large water bill due to leak

gp2

had a very bad leak due to toilet problem and it's just been noticed and fixed straight away, the bill's running into 700 pounds for three months, can i claim with my home insurance, or is there any other way tried before, for example, beg the mercy from water company?

HappyMJ

That's one hell of an unnoticed leak .... £700 you say...3 months...91 days...24 hours...60 minutes that's 2.5 litres per minute. You can try to claim and see what happens.

zagfles

Home insurance usually covers this sort of thing - check your policy

mart.vader

gp2 wrote: »

had a very bad leak due to toilet problem and it's just been noticed and fixed straight away, the bill's running into 700 pounds for three months, can i claim with my home insurance, or is there any other way tried before, for example, beg the mercy from water company?

Ask your water co. about a leak allowance.

gp2

HappyMJ wrote: »

That's one hell of an unnoticed leak .... £700 you say...3 months...91 days...24 hours...60 minutes that's 2.5 litres per minute. You can try to claim and see what happens.

just re-calculation, it's abt 350 pounds actually... this just rule out the insurance claim coz my excess's 300 + claim would delete my 8 year no claim, which i would think my premium will be up significantly if i do so.

gp2

mart.vader wrote: »

Ask your water co. about a leak allowance.

i didn't even know there's such allowance, how does that work, can i just ask for that coz it's in the rulebook? or it's a mercy of individual?

mart.vader

gp2 wrote: »

i didn't even know there's such allowance, how does that work, can i just ask for that coz it's in the rulebook? or it's a mercy of individual?

Most Water Co's have this allowance (except Welsh Water - for some reason) If you have a leak and it substantially increases your bill. - for the first leak only, and if it's external - they will deduct the cost of this from your bill.

Your toilet problem might not qualify as it would seem to be internal, your W. Co might word things differently, but anyway, here is the version from Thames Water :

"Whoever pays the water service charges for a metered supply – owner occupier, landlord or tenant - may be eligible for a leakage allowance whether we repair the pipe or whether a private contractor is used subject to certain conditions:
• The leak must be repaired within 6 weeks of it being confirmed
• The claim for an allowance must be made within 3 months of the date of repair
• An allowance will not be given if the leak was caused through negligence
• An allowance is given for the first leak whilst you occupy the property but you cannot claim for subsequent leaks
• Allowances are only considered for external pipes that are laid underground (this excludes leakage from internal fixtures and fittings)
If you do not meet the above criteria but feel there are exceptional circumstances, please write to us at the address on the back of the leaflet, and we will consider your claim on its own merits.
The leakage allowance is applied per customer per property. This means that if you are granted an allowance at your current address, it does not prevent you from claiming an allowance for your new property if you move home. Similarly, if we have replaced your water supply pipe and it leaks within the guaranteed period, we will make an additional allowance where claimed.

As soon as you tell us you have a leak, we will send you a form so that you can claim the allowance. Please call us on 0845 9200 800 if you would like a form. The form should be returned to us as soon as the leak has been repaired. When it is received we will apply the allowance as soon as is reasonably practical. If the property is of ‘mixed use’, meaning that part of the building is used for commercial purposes and part for domestic use, for example a shop with a flat above, we regard the consumer living in the domestic property as eligible for a leakage allowance".

mcc100

Check with you water company. I'm sure that some offer a one off leakage allowance even for internal leaks.

gp2

mcc100 wrote: »

Check with you water company. I'm sure that some offer a one off leakage allowance even for internal leaks.

Thanks, is there anybody has experience to talk to water company abt internal leaking? I have looked thru the website, doesnt seem there's any concession for internal leakage. Is it up to individual's or common practice? thanks

mart.vader

gp2 wrote: »

Thanks, is there anybody has experience to talk to water company abt internal leaking? I have looked thru the website, doesnt seem there's any concession for internal leakage. Is it up to individual's or common practice? thanks

Which Water Co are you supplied by?

Edit: And where exactly was the leak?

Gothicfairy

gp2 wrote: »

Thanks, is there anybody has experience to talk to water company abt internal leaking? I have looked thru the website, doesnt seem there's any concession for internal leakage. Is it up to individual's or common practice? thanks

Plenty of people will have experience of talking to their water company about internal leaks but as there is not law that states a water company need to hep the householder in any way it is all down to the company and person reviewing the leak allowance form.
As has already been said, your best bet is just to contact your water company and ask them for their leak allowance / adjustment form and take it from there.