Water meters - pros and cons? 24 September 2004 at 1:33AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Water Bills 598 replies 365.3K views

lindauk

Lea2520 wrote: »

I am about to have a water meter fitted.. I have no dea how much i use but there is only me, my 10yr old Daughter, 2 dogs, 1 cat and 2 terrapins... ... My current water bill for the year is £617... I am ruddy well hoping i save some money because the cost of my water bill and electricity is crippling me on benefits.

As per my post above - our bill was £672 a year before and now is £288. I would estimate that yours would drop a lot as well! :T

jemtom

having gone onto united utilities and used the water meter calculator they have said i would not save - but me working it out it would be about the same, and as a lot of mse on this thread seem to be better off after switching im going to take the plunge and fingers crossed i save money as there is only me and son in the house.

tazzer8

Hi...for years and years Yorkshire water charged me £98 a month as a standing charge for a four bedroom house. We have 3 toilets, two showers, one bath and 4 sinks. 2 adults and two kids living here. I requested a water meter after MUCH research. It took Yorkshire Water 8 months to get me one...now I know why: when they first put it in they dropped my DD to £38 a month as a guestimate. This morning I got a 8 month reading and a reduced DD of £28 a month for next year based on real usage!!

THEY SAVE YOU MONEY! Dont hesitate!!!!

PS. Even the guy from Morisons (their contractors that fit the meters) said "Oh...you will see a massive difference in the cost of water with a meter"

tazzer8

Hi...for years and years Yorkshire water charged me £98 a month as a standing charge for a four bedroom house. We have 3 toilets, two showers, one bath and 4 sinks. 2 adults and two kids living here. I requested a water meter after MUCH research. It took Yorkshire Water 8 months to get me one...now I know why: when they first put it in they dropped my DD to £38 a month as a guestimate. This morning I got a 8 month reading and a reduced DD of £28 a month for next year based on real usage!!

THEY SAVE YOU MONEY! Dont hesitate!!!!

PS. Even the guy from Morisons (their contractors that fit the meters) said "Oh...you will see a massive difference in the cost of water with a meter"

Cardew

tazzer8 wrote: »

THEY SAVE YOU MONEY! Dont hesitate!!!!

PS. Even the guy from Morisons (their contractors that fit the meters) said "Oh...you will see a massive difference in the cost of water with a meter"

I think there should be a note of caution here!

Ofwat(The Regulator) estimated some while ago that about two thirds of unmetered customers would benefit from getting a meter.

So by defininition, one third wont!!

Some older houses - even huge houses - had a very low Rateable Value(RV) and it is the RV that determines the charges if you don't have a meter.

Bear in mind that the RV was set as far back as 1973 and was based on the notional rent a property could command.

I personally knew of two Band H properties, with many acres of land and now worth £million+, that have(and had) an RV of £50. and so pay less than £200 per year.

This was because in 1973 they were unmodernised, no CH etc etc. Thus nobody would ever want to rent them with all the upkeep necessary.

Whilst those are extreme cases, there are plenty of old terraced properties that were similarly unmodernised in 1973 and had a nominal RV. They could have been modernised and now be desirable residences, yet retain their RV.(officially they should have applied for a meter - but who does?)

hosbourne

i have a young family of 3 and i am with anglian water, our water bill is £54 per month, is this about right seems a bit steep!

hosbourne

PLEASE HELP
i have a young family of 3 and i am with anglian water, our water bill is £54 per month, is this about right seems a bit steep, would i be better off changing to a water metre?

shelly

hosbourne. You would most probably save money being on a meter. Looking at this page from Anglian Water if you don't save money you can change back to unmeasured bills in the first 2 years.
http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/household/your-account/water-meters/choosing/

A cousin of mine pays less with a meter than unmeasured bills and she has her, hubby and 5 kids!

kelloggs36

Southern water estimate (without asking any specific questions) that our bill would more than double by using a metre!!!! I would like to see a more accurate estimation but from just under £300 per year to almost £700 is extortion - I am really hoping they don't force us to switch - certainly not whilst I don't have a job!

alan99_2

kelloggs36 wrote: »

Southern water estimate (without asking any specific questions) that our bill would more than double by using a metre!!!! I would like to see a more accurate estimation but from just under £300 per year to almost £700 is extortion - I am really hoping they don't force us to switch - certainly not whilst I don't have a job!

According to the below link the water co should give you a water meter calculator which should give an accurate calculation. Otherwise/and in addition you can work out your usage from the Uswitch link in the below.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/cut-water-bills

Alan