Can anyone explain...

QuidsInn_2

I am due to have a water meter installed in a couple of weeks as I am in a new council tenancy. Yesterday I checked with an online site to see how much cheaper it would be.

Having filled out the forms, I am informed that my water usage is very low - this I know, as I am very frugal with water anyway, so I expected the savings to be substantial.

£16 cheaper a year is my estimated saving.

I dont understand. If i use little water, surely my savings should be vast.

Please could anyone help me understand. If its not worth doing - I shall cancel it.

Thanks

Mikeyorks

Depends on what you're comparing with? If your rateable value, that unmetered use is charged on, is low .. savings will be less. But £16 sounds a bit uncharacteristic - are you sure you put in the data correctly? (or that it's £16 per month?);)

My unmetered charge was £540. The metered charge (2 of us .. and the OH isn't very frugal:rolleyes: ) - will be less than half of that. So savings around £300. Hasn't been quite as dry up here as in Essex (used to live a few miles from Chelmsford) - but my figures factor in quite a few metered gallons (sounds better than litres) on the garden this summer.

Bit of reading here :-

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1056207130,83557,

QuidsInn_2

Thanks Mikeyorks,

It was after reading that article that I did the online check at USwitch. I dont have any comparison to go on which doesnt help - having just been made single again and now dealing with all household bills myself (scary).

Maybe I will ask my ex what the water/sewage rates were. Then I will have a guideline. I know that I can have it uninstalled after a certain period if I am not happy, but I would rather work out beforehand if its going to be worthwhile and save the disruption.

Mikeyorks

QuidsInn wrote:

Maybe I will ask my ex what the water/sewage rates were. Then I will have a guideline.

Yes .. comparison sites are a bit useless if you don't have the right 'comparative' data. It's a bit like changing gas / electric suppliers when you've just moved into a new place - you've no data to work on. And in particular if the fundamentals are different, what you're used to at the previous place isn't much good.

In your case (for the water) - ring the supplier and they will be able to give you accurate data on the RV water / sewerage charge for your new property. Which should be all you need to make the comparison site work more or less accurately.

And give my love to Essex. Had a trip around the Walthams / Easters / Rodings etc a few months ago. Brought back some very happy memories of 10 years down there;) ..... a long time ago

QuidsInn_2

Thanks Mikeyorks for the advice.

I am an Easter Chick!!! This is where I am making all my happy memories!

Mikeyorks

QuidsInn wrote:

I am an Easter Chick!!!

Wonderful. Are you 'High' or are you 'Good' ??;)

Have to admit that I toured all the cricket pitches in the villages where I spent many happy Sat / Sun afternoons! There's a few cracked tiles on the old vicarage roof (High Easter?) I have to own up to. Good job the vicar never came out with his collection box. But it cost us a bit in balls!
Bit sad :rolleyes: - but there's something about the little Essex villages that even puts the spectacular scenery of the Dales / Lakes in the shade. Spent 10 lovely years down there .. but the daily commute into London got to me in the end, and I reluctantly bailed out back up to the cooler / wetter North.

However, more seriously. Do ring your water company. They will be able to give you the RV charge they will levy ... to the £. That's all you need .. as I'm sure you know how many baths you have a week, for the Uswitch compare?

Best of luck with it.

deanos

QuidsInn wrote:

. I know that I can have it uninstalled after a certain period if I am not happy

If you want to revert back to how you were paying before it wont get uninstalled it will remain in situ then if you move the next person will have to go on the meter , depending on the water co. it may still be read every 6 months even if you are not paying on the meter

Mikeyorks

Sorry should have thought of this earlier.

In respect of Council Tax - your liability will be reduced because you are a 'single' householder? The water supplier uses a Rateable Value (which is not the same as the CT bandings) .. but I have never known if they apply a similar (25%?) dispensation. Have had a look around my local supplier's site - and it does appear there is no similar reduction available? Presumably the answer would be to 'get a meter' as the expectation is you use less water.But - expectation and reality aren't always the same - so it seemed there's a bit of an omission in their categories somewhere.

However, had bumped into the aspect below, when doing a bit of research on another thread, several months ago. And I suspect, from one of your earlier posts, you qualify for a capped rate - as having 3 young children? Whilst this is Yorks Water - I did find something identical in the fine print of a PDF from another supplier, those several months ago. So - worth pursuing with your supplier?

http://www.yorkshirewater.com/?OBH=2799

QuidsInn_2

Deanos - thanks for that. It might be useful to keep an eye on it, even if i am not using the meter as such.

Mikeyorks - regarding the Easters - I have never been very "Good"
If you found the commute to London from here too much, why move further north????

i see you have done your homework - I am in receipt of my 25% single occupants discount for Council Tax and as soon as I receive my first water bill, I shall apply for the reduction for having a soakaway too! (or could I apply for that beforehand?)

So much to deal with - so little money, but so much help from everyone!

Mikeyorks

Too modest .. I'm sure you're excellent.;)

Sorry .. the move North was accomplished by persuading my employer to move all our IT work out of central London. So I could go with it !! 15 mins to the office instead of a 3.5 hr round trip was wonderful.

Not connected to main sewer for Surface water? You can deal with that before being billed .. but only if you know you will be billed for it? If that isn't too perverse? Possibly the previous occupants sorted that - so it should be off the bill permanently?

No mention of the link I posted earlier today? Don't let that slip (if I've judged correctly it applies?). It appears to be the only practical concession from the water side - that equates in any way to the 25% CT reduction. Sorry if it's a bit more of the admin hassle - but should more than pay for the time?

Take care

QuidsInn_2

Well, its quarter past one in the morning and what posessed me to come online after coming back from the pub beats me - but thank you Mikeyorks, I have just been to 3 valleys water website and have applied for their "special needs" forms to fill in. Apparently I do qualify to have my water rate capped, but will only pay the capped rate if it is less than my water usage turns out to be. So either way, I win. I will also be checking to make sure that all my rainwater goes into a soakaway and will call them to get that rebate too!

I had no idea about the capping of rates until you mentioned it, so THANK YOU!!

Off to bed now - having transferred money to 0% credit balance card, organised water rate capping, cancelled TV licence DD as it is more expensive than paying at the post office (why??), opened a new bank account giving me £50 cash, i think I have done enough for today! :T