Welsh water - arrghhhhh!

sturdygirl21

So, I'm going in for a rant.........I'm on a meter and since living at the house (2 bed terrace) I've been paying around £41.50 a month. My partner moved in 2 years ago, and the DD stayed the same.
I had my water statement yesterday - my DD is increasing to £71 a month!!!! I have no idea how this is justified - I would kind of understand it if the timing linked in with when my OH started living with me, but 2 years later......really??
We are both out during the day Mon-Fri. We shower daily, turning the water off in between washing hair, etc. I water the garden over the summer whenever I remember (so far twice this year - it's not a big garden, I'm literally out there with the hose for maybe 3 minutes!). I don't have a dishwasher, and I only use the washing machine 3 times/week.
I'm in the process of a house sale, and the one we've bought hasn't got a meter - YEY!!
Would I be in a position to dispute this hike in DD, or is it a case of what they say goes?

Rant over (for now!)

sturdygirl21

Oh, and I also have one of those hippo bag things in the loo!

iamana1ias

sturdygirl21 wrote: »

So, I'm going in for a rant.........I'm on a meter and since living at the house (2 bed terrace) I've been paying around £41.50 a month. My partner moved in 2 years ago, and the DD stayed the same.
I had my water statement yesterday - my DD is increasing to £71 a month!!!! I have no idea how this is justified - I would kind of understand it if the timing linked in with when my OH started living with me, but 2 years later......really??
We are both out during the day Mon-Fri. We shower daily, turning the water off in between washing hair, etc. I water the garden over the summer whenever I remember (so far twice this year - it's not a big garden, I'm literally out there with the hose for maybe 3 minutes!). I don't have a dishwasher, and I only use the washing machine 3 times/week.
I'm in the process of a house sale, and the one we've bought hasn't got a meter - YEY!!
Would I be in a position to dispute this hike in DD, or is it a case of what they say goes?

Rant over (for now!)

The DD is a side issue. Have you checked that they've read the meter correctly?

sturdygirl21

Nope.......just at the ranting stage at the moment! I'm going to check the meter myself later (once I've found it - I have no idea what I'm looking for)

Cardew

The fact that your new house has not got a meter might not matter.

Water companies can insist that on change of occupant a water meter will be fitted; some companies enforce that regulation 100%, others don't.

Gothicfairy

sturdygirl21 wrote: »

Nope.......just at the ranting stage at the moment! I'm going to check the meter myself later (once I've found it - I have no idea what I'm looking for)

If your meter is not internal ( check under kitchen sink or by the toilet/ boiler ) then it will be external and more then likely in a boundary box. Check drive and pavement for a CD case sized black/ grey flap. The only problem will be if yours has been placed in a block of them as without the meter serial number you will not be able to tell which one is yours.

I would ring the company and ask for the location and meter serial number, and also ask when they read the meter last and what that reading was ( you might have been billed to an estimate reading even if they took an actual)
You also need to ask them what the balance on the account is, I am guessing you were on an 11 month payment plan and your amount did not cover your usage and that did not get picked up until 2 plans had finished. That can happen as it might have been year one you were on track so the plan reset as before and half way through year 2 your usage changed and when the plan canceled there was a debt and it was then set for the much higher amount.

As has already been said moving into a property without a water meter does not mean you will not be made to have one installed.


Oh and have you checked for leaks ?

macman

Your bill will show quite clearly whether your consumption has risen or not, so why the rant? Then read your meter (usually under a small hatch in the pavement outside) and check that it ties up wth the bill readings.
Is it a 'catch up bill?

deanos

As mentioned above the bill could be catch up, if you have not being paying enough or previous reads were estimates