Water meter mix up query

too_much_debt

What happens if there are two houses and one has a water meter and the other doesn't. The two water things (that you open to turn off the water) are next to each other outside the driveway of one of the houses.


If one of the houses sells and this house does not have a water meter and the water company come out to fit one surely when the two things are opened, one would have a water meter in and the other wouldn't so a water meter would be fitted to the one with nothing in.


My query is that this happened to us, we moved into our house years ago, our water bills have the serial number to the new fitted meter and yet now it is connected to next doors water and the other one with the old meter in is connected to ours.


On ringing up the water people they are saying that next door is showing the same serial number and yet how can that be when they had a meter about 8 years before we moved in. This serial number is not on any of their bills.


Sorry if this sounds confusing, am just concerned that if we have used more water than we are thinking we have will we get a big bill come in.


Also what will they do when they come out to look, the lady on the phone said looking to see if it is a crossed pipe.


Thanks in advance for any replies.

matelodave

After your very confused post have you checked which water meter feeds your house and which one you are being billed with. You can do it by checking that it doesn't run when nothing is turned on and that it does when you are using water. When you are sure which is your meter (or the one that records when you use water) - take a reading and write to the water company (send it recorded delivery) explaining what is happening requesting them to sort it out.
If you are on good terms with your neighbours and they do the same then hopefully it will be rectified quickly. Trying to explain to a call centre is really flogging against overwhelming odds.

MoneyMate

Are you saying both houses are off the same water Meter ?

too_much_debt

Hi. Thanks for the replies. Sorry but it is very hard to explain.


The water meter we were told was ours (they fitted it when we moved in and is on all our bills) does not move when we run our water, it moves when next door run their water. They said they had a water meter fitted in the 90s and the other meter is a 98 serial number meter although their bills they get through has a 97 number so that means that meter is 16 years old. We have a letter from when we moved in saying there is no meter at our address and one will be installed.


When we rang up after getting the very high water bill the lady said to check the meter number and take the reading again as the reading was higher than it should have been and she gave us the meter serial number again. We checked it and rang up with the correct meter reading. About 5 days later next door asked my OH why he was looking at their water meter and he said it is our water meter so the neighbour ran his water and the meter we have believed and were told was ours turned round and the other meter with the 98 number moved when we turned our water on.


When I rang again on Friday the person I spoke to checked next doors account and said the serial number registered to us was also registered on their account but the bills they get through have a 97 number and not a 06 number like on ours.


We have the booklet they gave us with the water meter number written on the front cover and the date it was fitted from when we moved in.


Someone is coming out later this week to look but I am confused as if next door had a water meter back in the 90s how come the one that was fitted in 06 is registered to their account but not on any of their paperwork.


Hope this makes more sense.


Thanks

too_much_debt

Anyone? Please?