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Water meter...

toezilla
toezilla Posts: 63 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
We complete on Friday.. I poped down to my new house today to take a few measurements so that we can oder sofa and the current owners gave me a letter from the water company, i opened it and it says that they are coming to fit a water meter in the next week or so and we will be billed in the next 8 weeks after the success installation of the meter...

What are your experiences of water meters...

There is me and my partner and we have bought a 3 bedroom house....
The early bird catches the worm - Success comes to those who prepare well and put in effort!
«134

Comments

  • Hump
    Hump Posts: 519 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture
    Classic case of the less you use, the less you pay - so if there are just 2 of you and you are careful with your water usage then you might end up paying less - that is unless/ until the children turn up ............
  • iwilldoitthistime
    iwilldoitthistime Posts: 520 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Ive got a meter and its a lot cheaper than the 'rateable value' way of charging IMHO. I have a three bed three bath house with 2 adults and one child, and our bills are £19 a month, against my mothers bills on an equal size house which were £45 a month (until she had a meter put in and it went down to £14 a month)

    I dont think its anything to worry about unless you have an outside pool or wash the car every night....:rotfl::rotfl:
    Sealed Pot no 2011 :D
  • toezilla
    toezilla Posts: 63 Forumite
    thats ok then... he does have a fish tank... i just asked him about the water changes... he said 6 buckets every 3 weeks...
    The early bird catches the worm - Success comes to those who prepare well and put in effort!
  • cattie
    cattie Posts: 8,844 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I had a water meter in my last house & my bills were less than half what they are in this rateable house. The only reason I haven't changed to a meter again is that I hope to downsize soon and as this is a family house, I know some families who use a lot of water are put off at the thought of having a meter. But once I move, I'll apply for a meter if there isn't one in the property I buy.
    The bigger the bargain, the better I feel.

    I should mention that there's only one of me, don't confuse me with others of the same name.
  • LittleMissGiggles123
    LittleMissGiggles123 Posts: 458 Forumite
    We're on a water meter, family of 4. When we first moved in they set us at £30 per month DD but we were in really high credit so we now pay £24 per month but always in credit. 4 people using bath/shower every day, usual daily use for washing hands/clean teeth etc, we use the dishwasher every day, washing machine is constantly on (the joy of children) & my husband has a fish tank :)
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    toezilla wrote: »
    thats ok then... he does have a fish tank... i just asked him about the water changes... he said 6 buckets every 3 weeks...
    That would cost about 2 pence per week. 6 buckets times 5 litres divide by 3 weeks divide by 1000 then multiply by £2 per cubic metre. Replace the £2 with your unit rate.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • toezilla
    toezilla Posts: 63 Forumite
    so by the looks of it, its not going to be a bad thing then... i have registered with esses and suffolk water and given details, i assume we just wait for them to decide and put in the meter...
    The early bird catches the worm - Success comes to those who prepare well and put in effort!
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    toezilla wrote: »
    so by the looks of it, its not going to be a bad thing then... i have registered with esses and suffolk water and given details, i assume we just wait for them to decide and put in the meter...
    It's only bad if you have 6 people (number of bedrooms+1 is usually break even) living in your 3 bedroom place like to wash the car and water the garden a lot and let the kids play with loads of water outside in the summer possibly with a small pool.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • timbo58
    timbo58 Posts: 1,164 Forumite
    edited 21 March 2012 at 10:03PM
    As I live on my own I was really shocked when I received a rated bill for water, I made sure the water co came round and fitted a meter tout suite!

    1/4 of the price........

    When I rang the water company they hmmed a bit as the last owners got repo'd but I insisted they change it asap: the rated value was quite ridiculous, they said' oh well its based on the houses rates value, I reminded them we'd had that nasty old council tax for the last 20 years! :-)

    Oh it's cheaper if you've got a full house of people they told me!
    What in a 2 bed semi said I!
    :-)
    Unless specifically stated all posts by me are my own considered opinion.
    If you don't like my opinion feel free to respond with your own.
  • Yorkie1
    Yorkie1 Posts: 12,689 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    They usually say if you have fewer people than bedrooms, a meter is a good idea for you.
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