Water Meter Nightmare. Have we got a leak?

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make an appointment too get a clo out too take a look and double check the serial numbers ; whilst he is there ask him if you can do a leak test ..... turn off all the water outlets at your property and show this too the client liason officer(clo) ; if the meter is still spinning you either have a non visible leak( probable) , a faulty meter ( rare) or which i have personally known on more than one ocassion the wrong serial number on your bill hope this helps

skintandscared_2

If they've allocated the wrong meter, you've got the wrong serial number on your bill, simple as. Our meter is definitely wrong. I've got a revised direct debit statement today and I'm already £120 in credit, without them even taking into account how my "actual" meter reads one-third less than the meter they've previously been reading for me!!

katnoodle

I'm in a similar situation to the OP. Still waiting to hear from Veolia atm, but we got a bill for £230 for five months - we are a 2 person household with what I would call minimal water usage. Based on the one bill we got in this property before that we should be paying a max of £20 a month.

We rent our place which makes things more awkward. We read the meter to check they had the right one, and noticed the spinner going round when all taps etc were off, so rang the water company. They said it probably wasn't their problem and to call the landlord, which I did. They went back and forth, both saying it wasn't their responsibility. Landlord finally managed to get engineers out who dug up around the meter (in the ground on the pavement outside the house) and it's been repaired and covered up again.

What I want to know is, who will be responsible for paying the bill, assuming the water company won't reduce it? As tenants we're the only ones who own nothing and are powerless to undertake repairs! Also feel that the water company should have flagged up the high bill.

mart.vader

If the leak was in the public pavement outside the house, then the leak is the responsibility of Veolia, and they will have to pay for any excess. You absolutely are not, and cannot be held responsible for leaks not on your (or the landlords property)

Veolia are extraordinarily incompetent and reluctant to admit that they have any leaks. (I know, as they denied any leaks on a public highway for over two years - they caused £250,000 worth of damage, - and they actually had about eight leaks) It was said repeatedly by the local Council that Veolia had a standard policy of denying any leaks.

You'll be happy to note that Veolia are enforcing a hose-pipe ban today, to make us all use water more responsibly !

HOWEVER, you say your landlord got "engineers" to dig up the pavement, but your normal plumber/builder is not allowed to open a hole in the pavement (as they will not have cable plans from the local electricity supplier, so could have fried themselves)

Your Landlord has a problem in proving that the leak was in the pavement, while not admitting that he hired "engineers" to dig the pavement up.

You have no chance of Veolia flagging up the increased usage - they know nothing and admit to nothing.

katnoodle

Thanks for that, it makes me feel more informed! I wasn't clear about our landlords, they got a plumber to check the leak who confirmed where it was but didn't dig anything up; they then called Veolia who eventually sent round their own engineer after a good talking to. Still waiting for any kind of communication from them regarding the meter but will refuse to pay

su81qu

I too have just discovered that I have a leak, just as uncovered described. It wasn't visible to the naked eye & there is no natural daylight in my bathroom. I called my landlord who sent out a plumber who detected it by switching all of the lights off & shining a torch into the toilet bowl.
The plumber had to disassemble the back unit which enclosed the cistern in order to replace a valve.
In the mean time the tiny leak has racked up over £440 in bills since January & Yorkshire water has already taken £158 of this from my bank account via direct debit.
I am currently on benefits due to ill health, and in the uncomfortable position where my housing benefit doesn't cover all of my rent because I am renting privately, so I pay the remainder out of my income support.
I have never been late with my rent but am afraid to ask for help from my landlord in case he asks me to move out.
Does anybody know what I can do?
I too have been asked to take 2 readings 2 weeks apart which isn't going to be easy as the meters are enclosed externally.
I really feel desperate & couldn't afford any food money last week