main reading is in cubic meters and you might only use 1 unit or so a week.

louise1234_2

Robert, what you have said about the cable would make sense, except my neighbours water meters all have cables (wires??) and you can see the cut off bit on mine.....

djohn2002uk

This "Cable". Are you sure it's not a type of aerial that enables the company to read the meter from outside the property? I don't have a meter and I could be wrong but I seem to remember reading something like that on another thread.

MarkyMarkD

Yes, that's what it is.

Our water meter is on an outside wall at the rear of the house. They drilled a tiny hole through the wall and a thin cable runs to the front of the house where there is a plastic "thingy" which they connect to when they want to collect the reading.

Saves them having to come into the house to read the meter.

Flapper_2

I had a meter fitted at my own request a few years ago. In a band D house with extortionate RV charge I've saved pounds. I now pay one third of my original charges for water.

UKJess

michael748 wrote:

hi

I moved house on 20dec...and three valleys water fitted a meter to the house the day i moved in. i had no notice, nor did i give permission.

TVW say they have the right to meter under the water ind act.

Is it my right to have an unmetered supply ?

Yes they can and no you can't

Sorry

Jess

scattycat_3

louise1234 wrote:

Robert, what you have said about the cable would make sense, except my neighbours water meters all have cables (wires??) and you can see the cut off bit on mine.....

Louise is the wire green and yellow, or bare copper?, if so, it is an electrical earth and nothing to do with the water meter.

Scat

Paul_Varjak

My understanding on water meters is that when one is installed you ahve the right to switch back to unmetered within the following 12 months. However, this right only exists for the occupier who had the meter installed.

If you move out and a new occupier comes in they cannot switch back to unmetered (even if the meter has not been in for 12 months)

What was the reason that a meter was fittedin your property the day you moved in? Was it at the request of the previous occupier? If so, I would suggest that the water company had no right to fit as yhou were now the occupier and they did not have your consent to fit it.

heatherw_01

I have the same problem. The water company said houses built after 1990 cannot have the water meter removed.... my house was built in 1850!

They seem to fob me off with different excuses why I cannot get rid of it.