very high water bill

redrabbit29

Sorry, but going to hijack this thread for a similar issue of mine.

We had a big bill about a year ago. The water company - "South East" water said a meter would benefit me and GF as we live in a 2 bedroom small house and are full time workers. They said it generally is about £20-25 a month so a lot cheaper.

We did get the meter installed.

Last week we got a 6 month bill for £342. Which I believe to be very very high - considering we don't bath, no dishwasher, we are never there as we work long hours.

Anyway, I called them and they came out. They posted a leaflet through our door as I was out. It said had a box ticked saying "High use of water", and the boxes for "Internal leak" and "External Leak" were both empty.

This implies that they believe I've simply used a lot of water.

I've noticed no leaks in the house and can't think how in god's name we've used 163m3 of water.

Any ideas?

I'll ring them and try turning the water off to monitor the meter.

Cardew

redrabbit29 wrote: »

I've noticed no leaks in the house and can't think how in god's name we've used 163m3 of water.

In six months the average for a couple would be approx. 55 cubic metres.


It is simple enough to establish if you have a leak, tracing the leak is more difficult.


Obviously your first step should be to turn of the stopc0ck in the house and check if the meter is moving.


If it is not moving, then any leak is internal. The biggest culprit is a cistern overflow leaking(silently) back into the toilet bowl.


To leak that amount of water would be noticeable anywhere inside a house - over 600 litres a day. Assuming that the meter is external, it is likely to be in pipe from meter to house.


Are you aware that you can revert back to charges based on Rateable Value if less than 12 months have elapsed since you had the meter fitted.


That said, most water companies will repair a leak(once) in an external water pipe FOC as a goodwill measure

matelodave

If you think there's a problem, start checking the meter daily to get an idea of your consumption profile. Waiting for the water co to read it and bill you is too late - you've used or wasted all that water and probably got to pay for it.
So to save money - read your meter regularly, it also helps you see when it's all being used and gives you the opportunity to reduce your consumption.

My mate had a problem down in Torquay a couple of years ago and lost over £11,000 (yes, eleven thousand pounds worth), fortunately the builders who split the underground pipe coughed up otherwise he would have had a real problem - he reads his meter regularly now as well.

Don't forget that a long running underground leak can undermine your buikding foundations as well which makes for a very serious problem

redrabbit29

Cardew wrote: »

In six months the average for a couple would be approx. 55 cubic metres.


It is simple enough to establish if you have a leak, tracing the leak is more difficult.


Obviously your first step should be to turn of the stopc0ck in the house and check if the meter is moving.


If it is not moving, then any leak is internal. The biggest culprit is a cistern overflow leaking(silently) back into the toilet bowl.


To leak that amount of water would be noticeable anywhere inside a house - over 600 litres a day. Assuming that the meter is external, it is likely to be in pipe from meter to house.


Are you aware that you can revert back to charges based on Rateable Value if less than 12 months have elapsed since you had the meter fitted.


That said, most water companies will repair a leak(once) in an external water pipe FOC as a goodwill measure

It's 6am and I'm sat in silence listening for a leak. I can hear a drip every 20 seconds - which I will try to look into.

Either way, I haven't noticed any substantial leaks. Not now and not in the last 2 years I lived here.

I'm just listening to my boiler and that switched on a fair amount. Could it just be REALLY inefficient?!!!

To confirm them - I could possibly tell South East water that I want to be charged the flat amount - I.e as if the meter wasn't installed?

I read up on it and just need to send them a letter.

redrabbit29

Also would having my hot water setting to "constant" be a problem - or is that related to gas/electric charges?

I'm starting to think that my really old boiler may be the problem.

macman

Having hot water 'on' 24/7 will simply bump up your gas bills. Completely unecessary.

redrabbit29

UPDATE

I called water company who said they came out although no one was at home. They reported that the water meter was moving at the time they visited, although did say it doesn't always mean there's a leak.

They are coming out on 20th Feb to check again.

Strangely - they said that the high bill relates to a period between 1st October and 1st November. Since that date the water usage has been absolutely normal. They did say that for a period of 24 hours the water was running constantly.

...

I don't know how that would have happened, unless it's a silent running of the toilet or something - I think someone mentioned that earlier.