Water Bill Doubled - Water Company Shenanigans???

Bronvahl

I have always been really tight on water usage and as a result I think my usage was pretty low.

However, over the course of three 6 month periods my water bill has doubled.

I live on a modern estate, the meters are in a set of three holes on the pavement, they have a really heavy metal slab on each one, I could hardly manage to lify it off, in fact all I could do was life then slide it. That was when I moved in a several years ago.

So in the middle of last year I noticed some works going on where these water meter cavities are located, there was no digging, but they had all of the covers lifted and were there for a day or two.

I wondered if they were fitting smart water meters but when I got my next bill it seemed to be continuous so I thought nothing more of it. I could not lift the covers and I think I need some sort of tool.

So when I got my next bill is said I had used 25m3 the bill was a bit higher that the previous 6 month period so I thought I must cut back a bit.

The next bill was substantially higher, around 30%, I had heard that water companies were increasing prices so blamed it on that. What I did not notice was another increase in consumption, around 8% this time. The water company softened the blow by telling me they found an old account that was in my name and had £30 in it, so they transferred that and I paid.

Now I have the latest bill (took just under a month to arrive) and again an increase in usage, this time 15% above the last one so around 24% increase in m3 used.

Add to this an increase in tariff and my water bill has doubled!

I have the water records from the previous Tenant and they were on a par with my own which were around the same for several years.

I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this incremental rise in their usage?

I am not doing anything that uses more water, in fact I should be using less water as I have been taking measures to use less.

I will need to wait for a visit to get those covers up to determine if they did change the meters or if they have created a leak, but I would have expected a leak to be consistent in the increase.

With all that has been going on with Water companies it would not surprise me if they had installed meters that somehow report more or measure it differently, in which case I guess there would be similar reports from others.

At the moment I can't say that they have changed the meters but they were there for two days, could be routine maintenance, but I have a feeling that if I do not nip these rises in the bud they will keep going up in these increments.

Another thing that makes me think it is the Water Company is that previous bills had a graph saying how many cups of tea my daily water usage has changed, now on the same graph they litres, but they allege my usage is DOWN 6%.

How can that be?

Robin9

It is possible you've a bit of a leak - perhaps a WC where it may be continually running into the pan.

Could you list the meter reads for recent years please. Forget about money for the time being.

Slinky

Get yourself some coloured toilet cleaner and squirt it evenly round the pan and have a good look at the result. If you've got a small leak overflowing into the pan it will wash the cleaner down.

Bronvahl

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81883392#Comment_81883392

That is good thinking, the cistern has been set to about half full, I am not sure if it can leak into the pan unless it fills to the top. It has two ways to adjust, one is on a slider and I can't remember the other, but I remember there were two things.

I do remember having a pan leak when I moved in, it was a component in the cistern that I got replaced. The plumber showed me the way to adjust it.

I don't think it is leaking into the pan because I do not flush if it is yellow and that gets quite dark over the day, if there was a pan leak I would expect that to get lighter not darker.

The Gas boiler had a drip but that was the condenser pipe so normal I think.

I have been reading posts from others and there are plenty saying about price increases but few quote the usage. I will need to dig up the bills to get the exact amounts

Thanks for prompt reply

Bronvahl

Also smart thinking, I have put some on.

Bettie

a flat head screwdriver inserted into the notch then twist to raise the cover should work. Then you can start checking readings to see if there's a leak

topreceptionist

Affinity Water decided to change my water meter, since then my water consumption has doubled, I know charges have gone up but im talking about this time last year my family home used 92,000 ltrs in 6 month period from July to January. This year for the same period they say ive used over double that amount. How can this be correct, ive had a plumber round to check for leaks with a gas, after £800 cost to find i have no leaks. I feel like im being robbed by a company legally. Has anyone else experienced this 😳

MattMattMattUK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81935673#Comment_81935673

Without more details it is hard to say, but it almost certainly indicates that the old meter was under reporting and the new meter is accurate.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81935673#Comment_81935673

92,000 litres in 6 months.

15,000 each month.

500 litres per day.

4 or 5 people at 115 litres per person per day.

How many people live in your house?

This summer was very hot - did you use a hose pipe to water the garden? Paddling pool?