Water meters - pros and cons?

Art_2

gzed wrote: »

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.

Why can't they give you a water meter?

Regards,
Art.

gzed

Art wrote: »

Why can't they give you a water meter?

Regards,
Art.

There is not enough space around the pipe at the entry side of the house to fit a meter

Geordie_Rover

Hi

When Northumbrian Water can't fit a water meter they look at putting you on an assessed charge if this would save you money, which is what they have given you.

If a shared meter was applied - this means that one meter is attached to the main supply and feeds both properties. The property it feeds first will be the main property that gets billed for both properties.

In terms of billing - this would mean that an agreement would need to be arranged by the occupiers of both properties to come to an agreement to pay each a proportion of the water charges - i.e. two properties - split the bills in half. Both properties however will pay for there own sewerage charges and get billed separately on this.

Hope this explains a bit for you

Stevie1

Is there any way at all to challenge a water meter in a property?

We are buying a house that has a water meter, our old property was un metered (United Utilities). I have enquired with Which? and Ofwat regarding this and it seems we'll be stuck with it.

This really bugs me. It bugs me that the person who installs it gets the opportunity to go back if it turns out more expensive, but when ownership changes I get no such option.

I think this is totally unfair and unjust but have come to a brick wall with it. Anyone manages to challenge a similar situation?

Cardew

On what grounds is it unfair?

Everyone should have a meter so we all pay for what we use. That indeed was the Government's objective when water was privatised.

It seems to me that it is totally unfair that some people have their charges based on a low Rateable Value(RV). This RV being assessed many years(1973 was the last major assessment) ago, on a system discontinued in 1990.


In any case even if the house did not have a meter, the water company can insist on a meter being fitted - some companies enforce this regulation, others don't.

So the person buying your old house might find themselves with a meter.

moonrakerz

Stevie1 wrote: »

Is there any way at all to challenge a water meter in a property?

I think this is totally unfair and unjust but have come to a brick wall with it.

I totally agree, I am going to write to Shell, Esso, BP, Texacoi, Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, etc, etc and demand that I pay them a flat fee per year, based on the value of my car, and I can then fill up with petrol as many times as I like without paying a penny more. If we all do this the oil companies and supermarkets will have to fall in line !

We could do the same for Gas, Electricity - and food !

But first I will get Wessex Water to remove their evil meter so that I can pay £484 (2007 rates based figure) instead of the ludicrous £350 (max) that the meter is costing me this year.

Stevie1

I take your arguments on board but the fact of the matter is that not everybody have a meter, especially not here in the NW. If it was compulsory for every household in the UK then fine, otherwise it's an issue of consumer rights (actually, Which? agree and are looking into this).

Anyway, the issue is not the meter's existance but that as the person installing the meter you get the option to revert back to RV charges if you're worse off but you do not get to "try it out" as a new owner (i.e. the person who's not installed the meter).

Cardew

I am not clear why you consider it is an issue of 'Consumer rights'.

The anomaly is that some people 'enjoy' low water charges based on a discredited Rateable Value system that has not been in use for over 18 years.

It clearly makes sense that people should have an incentive to be careful with their use of water and a meter achieves that objective.

Every house built since 1990 has had to have a meter - what about the consumer rights of those occupants?

If your contention is that they shouldn't have bought a post-1990 property - then perhaps neither should you have bought a house with a meter!

So what is your solution to solve the consumer rights issue?

abracadabra_2

Some time ago, I was told that t he company could not fit a water meter because I live in a flat in a block of six and there was no 'common' area in which to site it.
True or false?
goingmetric

Cardew

abracadabra wrote: »

Some time ago, I was told that t he company could not fit a water meter because I live in a flat in a block of six and there was no 'common' area in which to site it.
True or false?
goingmetric

Could be true and could be false!

It is not because of the lack of a common area as many of us have a meter inside our property.

The normal difficulty in flats is that they cannot fit a meter at the point where the main water supply enters the flat.

If the water company cannot fit a meter they must offer you the chance to have an assessed charge. This charge is based on the average charge for the number of people in the flat(for some companies) or the number of bedrooms for other companies.