Refund after high bill due to leak beyond my boundary

daivid

Short version: I've been over charged due to a leak beyond my property boundary. How long should I expect to wait for a refund, and how will it get worked out.

Full detail: My 6month bill was far higher than usual (beginning of March), I paid it not thinking fully. On the following weekend I checked the bill and the previous bill, finding usage was nearly double (145m3) at which point I checked the meter and found the chamber full of water. Switching off the internal stopcock it was clear there was a leak, so online messaged the water company (Hafren Dyfrdwy). Their response was very good initially, an engineer came out within an hour, listened for a leak and decided it was near the meter so arranged a boundary check. Boundary check was completed a week later, finding and fixing the leak (beyond my property boundary). Correspondence was very good to that point, since then nothing. Having heard nothing (over 2weeks) I used the same message system on Monday, as I've still heard nothing I will ring tomorrow Monday. I've checked through the previous 4 bills and all show similar usage (min 72, max 78m3) so I would expect to end up with a revised bill for around 75m3 and a refund of the extra paid - is it going to be that simple?

MattMattMattUK

daivid said:

Short version: I've been over charged due to a leak beyond my property boundary. How long should I expect to wait for a refund, and how will it get worked out.

Full detail: My 6month bill was far higher than usual (beginning of March), I paid it not thinking fully. On the following weekend I checked the bill and the previous bill, finding usage was nearly double (145m3) at which point I checked the meter and found the chamber full of water. Switching off the internal stopcock it was clear there was a leak, so online messaged the water company (Hafren Dyfrdwy). Their response was very good initially, an engineer came out within an hour, listened for a leak and decided it was near the meter so arranged a boundary check. Boundary check was completed a week later, finding and fixing the leak (beyond my property boundary). Correspondence was very good to that point, since then nothing. Having heard nothing (over 2weeks) I used the same message system on Monday, as I've still heard nothing I will ring tomorrow. I've checked through the previous 4 bills and all show similar usage (min 72, max 78m3) so I would expect to end up with a revised bill for around 75m3 and a refund of the extra paid - is it going to be that simple?

Probably yes, it will just take them a bit of time to get it sorted.

There is no point ringing them on a Sunday, only their emergency/leaks line is open, not billing or general customer service. They might need to wait until the next billing cycle, they might need to do a subsequent meter read, ask you to confirm the read etc. I would expect it might take a month or two to get sorted.

Green_hopeful

Page 10 says it can take up to 90 days to calculate a leakage allowance. 

https://www.dwrcymru.com/-/media/project/files/page-documents/help-and-advice/water-advice/dealing-with-water-leaks/private-leakage/english/waterleak-booklet-23-e_press.ashx