Water bill - kick in the teeth

RobM99

Misslayed said:

Wessex water told me that if the leak was between the meter (on the pavement) and the wall of my house, they would pay for the repair, but if it was within my walls I would have to pay, and they could legally force me to make the repair 😳

Yes, this exactly.

MWT

Misslayed said:

Wessex water told me that if the leak was between the meter (on the pavement) and the wall of my house, they would pay for the repair, but if it was within my walls I would have to pay, and they could legally force me to make the repair 😳

You'll usually get one free repair like this, but the water company is not obligated to fix the supply pipe on your side of the stop-valve.

pochase

Seems you got lucky and many water companies do the repairs free even if it is the responsibility of the home owner.

What are you responsible for?

In most cases, it’s your responsibility to maintain the supply pipe.  This is the section of the service pipe from the boundary of your property – usually where the water meter and stop valve are – into the property itself.

However, even though it’s your responsibility to repair the supply pipe, most water companies offer a one-off free repair or subsidised repairs to their customers.  You should ask your water company what the conditions are for these repairs.

https://www.theleakteam.com/who_is_responsible_for_fixing_my_leak/#:~:text=What are you responsible for,are –%20into%20the%20property%20itself.

Ectophile

Another possibility is that the latest meter reading is wrong.  I'm a below average water user, so I was surprised a few years back when I got a bill that was a lot higher than normal.

Worried that there might be a leak, I decided to check what the meter was doing.  I opened the cover and pulled out some polystyrene, and couldn't even read the meter it was so caked in mud.

So I wiped the mud off and discovered that it was reading well below what was on my latest bill.  It's clear that the meter reader hadn't even bothered to read it, and had made up a number based on the average usage.

Mobtr

I had a problem with one of my toilets. It was running but because it wasn’t that obvious I didn’t take that much notice until I got the bill. A small trickle can mount up especially if it starts just after a bill & not picked up for a few months til the next one. 

MWT

Ectophile said:

So I wiped the mud off and discovered that it was reading well below what was on my latest bill.  It's clear that the meter reader hadn't even bothered to read it, and had made up a number based on the average usage.

Depends how old your meter is, but with the 'smart' water meters they don't need to visually read them these days.

mikemakesdo

knightstyle said:

First thing is to check your toilets and see if they are overflowing into the pan or out through the wall via a small pipe.

This was the one! We had a leaky loo which was essentially constantly filling up. It was a seldom-used downstairs cloakroom that we are waiting to rip out and the trickle was silent so we never noticed - could've been doing it for the best part of a year for all we know.

Thankfully, and I have to say props to Anglian Water, they've credited our account under the "Leakage Allowance" and set our direct debit back to normal levels.

MWT

mikemakesdo said:

knightstyle said:

First thing is to check your toilets and see if they are overflowing into the pan or out through the wall via a small pipe.

This was the one! We had a leaky loo which was essentially constantly filling up. It was a seldom-used downstairs cloakroom that we are waiting to rip out and the trickle was silent so we never noticed - could've been doing it for the best part of a year for all we know.

Glad you've found it. If it is possible, try to check your water meter reading at least once a quarter, just to avoid surprises like this one.