Extorionate water bills for at least the last 10 years

Indiewitch

We have always had high water bills since moving into our house - its a new build with a water meter. Since 2009 we have been keeping an eye on usage and have had the meter checked - no leaks and its not connected to anyone elses house. Our landlord and Northumbrian water blamed each other for a while then our landlord put a pressure reducer on the main pipe under the sink as they blamed the water pressure (I wasnt convinced but thought they must know what they were doing) However, despite us paying £600 a year for last 2 years the water company have constantly tried to put our monthly payments up to £75 a month as we hve arrears of almost £400 Ive refused as I keep telling them we are really not using much water. Now they have told us the payments are going to be £85 a month and I cant refuse. This has made me start checking everything. I read the meter before we use any water and again afterwards and I am keeping a diary listing all usage. Our usage per 6months is averaging 123 cubic mtrs, They say we are constantly using 650 cms per day! I asked them what everything should use and their info was the same as the websites - washing machine 60-80ltrs, bath 80ltrs. I read the meter and did a load of washing and yes it used 60ltrs so far so good. We ran a bath and measured the water (just under 7inches high) yet the meter registered 140ltrs!!! I tried again the next night and same again. I then asked a mate to run a bath and we did the test again. Her bath is same size as mine and 7inches of water registered 60ltrs! Ive contacted NW to say no wonder the bills are high if Ive been using 80ltrs as a measure for the bath - as a family of 4 we have been having 3 or 4 baths a day (depending on what kids have been doing) which would equate to at least 420litres NOT the 240 we believed we were using. Northumbrian water say this cant be reading 140ltrs as a bath is 80litres. They are now treating me as if Im stupid and say they will attach a logger on the meter to read what we actually use. Any ideas as I'm at the end of my tether and we are currently sharing 1 bath (7inches of water) between all 4 of us. This is making me ill but the water company just say they will contct us. Any help would be great, thanks

creativemieu

What a nightmare. As someone who lives in the SW where there are the highest water charges in the country I share your pain. I would wait for the result of the logger, but I would be inclined to take some photos of the meter reading when it is reading incorrectly as further evidence. In the end if the meter is faulty you should be able to get back your over payments.

sax11

A standard bath filled just below the overflow takes about 160 litres. They should know that but might say you've been having excessivly deep baths.

Do you think you could use a shower instead? Or not having a bath everyday.

If i was in this situation i would refuse to pay until they sent someone round.

Indiewitch

I dont have a shower fit and the landlord says we can fit our own but at min cant afford it, Our bath water is nowhere near the overflow yet still reads high. Igot a friend who works for a local newspsper to contact Northumbrian Water and they we told I'm clutching at straws as I have clearly used more water and just conveniently forgotten! My only worry with the logger is that the lady said we have to use water as we were before, ie 3 baths a day. I explained that Im not keen as this will push my bills up further but she said I need to do it for 2 weeks. Since 2012 we have used the water saving pack - the bag in the toilet cistern, and kids have been instructed to 'only flush toilets if necessary'. I also pile washing up in sink then do max 2 sink fulls a day.

yangptangkipperbang

Indiewitch wrote: »

My only worry with the logger is that the lady said we have to use water as we were before, ie 3 baths a day. I explained that Im not keen as this will push my bills up further but she said I need to do it for 2 weeks.

Your OP says you have had "extortionate" water bills for the last 10 years - isn't a 2 week trial worth a go ???

Indiewitch

Yes its worth a try but as I say if we go back to 'normal' usage - 3 half baths a day max then we will be using 400ltrs in no time and my bills and arrears will increase again. I've been advised to mention it to the engineer when he comes out, so thats what I will do. Thanks

spiro

Do you run the water for any length of time before putting the plug in the bath? Doubt it would account for 60ltrs but it could use some.
Having used the bath have you thought of bailing it out to compare what the meter says against what you get out.
You also need to remember that baths have differernt lengths and widths, mine is 1.3m x 0.45m so if I fill that to 7" (0.1778m) it would take 104ltrs and I have seen lots of larger baths.

Indiewitch

Thanks Spiro.
No we put the plug in first then turn the tap on.
I measured my friends bath before I did the test. Lots more head scratching needed.

The most annoying thing is that everytime we have had a new bill (every 6mths) I have rang Northumbrian Water to query it and they have asked me what we use on an average day. I've always said 2 or 3 small baths, 1 or 2 loads of washing and the normal loo flushing, drinking water, face washing, teeth brushing. Bear in mind I have a 14 year old boy with a slight aversion to water. They have always said we must be using water which we cant remember using as '3 baths should be using 240ltrs'.

This is why I am so annoyed. I have been going off their advice yet when I measure it myself its actually 130-140ltrs per half bath (390-400ltrs per day!) This is a hell of a difference and goes some way to explaining how my usage per day was over 600ltrs.

I know its my word against theirs and I probably dont have a leg to stand on but just for daftness I got a friend to ring them today and say they couldnt work out why their water bill was so high and said they had 3 baths per day and 1 load of washing. They were told that would amount to roughly 300ltrs. They asked how many ltrs a bath used and were told 80. So they are still giving duff information!

Indiewitch

sax11 wrote: »

A standard bath filled just below the overflow takes about 160 litres. They should know that but might say you've been having excessivly deep baths.

Do you think you could use a shower instead? Or not having a bath everyday.

If i was in this situation i would refuse to pay until they sent someone round.

I filled our bath wo the overflow tonight just out of curiousity and my meter says I have used 280 ltrs. My bath is just a normal bath - not a large bath at all. The bathroom wall which the bath is against is only 5ft 6inches long and the bath is not the full length of the wall. Surely this cant be right?