£1000 per year water bill....!

yellowfiesta

My partner and I live in a one bedroom flat in a block of twelve. We have no power shower, no dishwasher, no sprinkler etc. We use the washing machine three times a week, use the shower twice a day, make cups of tea in the morning, and are out at work for around ten hours each day. Our waterbill comes to around £1000 a year, whereas our friends who live and work similarly to us (except in a house not a block of flats) have a bill of around £300 a year.

Can our bill be right??

We called Wessex Water out as we thought perhaps they were measuring someone else's usage as well as our own. They came out in the middle of the day when everyone was at work and asked us to make sure all taps were off, we weren't using the washing machine at that moment etc, and then showed us that our water meter wasn't moving. However, as everyone else was out too this wouldn't show if the meter was measuring someone else's supply as people don't leave their taps running when they go to work...

Wessex Water seem to think this is the end of the matter but I just can't believe that we really should be paying such a huge amount of money.

Any thoughts, anyone?

HappyMJ

Not sure what the rates for water are around your area. They are £1.80 per cubic metre here. How many cubic metres did you use? Most people in a flat will use a lot less than 1 cubic metre per person per week.

martinthebandit

Take a meter reading early this evening then make sure you don't use any water for a couple of hours, then take another reading. if its changed get them out again.

Oh and why are you posting in small text, nearly need to get my other glasses out

victor2

Check it yourself at different times of the day. If you're going out one evening or for a few hours during the weekend, check it before you go and when you come back and verify that it hasn't moved. Also check that it accurately records a measured amount of water going through. One litre is 0.001 cubic meters so you'll have to run quite a few litres off to get a reading on the meter.
If you do get higher usage reported then it's possible you have a leak somewhere or a faulty valve causing something to overflow into the drain so you won't necessarily be aware of it.

money.saving.convert.

Hi,
firstly what kind of a meter do you have?
I'm currently renting a flat with my sister and our water bill is roughly £260 a year... maybe less.
So there has got to be something wrong!! (in my opinion)
However, a few months ago we saw dramatic changes in the units in our water meter recording 10X our normal usage. Needless to say it was a smart meter and Severn Trent (our water company) argued it was correct but after lots of arguing they finally changed it and apologized.
Ohh also, argue that this cannot be possible if you can and ask whether they can pause all payments until the error is sorted out. That's what we did but it took them 2 weeks to get it all finally sorted.
I know that we're not in the same water area' as you but they should all treat you fairly... hope this is the case.
Lastly, i totally agree with all previous comments with regards to checking the water meter regularly, we do it every week and input the reading online and keep a hard copy of it. Hopefully that can give you a good indication of the usage as well.
x

peterod1

Doesn't sound right to me either. I live in a 4 bed house which is metered with 2 kids & partner, showers / baths every day, washing machine and dishwasher everyday and currently paying around £800. So to confirm, you live in a block of 12 and there are 12 individual meters, correct? I would suggest turning off the supply on the meter they claim to be yours and see if you still have water running from your kitchen sink (which should be mains supply) if you still have water then its not your meter. Then get them back out to explain and find the correct meter. Make sure you leave tap open to avoid an airlock though.

Gothicfairy

You need to flow test the meter yourself rather then leaving it down to the water company

Phils_debt

Sounds like your paying the entire block of flats ,wonder if your neighbours pay water

Cardew

Apart from the above - are you sure the meter is being read correctly? Are you(and Wessex water) reading the correct meter for your flat? The serial number on the meter might correspond with your bill, but it might have been incorrect since installation - on the other hand nobody in flats could run up a £1000 pa metered bill.

There is no way in Wessex water area could you be using £1,000 worth of water a year.

Alter_ego

If the meter is in line with a stop tap, turn it off when you don't need water and wait for someone to say their water is off.

yellowfiesta

To clarify, we live in a block of twelve flats but not every flat is on a water meter. I think approximately half of us are. I'm not sure we can access our meter, it's under a 'drain' cover out in the road. I will go check.

I think it's a good suggestion to take a reading and then not use anything for a length of time and see if the meter records usage.

We don't have a stop tap so unable to switch it off.

I really think they must be measuring someone else's water, seems to be the only logical conclusion.

Thanks for your advice everyone.