United utilities water meter..

geejayem

I have moved back into my house after renting it out for a few years,,,i lived with my ex partner so i'm out of touch with bills etc....
I have a new water bill which is over £500 which for me living alone i find extortionate..I rang U.U to set up a direct debit and they told me i would be better with a water meter fitted as this could reduce my bill by half,,,would i be wise in doing this??....Thanks

Gothicfairy

To be quite honest, there is no point asking here as it depends on how much water you use.
If you use more then £500 worth then no you are not better off..If you use less then you are.

If they went through the details with you ( ie how many toilet flushes etc ) and said you would reduce your bill to half then you have your answer.

You get at least a year to try the meter ( which equals at least 2 bills) so it might well be worth it but check out the calculator for yourself and see.

Cardew

Very few single persons will spend anything like £500 a year with UU on a meter.

As indicated above you have nothing to lose by getting a meter and if it isn't cheaper, you can revert to your present system within 12 months.

Gothicfairy

Problem with the post was that she /he did not say they were alone. They lived with an ex but does not mean there is not a new partner or kids.
That is why there was not much to go on. . To work out if a meter is really cheaper the usage needs to be calculated and without the full details that is impossible.

Cardew

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Problem with the post was that she /he did not say they were alone. .

?? See quote from the OP

I have a new water bill which is over £500 which for me living alone i find extortionate

Gothicfairy

You are of course correct.

However their status might well change and the water bill could easly go up if they were to have children, family staying, a partner living with them.

so although it might work out for the best now what is to say they will not end up worse off in a year or so..

macman

It also depends on the rateable value of the property. If the OP is living alone in a Band H 10 bedroom mansion then they will certainly see a saving by switching to a meter. If they are living in a Band A studio flat then they may still see a saving, but it will be less.
The very rough and ready rule to apply is -'more bedrooms than people-get a meter'. 'More people than bedrooms-stay on RV billing'.
But everyone's usage is different.

Cardew

macman wrote: »

It also depends on the rateable value of the property. If the OP is living alone in a Band H 10 bedroom mansion then they will certainly see a saving by switching to a meter. If they are living in a Band A studio flat then they may still see a saving, but it will be less.
The very rough and ready rule to apply is -'more bedrooms than people-get a meter'. 'More people than bedrooms-stay on RV billing'.
But everyone's usage is different.

The important point is that the Council Tax bands have no connection with the Rateable Value(RV)

It is perfectly possible to have a Band H mansion that had(has - for water supply purposes) with a lower RV than a Band B estate semi.

The RV was based on the notional rent(not value) that a property could command. There were many factors taken into account in assessing the RV - location, facilities, modernisation etc.

That RV could have been assessed as long ago as 1973 when the mansion was completely unmodernised and with large grounds to upkeep. Thus is was virtually impossible to rent out and the RV reflected this.