water bill worries 13 November 2016 at 10:41PM in Water bills 7 replies 2.8K views

kahluagirl

hello all
i move from my house to my flat around 4 years ago.
one of the first things i did was have a water meter installed.
my bills have averaged between £60-£80 every 6 months.
all was ok until i got my latest bill.it was so much bigger that the water company warned me about it by letter.
when affinity waters rep/plumber came round (after i had got the council round to confirm that i did not have a leak inside the flat) he checked things out.i told him i think the meter is faulty he said that the meters don't over-record usage.
upshot is there is no leak inside or outside the flat.
in 6 months i am suppose to have used nearly 100 cubic metres.
this is around 540 litres of water every day for 6 months.
the took a reading at the time and said they will keep a check on my usage. apparently i have used 5 cubic metres in 13 days.
they are using this to'prove' my normal usage.
they phoned me again a while ago and asked me to get a plumber out again.
i was again told that the meters do not over record
i have had a plumber out 3 times with the same result.no leaks.
this week i have kept an eye on my water usage and recorded and photographed the meter every day.
this had shown i use between 40 - 100 (wash day)litres a day.
this is my normal usage.
i googled faulty water meter sensor and found out they have lied to me.
firstly there is number snag and i think the other one is to do with the water flow (i can't find the website now)
i messaged affinity water and i cut and pasted the website details and the relevant passages to them.i told them i don't like to be lied to.
there is only me and my lodger in the flat and neither of us use much water.
i am sure the meter is faulty,
what do i do if they do not properly check this out.
i cannot pay this as i am on a limited income (i paid £80 off the bill tho).
i have kept an eye on my water usage and took photos of the meter as well
this is stressing me out.
i am getting worried every time i use the water now
what do i do if they do not accept this?

Cardew

You need to contact the Consumer Council for Water.

http://www.ccwater.org.uk/

deanos

Before you go to CCW there are some things you need to do

1.Locate the meter and check this is the correct meter for your flat there will be a serial number on the bill this will be on the meter, turn off meter and check if your water is off , if it is then you are on correct meter

2. check if the meter is moving, if it is then turn off the internal stop tap, if its still moving then its an external leak, if it has stopped then its an internal leak, top suspect will be a push button toilet, to check if its leaking put a dry piece of loo paper on back of pan, if it gets wet then leaky toilet

Robin9

Do your bills give the serial number of the meter? If so does it agree with the checks that deanos has suggested?

Can you post your meter readings over the last 12/18 months - are these estimated or actual ?

Cardew

Hasn't the OP answered the above questions in the opening post?

3 visits by a plumber, including one sent by Affinity water, have confirmed no leak, inside or externally.

4 years in the flat with consistent consumption - then huge spike. Affinity took readings and have been monitoring consumption.

deanos

OP does not state what they did or if they checked meter or serial numbers etc, did the plumber only check internally ?? did they check for an external leak ?? if they are on incorrect meter another flat may have been sold and more people moved in which would see it go up

Cardew

deanos wrote: »

OP does not state what they did or if they checked meter or serial numbers etc, did the plumber only check internally ?? did they check for an external leak ?? if they are on incorrect meter another flat may have been sold and more people moved in which would see it go up

when affinity waters rep/plumber came round (after i had got the council round to confirm that i did not have a leak inside the flat) he checked things out.i told him i think the meter is faulty he said that the meters don't over-record usage.
upshot is there is no leak inside or outside the flat.

3 Plumbers doing a leak test surely must be using the correct meter.

As meters record to 3 decimal places,(i.e. a litre) it will be very easy to roughly check the meter. Fill, say 5 x 5 litre bucket and the meter will have moved appropriately.

deanos

i wouldn't rely on others i would do my own tests to ensure you are on the correct meter, especially if its a block of flats, it does not mention they have checked the serial number and they are on the correct meter

OP you do have the option to have the meter tested, they will charge you if its not faulty though i believe , but if it was faulty it would be faulty all the time not for a short period then revert back again

Have any of your previous bills been estimated and this is a catch up bill?

You will need to use Affinity Waters complaints process before you can go to CCW

http://ccwater.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/417