Water meters - pros and cons?

Wig

Cardew wrote:

When there is a change of owner for a property, the water company can insist that a meter is fitted - and usually do so.

Usually do so??? I wouldn't agree to that. I'd say the normal practice is for water companies to ignore house sales, and only fit meters to new builds and customer request. Besides someone here said a woman challenged the water company to remove the meter and she won (no details were given) but it was suggested by another poster that the meter was fitted/to be fitted within the boundaries of her property and that may have had some bearing in the case, that if the meter had been in the pavement she couldn't stop them.

So if potential purchasers are serious about buying, any house they buy will require a water meter to be fitted.

I doubt it.

Dizniegirl

scootermacc wrote:

Does anyone have any experience or advice on whether gettnig a water meter might save money or not?

I have a natural reluctance against the idea in case my billis astronomical, but this is emotion not fact.

Anyone help?

Hi
I have had my water meter installed now for 3 months. My bills have come down from £65.00 per month to £29 per month. (Thats based on 2 people). To cut back on water even more go to hippo.com. They sell a collapble box which goes into your toilet cistern and saves 1/3 of water you would use every time you flush.. they only cost £2.99 and will save you more money.

Hope this helps after all your money is better off with you and not the water board.

Art_2

Dizniegirl wrote:

Hi
I have had my water meter installed now for 3 months. My bills have come down from £65.00 per month to £29 per month. (Thats based on 2 people). To cut back on water even more go to hippo.com. They sell a collapble box which goes into your toilet cistern and saves 1/3 of water you would use every time you flush.. they only cost £2.99 and will save you more money.

Hope this helps after all your money is better off with you and not the water board.

Many water companies give the 'hippos' away for free. Check with your local supplier. You could also just put a brick into the system - it will have the same effect.

Regards,
Art.

nibs

Wig wrote:

Usually do so??? I wouldn't agree to that. I'd say the normal practice is for water companies to ignore house sales, and only fit meters to new builds and customer request. Besides someone here said a woman challenged the water company to remove the meter and she won (no details were given) but it was suggested by another poster that the meter was fitted/to be fitted within the boundaries of her property and that may have had some bearing in the case, that if the meter had been in the pavement she couldn't stop them.

All houses that are sold have a water meter installed when when the new owners move in, in my area. You don't get a choice.
We have one and there are five of us. We all shower every day and bath once a week. I run the dishwasher every day and washing machine twice a day. My water bills have gone down by £60 a year. (We've been on it for 16 months)

Cardew

Wig wrote:

Usually do so??? I wouldn't agree to that. I'd say the normal practice is for water companies to ignore house sales, and only fit meters to new builds and customer request. Besides someone here said a woman challenged the water company to remove the meter and she won (no details were given) but it was suggested by another poster that the meter was fitted/to be fitted within the boundaries of her property and that may have had some bearing in the case, that if the meter had been in the pavement she couldn't stop them.



I doubt it.

Wig,
Hadn't seen this post.

I was under the impression that all companies insisted on a meter being fitted as soon as there was a new name on the account; but of course that could be a regional thing. So I will qualify the 'Normal' practice comment by adding that it is normal practice in some companies.

Given OFWAT estimate that 70% of customers on the RV system would pay less on a meter, it does rather surprise me that they insist on fitting them anywhere as the policy would appear to lose them revenue.

Just a couple of other points:

There are certainly some areas where the water company can insist on fitting meters to properties even without a change of occupant. There has been some talk of a law being passed to have that apply to all existing non-metered properties.

Not certain I agree with the logic of poster who thought fitting a meter within the boundaries of her property was relevant. We have no say about gas/electricity meters on our property(provided we require the service) so why would water be different? You don't have to have a water supply of course, but if you do, surely the supplier can dictate the terms and conditions as long as that complies with the water regulations.

westcountry_saver

My water bill for 2007/2008 is £721 (South West Water) For 2 people in a 3 bed semi. After reading these posts I am calling the water board tomorrow to ask for a meter.

carol_a_3

Me too. SWW want to charge me £778 this year, there's only me and two teenage children so I've got the meter man coming on Friday to do the survey. If you look at the figures it says there are £1.6 million residents and over 8 million visitors to the south west each year.

misgrace

Interesting thread, infact I was going to post this question, as my new next door neighbours had a water meter put in, and I was coming in from work when he asked me something about the manhole between thier property and ours.
Got chatting like you do, and he advised me to go on a water meter, as there is only me and OH at home now, he said at the moment 3 valleys water are fitting them for free if I want to change over, but in the next few months they are thinking of charging a couple hundred pounds.
And I would have the option to change back if I felt I wasnt saving money.

So I was going to ask you all, if you didnt mind, on average either a single person or a couple, roughly how much difference are you saving by being on the meter.?

BTW, my OH is not convinced, so I said I would post this and let him read the replies, and the best way to get an honest opinion is from people who have changed over.:D

space_rider

I used to pay £43 per month and now I pay £14. I have 2 teenagers and a 6 year old and we all have showers every day and little one has a bath every night. We are careful with the water in that we dont let it run to brush teeth but dont go to extreme like not flushing the loo. I don`t use hose pipe but use watering can for garden and washing the car. I use 1.5 units per week. I haven`t had bill yet as only moved in in Dec but I do read meter every week to make sure no leakage. I have dishwasher which is on every other day and washing machine 4 loads a week.

alan99_2

misgrace wrote: »

Interesting thread, infact I was going to post this question, as my new next door neighbours had a water meter put in, and I was coming in from work when he asked me something about the manhole between thier property and ours.
Got chatting like you do, and he advised me to go on a water meter, as there is only me and OH at home now, he said at the moment 3 valleys water are fitting them for free if I want to change over, but in the next few months they are thinking of charging a couple hundred pounds.
And I would have the option to change back if I felt I wasnt saving money.

So I was going to ask you all, if you didnt mind, on average either a single person or a couple, roughly how much difference are you saving by being on the meter.?

BTW, my OH is not convinced, so I said I would post this and let him read the replies, and the best way to get an honest opinion is from people who have changed over.:D

Hi

I changed to meter.
I am with 3 Valleys and Thames for sewerage. I have reduced my bill.
But I am single and a low user, but my rateable value was low. If yours is high even more reason to change to meter.
I used to pay about £170 pa with no meter. I now pay around the £100 pa mark with meter .

Have a look at https://www.uswitch.com and calculate your savings from the water saving guide on the left hand side. It is quite detailed. But note you will still have to pay a standing charge to both 3 Valleys and Thames even with a meter.(inc. in the calculation)
Have a look at 3 valleys latest charges here.
http://www.3valleys.co.uk/pdf/charges_07_08.pdf
If you look at your latest bill it will help to understand it!!

HTH

Alan