Is my Water Bill High? (I think so) Need advise

puchchu

[FONT=&quot]Hello Experts!

I need some help here.
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[FONT=&quot]I live in Harrow and Water Company is Veolia and sewerage is by Thames Water.

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]I have a meter in my driveway which is filled with water and I have never seen anyone reading but I still get actual bills.
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[FONT=&quot]Well, this is a different issue and this post is not for this reason.

My water bill for 6 months is around 350/- and they have fixed monthly direct debit of GBP 50/-.
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[FONT=&quot]I have 4 bed room house with 3 adults and 2 children of which 1 is a toddler. There are two bathrooms in my house. And I do not sprinkle my garden nor do I wash car in my house.
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[FONT=&quot]I believe my bill is high and I am paying more. Am I?
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[FONT=&quot]Please advise as if I am then I would like to challenge the water company over meter reading as I said b4 I have never seen anyone actually reading meter!
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[FONT=&quot]I will appreciate some expert help here![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks in advance![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Puchchu[/FONT]

Cardew

You can read the meter yourself; empty out the water.

The average consumption for 5 people is approx 300 cubic metres per year.

Check that figure of 300 cubic metres against your bills to see if your consumption is high. - children use no less water than adults.

You can check if you have a leak by shutting off your water in the main stopc0ck in the house and check if the meter is moving.

The other main cause of a leak within the house is a faulty cistern with a trickle of water running down the inside of the bowl.

deanos

Please advise as if I am then I would like to challenge the water company over meter reading as I said b4 I have never seen anyone actually reading meter!

Do you watch over your meter 24/7 ?

It only takes a few seconds to read you know

mjm3346

High use of dishwasher, washing machine, powershower etc might move you towards bills that high but it does seem alot. You bills will have a meter reading on them so you can just check against the meter.

Regardless of the bills you should check your meter at the very least monthly to make sure you do not have any leaks (while no water is being used the meter should not be moving). You are responsible for the cost of any repair and the cost of the water if it's after the meter. Speaking from experience, did not know about a leak until the meter was read (they only do it 6 monthly), had a water bill for over £16,000 excluding cost of the repairs.

deanos

mjm3346 wrote: »

You are responsible for the cost of any repair and the cost of the water if it's after the meter. .

Not strictly true, most water companys offer 1 free repair per property and you can claim back for the lost water.

mjm3346

deanos wrote: »

Not strictly true, most water companys offer 1 free repair per property and you can claim back for the lost water.

Veolia-Thames Water (my area as well) are always promoting supply pipe insurance cover and reminding customers what we are responsible for. That said they will usually give a leakage allowance (thankfully) but only once and after that you are on your own, either an insurance claim or deep pockets.

puchchu

Cardew wrote: »

You can read the meter yourself; empty out the water.

The average consumption for 5 people is approx 300 cubic metres per year.

Check that figure of 300 cubic metres against your bills to see if your consumption is high. - children use no less water than adults.

I checked my last 6 monthly bill and the consumption was 160m3. I will empty the water from the meter and keep an eye over the reading! Many thanks to all

Gothicfairy

deanos wrote: »

Not strictly true, most water company's offer 1 free repair per property and you can claim back for the lost water.

Wouldn't say "most" offer 1 free repair..Also not all leaks can be claimed back and if it is internal fixtures and fittings or internal pipe work then the customer is responsible and most water companies do not give anything for that as it is not their fault.

It is worth getting in touch with your water company if you do have a leak and seeing what if anything they can do but it is also worth remembering that they did not cause the leak or know it was going on so if they say no then there might be nothing else for it but to pay the bill and learn from it.

dannymccann

We use 17cubem every quarter between the 2 of us and the dog, so about 3cubem each a month. Because we use less than 75cubem a year Anglian Water have put us on their 'SoLow' tarriff, we pay something like £1.84 / cubem but no standing charge per month. One of my work colleagues used to work for Anglian Water so she knows the system inside out, we need to use more than 120cubem a year before we would be better off on the standard tarriff - so consequently out bill for a 3bed with 3 toilets is £18 a month DD

susiejane09

hello, i have recently moved to a flat that has a water meter, or so thames water say.

they say it was read when i moved in and again 3 months later, my bill was £27 which seemed reasonable, as i live alone and was very careful with my water usage when i realised it was metered.

i have just received another bill for the following 6 months using their estimated reading, for £135, which seems high in cmparison.

i telephoned them and asked them how were they estimating it as the family living here before was 2 adults and a child.

they assured me it was from the 3 month period billed before, which makes no sense to me.

i asked where the meter was and they told me the location but either i can't find it and i have had several people looking for it, or it doesn't exist!

what do i do now?

thanks.

melbury

Cardew wrote: »

You can read the meter yourself; empty out the water.

The average consumption for 5 people is approx 300 cubic metres per year.

Check that figure of 300 cubic metres against your bills to see if your consumption is high. - children use no less water than adults.

You can check if you have a leak by shutting off your water in the main stopc0ck in the house and check if the meter is moving.

The other main cause of a leak within the house is a faulty cistern with a trickle of water running down the inside of the bowl.

How do you empty out a water meter?

We are continually trying to cut down on water usage. Only use the washing machine a couple of times a week, the dishwasher once a week, very rarely wash the car and yet our half yearly water bill (metered) received last week came in at £310:eek::eek: We are now trying to cut down on toilet flushes, which we have done before and hope that this will help. Just don't know what else to do.