Countdown from £28k...

Sarahwithlove

If they will allow a meter I would say yes. But it's dependent upon landlord agreeing to it. Are you paying over less then 12 months? Mines over 10 and 8 as water and sewage are seperate companies. Might be worth considering saving up to pay it yearly if you can't go onto meter. It's what I'm thinking about doing. But then I also like my 4 months without paying it as I've budgeted for it every month despite not paying it. 

AbundantBudget

If you want a comparison I pay Thames Water £19 a month for 1 bed 1 person on meter. Council Tax is £140 a month for 10 months incl. 25% single person discount. Electricity and gas combined £46 a month with some credit balance on account, real cost is probably ~£30 a month. I live in Richmond borough.

One-step-at-a-time

That sounds high to me - we're on Thames Water, metered, total cost £245/year-ish  (2 people). 

Sarahwithlove

Have they sent you a bill? Id make sure you aren't paying for the whole 20-21 year and just they remainder of it. 

enthusiasticsaver

£41 for water sounds a lot for one person in a flat in London. Our bills in the South West are high due to beach maintenance so we pay £66 for a 4 bed detached. 2 people. If you won't move the car due to worries about losing parking space I would get shot of it. It will just deteriorate sat there doing nothing. How about a bike with panniers for shopping? We have e bikes and I use mine a lot for doing odd bits of shopping but then we have lots of hills in Cornwall. 

ryanm8655

Thanks for the replies all...

Glad people queried the water...called them up and essentially I'm being ripped off haha. There are several different rates, metered, assessed household charge (the average for number of occupants/number of bedrooms) and whatever I'm on, which seems to be made up and ridiculously expensive. It's some historic made up rate based on where you live, couldn't really get my head around it but basically it's too high. Person on the phone was helpful, first step is you have to be assessed for a meter and then if your property isn't suitable for a meter (most flats) then they will produce a tariff based on the assessed household charge, which will significantly reduce the bill looking at how it's calculated. Why they can't just do that assessed charge in the first place I do not know...don't think I've ever had a water meter and always just taken the bill as a given...convinced this is some kind of scam because most people just don't check...

EDIT: it's based on the rateable value, so pre-1990 water bills were estimated based on the amount of rent charged for the property. So essentially I am being charged based on the cost of rent rather than an estimate based on usage...what a stupid idea that is...still doesn't answer why they don't change it to assessed household charge as standard...all the more bizarre when this property didn't even exist pre-1990...well it did but as a derelict warehouse I expect...

Putting my water usage into a calculator comes out with a bill of about £220 (including overestimating dishwasher and washing machine use) versus the current £500

Council tax is £110.07 a month by my calculations but awaiting the official bill (charge for my band plus single occupancy discount at 25%, divided by 12 months).

On a rip off tariff with SSE for gas and electric. Called to register details and awaiting a call back. Once that's done I'll do a switch. London energy look the cheapest for dual fuel (estimated £598/year combined, so just under £50/month). That is based on average usage for a 1 bed and some £300+ less than the tarriff I'm on...

Thanks for the tip on sainsburys, was just too late for a £1 slot this evening (disappeared as I clicked). Got one for next Friday but after racking up an £80 shop (decided to massively stock up on all the basics and a load of meat to freeze) some kind of error has lost my entire basket so that was an hour wasted ha. I clicked to check out and it asked me to register but then when I clicked to verify everything disappeared...guessing the system is overloaded with panic buying cretins...Lost the will to live with that, so will have another go later. Might write a list first to make it a bit quicker...I was basically googling recipes to pick out what I needed plus bought a lot of the basics (pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes etc.).

Once SSE have called back I'm thinking I'll mooch to the big waitrose across the bridge. Going to get the ingredients for old fashioneds and make that my hobby this evening Also thinking I'll grab a steak, since my peeler arrived so I can make some chips...Also need a pepper grinder and nowhere else around here seems to have them in stock...it's like there is some kind of shortage...likewise with pyrex jugs. Even sold out on amazon (at twice the normal price in supermarket :-/)

Agreed on car. Will definitely sell when I can. Need it for one more post lockdown trip to get stuff from back home but will sell after that.

Still don't feel I've quite got control of the budget. Feel like I've got loads of money as my bank balance is healthy but still have a lot of spends e.g. stocking up on food, first round of bills etc. So feel like I'm being lulled into a false sense of security haha. I guess it's good to be cautious.

Thanks,

Ryan

alt80

Did seem a lot re water bill mate. Council tax not too bad I !!!!!! hate that bill lol. 

Gas/ electric sounds like a cheap deal - £50/m for both? I'd check.

Have a good evening mate, could just fancy a drink myself tbh. Can't face the wrath of the bloke who deals with the work dry jan though ha.

Don't think you'll really have control of budget straightaway always something to buy with a new place.

ryanm8655

alt80 said:

Did seem a lot re water bill mate. Council tax not too bad I !!!!!! hate that bill lol. 

Gas/ electric sounds like a cheap deal - £50/m for both? I'd check.

Have a good evening mate, could just fancy a drink myself tbh. Can't face the wrath of the bloke who deals with the work dry jan though ha.

Don't think you'll really have control of budget straightaway always something to buy with a new place.

Yeah, seems mental that water would be almost as high as gas and electric...ha

Yeah. Even SSE, based on previous tenants usage, said average is £54 a month on a !!!!!! tariff. So could be cheaper still... Though maybe the previous tenant was proper MSE and sat here layered up with the curtains closed Also possibly spent a lot of time out of the country... 

Haha! Yeah, had a glass or two of red already. Could easily have headed out with mates at this point if it wasn’t lockdown so I guess that’s a blessing ha. Good to have the accountability re: dry jan. 

A fair point! As long as I don’t go nuts with the spending. Only purchase I sort of regret is the airer. Needed a second one as came with loads of washing and didn’t have enough drying space with the one here (plus it’s a bit worse for wear) but now I’ve tackled it all and realised clothes dry quickly I could’ve made do...but at least I can smash the washing out over the weekend now if I like. Christ, I’ve turned into a right tightwad

alt80

Haha have one for me mate over the weekend.

Clothes airer FML can just see the condensation problem and tenant lifestyle coming up on here right now. 😆 Seriously mate don’t use that all the time you’ll wreck the place.

ryanm8655

alt80 said:

Haha have one for me mate over the weekend.

Clothes airer FML can just see the condensation problem and tenant lifestyle coming up on here right now. 😆 Seriously mate don’t use that all the time you’ll wreck the place.

Haha. Ended up going for a late night stroll along the river while listening to tunes. Was nice. Weird seeing London shut down though. 

Not following on the airer? Ha. How else do people dry clothes in a flat/in the winter? There is a dryer function on the washing machine but find they ruin clothes. Flat is really well ventilated and spacious so no worries re: damp etc.