Missing water meter

hayleypayton

i dont know if this is in the right forum, but basically we moved in our property in december, it was a repossession and was in a right mess didnt even have running water which we had to fix as united utilities said it wasnt there problem, anyway told them id moved and thought they could transfer my account only a couple of months in i got a bill for £500 i rang to ask what the hell as my other house was about £330 fpr the whole year, they told me i was on a water meter and this was correct from the reading it had given them
I wasnt aware we had a meter and so asked where it was it was defo not there as that was the pipe we had to replace when we moved in, they sent 4 different people to check as apparently the reading was getting sent from that meter all 4 confirmed there is no meter, then i get a call saying i had committed a criminal offence removing it so again i told them it was never here
Now 9 months on my bill is nearly £1000 which is disgusting for 9 months use of water anyway but now they are saying they have to put the meter on, but in order for them to do that they will have to break my brand new kitchen, so iv told them no way am i signing anything to say they are not liable for damage, obviosly they are not happy and escalating it but no way am i allowing them to destry my property
Plus the fact iv got 3 children & 2 adults living here and im a childminder so rely on water but cant afford £1000 bills every 9 months
Please can anybody help do i have to have 1?

Gothicfairy

In short........legally, yes...No RV and clearly a meter could be installed as there was one so yep you have to have on.

Why not ask for it to be outside in a boundry box as that is what they would rather too.

hayleypayton

they cant put one outside they have checked, the 1 that was here before was in the old kitchen we have since fitted a brand new kitchen which is a complete different design thanks for your help anyway

deanos

You really need to work with the water company, they may take if further as someone has removed the meter and take legal action, if you co-operate and get a meter refitted they would probably take it no further

The internal meter would be fitted above the internal stop tap, if a backboard if covering the pipework it requires a A4 sized hole cutting for access

Can you take a pic of where your stop tap is now ?

Cardew

It is not clear to me on what basis they are charging £1,000 for 9 months water.

If they have reverted to the old Rateable Value??(RV) what is the RV on your bill? In United Utilities area you must have a big/attractive house.

I am not sure what it is you want, other than you don't want a meter, and you don't(understandably) want to pay £1000 every 9 months. What is it you do want?

It also seems that you re-connected your house to the water supply by fitting a pipe in place of a meter.

If you refuse to have a meter because of your new kitchen, and one cannot be fitted outside, it seems that they will either carry on charging you at the rate of £1,000 for 9 months use, or cut off your water supply.

mart.vader

They CAN'T cut off water supplies to domestic properties - only commercial properties.

If you have a new kitchen, IMO you have every right to refuse to let them install the meter in it. Why can't they fit it outside the property? Are you in a flat? Where is the nearest point where the pipe branches so that it provides water to ONLY your flat/house? That is the point to fit the meter.

Obviously, don't sign anything to say they are not liable for any damage. Are they taking the Mickey ? If you do allow them to fit in your kitchen, on the contrary, get them to put in WRITING that they ARE liable for any damage.

You say there was no meter and you didn't remove it when you replaced the pipe? Then UNLESS they can prove that there was one, AND that you removed it, they can't blame you for that. If four of their staff can't find the meter, then, if there was one, it was plainly removed by the previous occupants.

If they really can't fit a meter, (say, if your water supply was inseparable from your neighbours supply - it happens sometimes) you can either be on RV or assessed charge. RV seems to be very expensive - Assessed charge would be the normal consumption of a household of your size.

pinky2681

work with them as the property will have had a water meter in the past if you dont allow a meter to be fitted the water company CAN apply for a court order to gain acess and fit a meter as removing the meter is an offence they may not be able to convict you of it but they have a legal right to replace there meter that was removed at som point problem like this are fairly common on repo properties

Cardew

mart.vader wrote: »

If you have a new kitchen, IMO you have every right to refuse to let them install the meter in it. .... you can either be on RV or assessed charge.

I really don't agree with that statement, if you mean that the OP has a choice of an assessed bill.


There was a meter in property, where it was positioned has been bypassed by the OP with the pipe they fitted. I don't think any criminal offence has been committed(as the water company state) because it was not done with the intent to defraud.

However you simply cannot have people refusing to have a meter fitted internally, where one has been removed and they don't want it replaced and demand an assessed rate. The OP's solicitor should have sorted it out before they bought a repossession.

mart.vader

Cardew wrote: »

I really don't agree with that statement, if you mean that the OP has a choice of an assessed bill.

I am not saying that the OP can say "I don't want a meter - put me on assessed charge". If the W Co will not take responsibility for any damage caused when they fit or refit it, in the new kitchen, and if that is the only place to fit it, then the only options I can think of are an assessed charge or RV - As I understand it, when a meter cannot be fitted, the W Co will offer an assessed charge

There was a meter in property, where it was positioned has been bypassed by the OP with the pipe they fitted. the OP disputes this, ( "it was defo not there as that was the pipe we had to replace when we moved in") and neither of us know whether it is true or correct

I don't think any criminal offence has been committed(as the water company state) because it was not done with the intent to defraud. (I agree)

However you simply cannot have people refusing to have a meter fitted internally, where one has been removed and they don't want it replaced and demand an assessed rate. The OP's solicitor should have sorted it out before they bought a repossession. They are refusing to let hairy-a$$ed meter fitters loose in their brand new kitchen with no assurance that they will be responsible for any damage, and who can blame them?

Except in very few instances, there is a point where the pipe branches so that all the water to that flat/house runs through it. (The exceptions occur when two or more flats are fed from a common storage tank.) Why can't the meter be fitted on that branch? Yes, it might need for a hole to be dug in the footway, but W.Cos do that hundreds of times every day.

deanos

mart.vader wrote: »

Except in very few instances, there is a point where the pipe branches so that all the water to that flat/house runs through it. (The exceptions occur when two or more flats are fed from a common storage tank.) Why can't the meter be fitted on that branch? Yes, it might need for a hole to be dug in the footway, but W.Cos do that hundreds of times every day.

that would be classed as a relocate and chargeable, it was obviously fitted internally for a reason, there may be drains outside or supply runs close to house for example so external cant be fitted or the water co may prefer to fit inside

Cardew

mart.vader wrote: »

.

There was a meter in property, where it was positioned has been bypassed by the OP with the pipe they fitted. the OP disputes this, ( "it was defo not there as that was the pipe we had to replace when we moved in") and neither of us know whether it is true or correct


I read that differently.

it seems the water company had it down as a metered account

I thought that the OP meant the meter was removed before they moved in, and, as I stated before, the pipe they fitted was to 'bridge' where the meter had been. Otherwise why mention a pipe being fitted?

Perhaps the OP will confirm.