Big bill from UU

willgleave

Received my half yearly bill on friday from UU to read it and be shocked, £486.32, that works out at over £80 per month. Now let me explain quickly I'm single and work away 3 days a week, i use the washing machine twice a week and have a shower everyday I'm at home. I have no idea where the water has gone, i spent all day on the phone to them yesterday with no joy, they said that its average for a house my size but when i explained all the above and more they seemed to think it was a little high but nothing they can do about it.
I did a leak test for 3 hours and nothing, not sure what to do now as they say it needs to be paid but i know i haven't used that amount of water and its never been that high before.

Any ideas folks.

gardner1

do you have a water meter

willgleave

Yes sorry should of mentioned, i do thats how they got me to do the leak test with them.

Cardew

I assume you have checked the meter reading against the bill reading and it is correct?

Were previous meter readings estimated?

Often they under-estimate meter readings and then produce a 'catch-up' bill.

matelodave

How long is it since it was last read. Is this an estimate or an actual reading. You need to have some idea of the volume of water you've used rather than just the cost.


Try reading the meter weekly to get some idea of what you are using - it does sound rather a lot for a single person. The average consumption per person is about 55 cu.m a year which is 1 cu.m a week.
So if you have used significantly more than about 28-30 cu.m over six months then you should be trying to find out where it's all going.


It's another bill that you should be checking against the meter and ensuring that any estimates are corrected otherwise you are likely to get big bills when the meter does eventually get read.

willgleave

Thanks for the replies, yes the meter readings are actual readings, they always have been, since my OP I've dug out my old bills and they've been getting increasingly bigger each time, I've also spoke to my neighbours who are both families of 4 with stay at home mums so in all day and their bills are more than half what mine is. It was last read 6 months ago (read every 6 months)

Cardew

You are certain that the meter they are reading belongs to your property?

macman

And are your neighbours also on metered billing?

matelodave

I suggest that you turn the water off at the meter to check that your water supply stops - that should establish that it's your meter.
Someone should complain if you turn it off all day and they are using some of your water if you are feeding another property as well as your own


Try doing a few daily reads, with it turned on and with it turned off to make sure that there isn't a slow leak somewhere, although water meters are quite sensitive and you should be able to see a small leak.