help...water bill is £4000 a year.

finlander

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Well, yes - I'd check each half hour if it was that bad. Does it do it every day - every night - or on particular days/nights of the week? Get some sort of monitoring done [daily at first] and then once you flag up these spikes, then video it over that time period. The turn the taps off during the same period and do the same and see if there is any difference.

Also, have you gone to the CEO of whichever water company you are dealing with to complain?

thanks for that.. a bit of helpful thinking at last... the problem is the flow meter was only on for one month..so I have one spike which isnt really good data to get a pattern of when these happen. I suspect it may be that a local farm or the pumping station is on the same grid and therefore It would be difficult to know when its going to happen as if it is being used occassionally unless i sit there all day everyday I cant catch it doing it.

Gothicfairy says it ist going to be the pumping station, which is pretty impressive as anglian water who own it arnt sure .

I have also already enquired from essex and suffolk what would happen if i managed to catch another spike and they said 'nothing' as their response would be that I had left a tap on again!!

Im really stuck here and I cant afford it anymore....:(

blue_monkey_2

When you get the findings through the mail, take them to see your MP and ask him for help in trying to get it sorted. Most of them are quite pro-active and will help you. Ours does.

Could it be something to do with a fire engine filling up locally? We have a fire engine that fills up outside our house every now and then. I have no idea where the water comes from, but could it be something as random as that and the meter having been incorrectly installed so when they pull the water it goes through your meter?

finlander

I think my MP is the only way.... everyone seems to be taking the line that its been through a meter so you pay... I think that is a flawed belief but as they have the power and Im the little guy my only hope appears to be something like my MP or the papers...

Sambucus_Nigra

finlander wrote: »

thanks for that.. a bit of helpful thinking at last... the problem is the flow meter was only on for one month..so I have one spike which isnt really good data to get a pattern of when these happen. I suspect it may be that a local farm or the pumping station is on the same grid and therefore It would be difficult to know when its going to happen as if it is being used occassionally unless i sit there all day everyday I cant catch it doing it.

Gothicfairy says it ist going to be the pumping station, which is pretty impressive as anglian water who own it arnt sure .

I have also already enquired from essex and suffolk what would happen if i managed to catch another spike and they said 'nothing' as their response would be that I had left a tap on again!!

Im really stuck here and I cant afford it anymore....:(

No - but you could start reading it at the same time each day until you see a pattern. And go to the CEO and ask how many other domestic properties have a £4k annual bill and put a complaint in about how it has been handled.

How close are you [friends wise] to your nearest neighbour - could they keep an eye out for any strange activity to see if anything is taking the water

I had a problem with a meter a while back, I was paying for all the water for the shop below my flat - but I had to prove it so that's how I did it. But monitoring and turning the supply off and reading it hour by hour whilst it was still measuring flow.

finlander

I've asked that and they have admitted that its not really in the realms of possiblity that I could have used 14000 lts in 24 hours unless I was deliberately running around leaving taps on for no reason. They admitted that me average daily concumption on their figure is 249 gallons a day!

but they seem to have gothicfairies view that its my problem not theirs .

I dont get that. It seems obvious that this is wrong but they are showing no civic responsibility. If they were a private luxury good supplier you could see that they wouldnt care. But they are utility company that provides one of the basics of survival yet they dont seem bothered in knowingly over charging somebody... It seems that they just want the revenue........

buglawton

I make that 9.7 L per minute.

My Aqualisa power shower uses 13 L per min - and this is at the lowest so-called 'economy' setting - annoyingly it cannot be set any lower.

Anyway, an open tap might consume 3 or 4 L per min.

You will need to go to court on this and you will very likely win.

BBC's watchdog might also be interested, they like unusual stories but at the same time, like ones with neat endings!

finlander

my neighbour has average consumption and pays hardly anything next to me.......

finlander

buglawton wrote: »

I make that 9.7 L per minute.

My Aqualisa power shower uses 13 L per min - and this is at the lowest so-called 'economy' setting - annoyingly it cannot be set any lower.

Anyway, an open tap might consume 3 or 4 L per min.

You will need to go to court on this and you will very likely win.

BBC's watchdog might also be interested, they like unusual stories but at the same time, like ones with neat endings!

watchdog..... good idea...............:cool:

MrandMrsB

Mr B specialises in environmental law and from memory thinks that Watervoice Eastern might be able to help you. It sounds so ridiculous that I laughed! Good luck, Mrs B.

finlander

just emailed watchdog... lets see what happens now.

I am seriously annoyed about this. I cant believe that attitude of 'we installed a meter making no effort to ensure it just measures your consumption only but you can pay'...

who do these people think they are... Im also going to ask that all my money is refunded if this has been going on for four years...

surely these people have a responsibilty to ensure that the meter is fitted correctly and only measuring the consumption of one dwelling.