Higher than average???

stalyteddy

Ive received a water bill last month from United Utilities covering the past 6 months water usage and the total bill for the next year is £1309.74!!!
Ive only lived in this property since 2nd April 2011 upto this present day and have been paying £44.70 per month as I was instructed to do so when I moved into the property.
I have a water meter already fitted and they have taken a reading and still say that I have used a fair amount of water which I would find impossible as we only use the avearge household usage.
it says on the bill that from May 2011 to November 2011 I have used 150 Cubic Metres.
My new payment plan that they have informed me to pay for the next 12 months is now over double the amount previously being paid which works out at £109.20 per month.
Surely this isnt right?? Is it??? I am very reluctant to pay over the odds and am sure there is some kind of error.
Any help or advice would be very grateful

Swipe

Have you checked the meter readings for any errors? That's 10 times my usage. so it sounds like you could have a leak. Switch off the internal stop tap and see if your meter is still turning. If it is, you have a leak between the meter and the house. If not, the problem could be internally such as be a leaking toilet cistern or tank leaking from an overflow pipe.

bobthedambuilder

150 cu m in 6 months sounds quite high for a normal household. Our household has 3 adults who shower / bath daily. We use the washing machine and dishwasher daily, and water the garden / wash the cars regularly in summer. Our consumption is between 75 and 100 cu m per 6 months (lower figure in the winter).

I think UU also charge on the meter for the sewerage charges (on the basis that water in = water out), so a high consumption is a double whammy.

I'd look at the possibility of a leak somewhere, or if that draws a blank, look at ways to conserve water.

Gothicfairy

Get them to come out and flow test the meter......you need to give them 5 working days for an appointment but they will do it on request and that will sort out if the meter is faulty or there is a leak..take it from there once you know what is wrong.

energysavingexp

just recieved my 6mth water bill iv'e used 1 Cubic Metre charge for water and sewerge £2.58 standing charges £53.58 total bill £56.16
that works out at 5.6p per ltr

Cardew

The average consumption in UK is 50 to 60 cubic metres, per person, per year.

So 150 cu mtrs in 6 months would be about average if 5 or 6 people lived in the house.

Also it is possible that the start reading on the bill is estimated, and this is a 'Catch Up, bill.

The first thing to check is to see if there is a leak, either outside the house or inside. The normal culprit is a toilet cistern overflowing into the bowl. Check the meter with all taps off and see if it is moving.

macman

Before you do anything else, go and verify the meter reading yourself, until you've done that you can't dispute anything.
Have you checked that you are even being billed against the correct meter-do the s/n's match up?
If the reading is correct, then a leak downstream of the meter must be suspected, so then do a flow test.

HappyMJ

energysavingexp wrote: »

just recieved my 6mth water bill iv'e used 1 Cubic Metre charge for water and sewerge £2.58 standing charges £53.58 total bill £56.16
that works out at 5.6p per ltr

1 cubic metre 6 months....that 5 and a half litres per day....I can only assume the opening meter reading was an overestimate and the closing meter reading is an actual reading.

energysavingexp

HappyMJ wrote: »

1 cubic metre 6 months....that 5 and a half litres per day....I can only assume the opening meter reading was an overestimate and the closing meter reading is an actual reading.

no they are both actual readings i actualy use beteen 4 to 5 lts per day.
the reason i use so little is i recycle the rain water, infact i used 27000lts of rain water in the last 6 mts but that is FREE
i only use the mains water for drinking and cooking, the water for washing, showering, dishwasher baths ect is all Purified rain water.

the water bill used to be £560 on the RV when i moved in
for the last 4 years now iv'e got my my water bill down to £120 PA
£115 of that is standing charges

HappyMJ

energysavingexp wrote: »

no they are both actual readings i actualy use beteen 4 to 5 lts per day.
the reason i use so little is i recycle the rain water, infact i used 27000lts of rain water in the last 6 mts but that is FREE
i only use the mains water for drinking and cooking, the water for washing, showering, dishwasher baths ect is all Purified rain water.

the water bill used to be £560 on the RV when i moved in
for the last 4 years now iv'e got my my water bill down to £120 PA
£115 of that is standing charges

It must rain a lot around your area or you have a large collection area. I'm lucky to get 100 litres per week and that's only if it rains. There was only 422mm of rain here last year.

energysavingexp

HappyMJ wrote: »

It must rain a lot around your area or you have a large collection area. I'm lucky to get 100 litres per week and that's only if it rains. There was only 422mm of rain here last year.

Rain it does nothing else but rain here lol
think it must be the wetest part of england here
my roof is 37ft long x 19ft high x 2 sides
i collect it in to a 5 ton tank last few weeks its been overflowing
ive only run out of water once in the last 4 years and that was for a week