Moving Out - estimated water bill

Nick.123_3

Hi, I'm moving out on the 1St of October I wrote to Thames water to say that I would be moving out and require my meter to be read and a final bill. They have replied to say they can not read my meter as the next reading was scheduled in March 2012 they will instead estimate my bill based on my previous consumption.

Surely they should actually read my meter for the final bill.

mysk_girl

Can't you read the meter yourself, like with the gas and electric?

DVardysShadow

mysk_girl wrote: »

Can't you read the meter yourself, like with the gas and electric?

No, you have servants for that sort of thing.

Gothicfairy

A meter reading can and should be done if requested as long as there is 5 working days notice so I am guessing they did not get your letter in time and have called or emailed you to say they can not read it now.
They will not read on a Saturday as that is not a working day for them anyway.
Best thing to do is read the meter yourself or accept that you might have to use a reading 5 days later then moving out..You can demand that they read it though as long as the 5 days have been given.

t0rt0ise

DVardysShadow wrote: »

No, you have servants for that sort of thing.

Don't assume that everyone can read their own meter. I couldn't read my water meter when I last moved house as it was in a large pit with all the other street's meters with a large cover that I couldn't lift.

Myrtle77

You need to take a meter reading yourself. If at all possible, take a photo of the reading with a digital camera (that way it'll also have a date stamp) as proof.

If you're renting via an agency, they should also take readings (for water, gas and electric) and send a document to you confirming what those readings were. Unfortunately, if there's a dispute, it won't matter a damn what your reading is unless it matches what the agency have.

I would also recommend providing your reading by email to the water company. That way you've proof that you did provide it in a timely fashion. I've been caught out with this before with South West Water when they billed me for water from a property I hadn't lived in for over 2 years - and they disputed that I'd informed them of my moving out.