Water meters - pros and cons?

bertiebots

Hello I havent read the whole thread as I am usually hanging around with the old stylers but would like to pass on my info:D ! We are a family of 5 in a yorkshire water area. We have a meter and our bills are still way cheaper than local rates charges.We average around £65 per quarter so thats around £260 per year. Before we moved to our current address we were paying over £460 on water rates:eek: and that didnt include sewerage as we had private drains (which caved in and we had to pay to be repaired:mad: ).We dont have a dishwasher but there is constant washing with 3 children in the house ..the shower is used daily and although we are concious of our water usage we dont worry when the car neads a wash. We have large water butts in the garden so that doesnt go on our meter. I think it all depends on your local water authority as there seems to be a massive difference around the country. For many people meters are cheaper even with a family. So my recommendation would be to check out what you could save.
One point I will add though is that the information provided by yorkshire water is that a family of 5 will have metered bills estimated over £500 per year.....is this a ploy to keep people on the higher rated charges?

littlemissjojo

GhostDog wrote: »

Hmmm ok so I skim read some of this thread but.........

Just had water bill land on doormat.

2 person household:

No bath - shower. (used daily!)
(New) Washing machine (used 4 x week)
No dishwasher (only me!)
No hosepipe - garden all paved for dog!

And the bill for last 6mths use is for 2 cubic metres use of water???!!!

As I pay on DD I am in credit by almost £170.

I must work up courage to open meter cover and actually read it - can't bear the thought of a rat popping out!!! But I'm sure it must be wrong.....although it does say it was an actual reading?

Its got to be wrong hasn't it?

OK, first thing, go and check the readings. If it is actual readings, and the meter has only registered 2 cubic metres in the last 6 months, then most likely the meter is faulty. The water company will at some point realise this, and replace it with a new one. They will then take two readings from the new meter, over a period of 2 weeks or so, and use this to backdate your charges for the period that the old meter was faulty.

They can and will do this, as under the Limitations act they can charge for services used, but not billed, up to a maximum of six years.

HOWEVER, with regard to meter exchanges, (speaking only about Thames Water here - cant comment on other Water Co's) they can only backdate to THE LAST BUT ONE ACTUAL READING on the faulty meter. So just be aware of that if they try & charge you back any further.

HTH x

GhostDog_2

Yes it is an actual reading and it is correct and although I haven't dug out the old bill to check that the reading was correct before I do vaguely remember checking it and getting the DD lowered from £30pm to £25pm as we were overpaying slightly.:rolleyes:

MSE.com would remind me the money is best in MY account not theirs!

Looks like I'll be talking to the water company soon! :cool:

GhostDog_2

An update to our "cheap water"

Letter arrives today to say they will be refunding us the overpaid DD amount and lowering the monthly DD to £6!!!!! :eek:

OH reckons the water company might just be right....I think he's overly optimistic! :j

< Note to self: Trawl the board to find out what everyone else pays each month >

littlemissjojo

GhostDog wrote: »

An update to our "cheap water"

Letter arrives today to say they will be refunding us the overpaid DD amount and lowering the monthly DD to £6!!!!! :eek:

OH reckons the water company might just be right....I think he's overly optimistic! :j

< Note to self: Trawl the board to find out what everyone else pays each month >

Hmmm.....I think overly optimistic!!!

£6 per month would just about cover the standing charges!!

Do you have the same company for water and waste water?

I would seriously keep a close eye on the meter readings. Because even if they refund you the overpayment, and then discover the meter is faulty, they will still try & hit you with a backdated bill!! Though if they have refunded you already, it will be a lot more difficult for them to follow it through!

Good luck!

GhostDog_2

littlemissjojo wrote: »

Hmmm.....I think overly optimistic!!!

Men eh?!!! :rolleyes:

£6 per month would just about cover the standing charges!!

Do you have the same company for water and waste water?

Yes - only the one water company Annual rate supply standing charge £17. Annual rate sewerage standing charge £36.

