Water Bill Doubled Suddenly – Anyone Experienced This?

Joseph23432

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone else has had a sudden jump in their water bill?

I live in a 2-bed flat with just myself and my partner. We’re usually pretty conscious with water usage – short showers, full loads in the washing machine, no garden hose, etc. But this month’s bill is almost double what we usually pay, and I can’t figure out why.

I checked for leaks around taps and the toilet, but nothing obvious. I even took a meter reading last night and again this morning – it barely moved overnight.

Do companies ever estimate wrongly even with meters? Or is there a chance it’s a billing error?

Any tips on what to check or how to challenge it?

Thanks in advance – appreciate any advice 🙏

QrizB

Joseph23432 said:

Do companies ever estimate wrongly even with meters? Or is there a chance it’s a billing error?

Any tips on what to check or how to challenge it?

How does the meter reading on your latest bill compare to the reading you took from your meter today?

greyteam1959

Is it an estimated bill or a bill based on actual readings ??
It will say on the bill

Robin9

Look back over your last bills - what were the readings and ere they estimated or actual?

p00hsticks

Joseph23432 said:

But this month’s bill is almost double what we usually pay, and I can’t figure out why.

Are you genuinely getting billed every month using actual readings (which I think would be unusual), or are you paying a monthly sum by direct debit that the water company have requested in anticipation of the amount covering a six monthly bill when they read the meter ?

 If the latter, it may simply be that they've increased the monthly DD to cover the price rises for the next year (which have been pretty high for many water companies) - but they should have contacted you to tell you they were going to do this.

Joseph23432

QrizB said:

Joseph23432 said:

Do companies ever estimate wrongly even with meters? Or is there a chance it’s a billing error?

Any tips on what to check or how to challenge it?

How does the meter reading on your latest bill compare to the reading you took from your meter today?

The reading on the latest bill is quite a bit higher than what I took myself yesterday. That’s what raised my suspicion. It doesn’t seem to match up with our usage at all.

Joseph23432

greyteam1959 said:

Is it an estimated bill or a bill based on actual readings ??
It will say on the bill

The bill is actually estimated, not based on actual readings. It does say “E” next to the figure, which I hadn’t noticed before. So that might explain a lot.

Joseph23432

Robin9 said:

Look back over your last bills - what were the readings and ere they estimated or actual?

Looking back, it seems like the past few bills were also based on estimates, not actual readings. I didn’t realise we hadn’t submitted a reading in a while — probably on me for not keeping track properly.

Joseph23432

p00hsticks said:

Joseph23432 said:

But this month’s bill is almost double what we usually pay, and I can’t figure out why.

Are you genuinely getting billed every month using actual readings (which I think would be unusual), or are you paying a monthly sum by direct debit that the water company have requested in anticipation of the amount covering a six monthly bill when they read the meter ?

 If the latter, it may simply be that they've increased the monthly DD to cover the price rises for the next year (which have been pretty high for many water companies) - but they should have contacted you to tell you they were going to do this.

We’re on monthly direct debit, and from what I now understand, the amount is supposed to be averaged out over the year. It does look like the DD has gone up this month – probably to adjust for the new estimate and upcoming price increases, like you mentioned. But I don’t remember getting any clear notification about the change.

Penguin_

Give them a call & submit your reading, or do it online. Dwr Cymru usually contact us in April to let us know we need to submit a meter reading ready for the new bill being produced at the tail end of May.