who should read the meter?

korky69

Q as above
I live in a flat alone and on setting up a new account they estimated my usage at £19 p/m
fast forward 6 months I moved out to another flat and they'd already just read both meters and upped it to £30 which is fine as my g/f stays regular along with my 2 boys.

I've just been asked to provide a reading to avoid an estimated bill again, but i can't locate my meter?
there are several lids outside but can't see any with a reference number on, plus they are quite low down covered dust etc.
I got to they use an electronic device to read them so what chance have I?

I could now be paying too much and they having my money, or worse still, not enough and get landed with an excessive bill when they do decide to read it!

surely they should provide meters that are easily reached like gas & electric or be forced to read them and not do estimates

JSR

One way to locate the meter is to open all the lids and then get your missus to turn on a tap for a few seconds, off again for a few seconds, on again for a few seconds and so on. Whichever meter spins to the pattern is yours.

korky69

JSR wrote: »

One way to locate the meter is to open all the lids and then get your missus to turn on a tap for a few seconds, off again for a few seconds, on again for a few seconds and so on. Whichever meter spins to the pattern is yours.

ta, will probably have to tape a paint brush to a stick!

macman

They're fitted low down in the pavement hole because that's the depth at which the water pipes are run....
Unless you'd prefer to have your mains pipe fracturing regularly because it's set just below the surface?
All you need is a screwdriver to flip the lid up, and a torch to read the meter (or put your phone in there and take a pic).

matelodave

I suppose it's up to you whether you read it or not. If you read the meter and give them the info then you can possibly reduce your monthly payment - if you leave it up to them then you might have a long wait before it gets read and you could end up lending them lots of your money and having the hassle of trying to get it back.

It's always a good ide to check it now and again anyway just to make sure you don't have any leaks.

I take a piccy of mine with a digital camera (dont drop it into the hole though)