I would seriously keep a close eye on the meter readings. Because even if they refund you the overpayment, and then discover the meter is faulty, they will still try & hit you with a backdated bill!! Though if they have refunded you already, it will be a lot more difficult for them to follow it through!

Good luck!

This is OH's argument. :cool:

On checking the small print on the bill it does state "If you think your meter is not recording accurately you can ask for it to be tested. If the results confirm the meter is reading accurately, you will be liable for the cost of the test" :eek:

So, in true MSE style...I'm planning on putting the "unwanted" DD amount into a savings account and letting it earn interest for ME rather than the water company!!! I wholly expect for them to realise their mistake and ask for it back Although if they have given it back to me once it might be fun!

Hey, at the end of the day I'm dreaming about a nice permanent reduction in my water bill! :rotfl:

anony_mouse_5

Ok, (rolls up sleeves)

Firstly RV or rateable value is based on water rates before privatisation AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH COUNCIL TAX BANDINGS, it was an agreed way of determining the amount to bill unmetered properties.
factors affecting this can be location and type of property.
If RV you are billed for the water you are going to use.

Meters- meters record usage and you are billed for the water you have used.
one argument is that it makes you more thrifty with usage as you pay for it (ecologically as well as financially),

to work out if it is worth fitting a meter read below-
The average adult uses about 1m3 per week,
so fo example 2 adults 2 kids roughly 21/2 m3 per week,
for every 1m3 going in it is reasonable to assume you dispose of 1m3 (if not you have to prove the exact amount and have meter fitted to the effluent pipe so you can be billed seperately)

therefore a family of 2 adults 2 kids uses roughly 2.5 m3 and disposes of 2.5m3.
find out from the companies tarriffs what the charge for 1m3 is and disposal of 1m3,
also you need to include SWD charges for your type of property,
as well as the standing charges.

SO if you do have 4 kids and 3 adults living in your property and its metered its unfortunate. ask about things like savaflush and look into water butts.

gzed

Cardew wrote: »

Look at Northumbrian Water's metered rates for 120 cubic meters a year and see what that costs.(water, sewerage and standing charges)

However you can have a meter fitted and see what your consumption is like. If it is not finacially advantageous you can revert back to your current billing system.

Got northumbrian water in yesterday to assess possibility of meter installation. There is not enough room around the entry pipe to fit the meter (I could have told them that without the need of them turning up). As their are 2 independent flats stacked on top of each other, they will instead fit a shared meter on the outside for the 2 flats. My current bill is £295 per year and the guy reckons this will then be around £190. I'm waiting for a call back form NW.

The other flat is tiny (empty at the moment) and is only suitable for a single person really.

Could anyone explain to me how those shared meter work?thanks

JAH_2

My mother is with Northumbria Water. She is 80 yrs old and lives alone.
On this basis I thought she'd be better off metered and suggested she contact NW. They duly sent out someone to look into it for her and he reported that "he can't find where the mains enter the house". Can't he trace back from the stopcock with one of those CAT tracer thingumyjigs? (sorry).
Can't be bothered is what springs to mind.
I'm totally stumped! I live at the other end of the country so can't be present if she asks for a second visit.
This is a normal end terrace house we're talking about here, nothing out of the ordinary.
Any suggestions anyone? I've never heard anything like it!

Thanks! :rolleyes:

gzed

gzed wrote: »

Got northumbrian water in yesterday to assess possibility of meter installation. There is not enough room around the entry pipe to fit the meter (I could have told them that without the need of them turning up). As their are 2 independent flats stacked on top of each other, they will instead fit a shared meter on the outside for the 2 flats. My current bill is £295 per year and the guy reckons this will then be around £190. I'm waiting for a call back form NW.

The other flat is tiny (empty at the moment) and is only suitable for a single person really.

Could anyone explain to me how those shared meter work?thanks

Ok here is the verdict:

So I can't get a water fitted but instead I'm getting an assessed charge. So now I'm paying £218.50 instead of £305.15. I suppose that's not bad savings bearing in mind a water meter is not possible.