WATER METER

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Newbie
in Water bills
Can anybody kindly offer some clarification regarding water meters.
We moved into a new property March this year, the property is a new build 3 years old and has a water meter, I have made contact with United Utilities and requested we pay not metered but pay a standard amount as we did in our previous home. UT inform me this can not be so as the meter was fitted and can not revert to any other method of payment. I have explained the meter was not fitted at our request as we are the second owner of the property and do not want a water meter.
As the amount we are paying keeps going up and up can anybody offer any advice.
Any assistance would be most appreciated
Thank you
We moved into a new property March this year, the property is a new build 3 years old and has a water meter, I have made contact with United Utilities and requested we pay not metered but pay a standard amount as we did in our previous home. UT inform me this can not be so as the meter was fitted and can not revert to any other method of payment. I have explained the meter was not fitted at our request as we are the second owner of the property and do not want a water meter.
As the amount we are paying keeps going up and up can anybody offer any advice.
Any assistance would be most appreciated
Thank you
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My understanding that owners of unmetered properties can request a meter but that if the metered bills are higher than previous fixed bills then they have the option of reverting to the previous arrangement, although the meter itself would not be removed. But that’s only for owners of unmetered properties. You bought the property knowing there was a water meter so have implicitly agreed to having a meter.
My previous property did not have a water meter and I paid a fixed amount based on the old ‘rateable value’ of the property. My current house has a water meter and I now pay far less for water, even though the house occupancy is the same.
Not sure what to advise, other than be careful with your water consumption and not waste it now that it’s being metered.
Paying for what you use is a much fairer way than the old "all you can use" method and IMO all houses should be metered.
The only assistance I can offer is to make sure you read the meter yourself every month or so rather than just waiting for a meter reader coming to do it once a year. This has two advantages
1 - you can see how much water you are using and so, be able to do something about reducing your consumption - if you dont measure it you cant control it and it will avoid bill shock when the bill comes in.
2 - you also see if summat is going wrong, like a leak and be able to sort it a lot faster than wondering why you've suddenly received an ginormous bill.
If you don't leave taps running and don't turn a tap full-on to get hot water it saves litres of water. Get some items free from your water company or at a small cost, the items are on their site if you look, that can also save you money.
Did you read your meter when you moved in ? and have you read it since ?