Water meters - pros and cons? 24 September 2004 at 1:33AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Water Bills 592 replies 361.6K views

matelodave

£40 a week, sound a bit over the top, I'd guess £40 amonth is nearer the mark.

Water companies should install a meter if you request one - have a look at your water bill or their website. You have the option of trying it for 12 monts, some water companies it's 24 to see if it's saving you money - if not you can go back to RV billing.

When you are on a meter it's you that can control how much you use and therefore how much it costs.

You can do a rough estimate by checking your water co website to find out the cost of metered water & waste and put in around 110cum for the two of you.

brewerdave

£40 per week ?? I've just updated my spreadsheets for comparison purposes, and if I was still on RV for water rates 'd be paying ~ £15.50 per week in a 5 bedroom detached (vs ~£10 per week on a meter)

HonourlessWeasel

Stella72 wrote: »

I was wondering about putting a water meter in, but don't know if it will say me money in the long run.
I am paying 40 pounds a week for water and waste. Only a 2 bed 1 bathroom house and only 2 people live here.
I heard that if you have a water meter fitted you can trial it for 6 months - has anyone heard of this?
Thanks

That would be £2080 per year at £40 per week over an entire year :eek:

The last place I lived in London was with Sutton and East Surrey water and they were doing an absolute doozy on me, tried to get me to pay off the previous tenant's unpaid bills, then "fitted" a meter and my bill was about £90 for the whole lot every six months for the first year. By the time we left five years later, that had gone up to £160 every six months despite us using less water. Just before we left I looked in the manhole where our water meter was (under a tree in a mud bank, not in the pavement with the ones for the rest of the flats) and there was actually no meter. Seems they'd been making it all up. They tried to charge to me nearly £300 as an account closure bill until I challenged them on the situation.

I've got a meter at my new property and since moving in April I've paid a six month standing charge and one bill period based on a reading at a total of £36. I monitor the reading on the meter now, so I can challenge with every bill if needs be. It's looking like our six months bill will be nearer the £60 I expect. It's only two of us in a 3 bed house.

sparkyfran

I'm with South East water and even though I get the social tariff and water sure discount I still find it expensive. I live in a 2 bed with my partner and pay £23 per month (we don't have a dishwasher, garden or car, we use the washing machine 1-2 times per week). We mainly have strip washes and bath once a week (due to a high bill of them wanting £58 per month at one point). However a family of 5 I know pay £26 and bath 3 times per night and shower, washing machine every day and are in credit.

aardvaak

There are 2 people in my house and I have a meter and I have just had a bill for 6 months for £220

teddysmum

We have had our first bill since having a meter and have saved around 60% on our previous bills (translating 119 days'bill to cover 365).


There are just two of us and we have had no garden/lawn watering to do ,few full car washes , plus a silly period where we did not flush the toilet every time when in alone and collected the first cold water from the hot tap for plant watering (still do in the kitchen where plants are handy),but even with these savings reduced it would still be a very small bill in comparison to previous costs.


I wish we'd converted years ago.

Cardew

aardvaak wrote: »

There are 2 people in my house and I have a meter and I have just had a bill for 6 months for £220

£220 in the South West would be cheap, expensive in Thames.

Bearing in mind that water charges can be 3 times as much in some districts than others

JJ_Egan

As above water varies with supplier .
Me about £250 PA with South Staffs Water .
RV charges circa £600- £650.

airmac

I live in a 3 bed detached house...just the two of us and have only just had a water meter installed. My bill for the year had dropped by £400...staggering really...the billing will be reviewed after 6 months and if I am not happy I will have up to two years to go back to the HUGE none metred charge...

airmac

I live in a 3 bed detached house...just the two of us and have only just had a water meter installed. My bill for the year has dropped by £400...staggering really...the billing will be reviewed after 6 months and if I am not happy I will have up to two years to go back to the HUGE none metred charge...