Caught Thames Water installing meter on unagreed date. Said they "had to carry on"—now leaking 90L/d

Martin666_2

Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice on where I stand legally with Thames Water regarding a botched meter installation and a phantom leak.

The Background: I was paying a flat rate of £70/month unmetered. Hoping to save some cash, I initially requested a water meter. Thames Water did a survey and emailed me some potential installation dates. I did not agree to any of the dates. Despite no agreement, their contractors turned up unannounced and began digging inside my property boundary.

I actually arrived home halfway through the installation. I pointed out to the contractors that I hadn't agreed to the date. They told me they "had to carry on anyway," so I took them at face value and let them finish.

The Damage & The Nightmare Readings: Unsurprisingly, pushing through an uncoordinated installation has caused a major issue. I recently had to fix a faulty dual-flush toilet valve which left me with a painful £200 bill, but while investigating, I ran a definitive test.

I turned the internal stopcock completely OFF so the house couldn't draw a single drop of water. According to the meter, the property is still registering 90 litres of water a day with the stopcock shut tight!

Because the meter is located just inside my boundary, it is clear the contractors either fractured the old service pipe when cutting into it, failed to tighten the compression joints properly, or fitted a faulty unit. It is now pumping 90L a day straight into my soil.

The Dilemma: Thames Water has a strict "no reversion" policy once a meter is live. But given that:

1. They proceeded with intrusive plumbing works inside my boundary without a confirmed date.
2. When challenged on-site, their contractors misinformed me that they "had to" proceed.
3. Their uncoordinated work has directly resulted in a 90L/day underground leak on my side of the boundary, ruining any chance of me actually saving money.

Can I legally force a billing reversion back to my £70 unmetered rate based on this level of procedural failure?

I am launching a formal Stage 1 dispute demanding an immediate billing freeze, a reversion, and an engineer to fix whatever they broke. Has anyone successfully fought Thames Water's "no return" policy under circumstances like this?

Thanks!

dnpark38

Can't see a problem of fitting the meter on an unknown date.

You turned the water off inside your house and still using water which you think is a leak in your supply pipe or faulty meter or installation. Suggest you turn the stop tap off at the meter to see what happens.

You do not mention Thames being complained to and them coming and checking their work.

I do not see a connection to the meter causing a fault with your toilet flush.

How do you know there was no leak prior to getting the meter?

QrizB

@Martin666_2 Your post reads as though a LLM was involved in drafting it, which will put some people off replying.

Regarding the date, did you actively tell Thames Water that they weren't acceptable or did you simply fail to reply?

Regarding the leak, as the post above says how do you know it wasn't already there?

Have you called TW back to check their workmanship?

90 litres a day, 2.7 cubic metres a month, is about £10 per month at current rates. Even with this leak you'll probably save money on a meter.

Robin9

If you are a single person household you can expect that £70 a month to be under £50.

Have you had a bill yet? I expect they bill every 6 months

Grumpy_chap

When TW change first install the meter, they put you on a comparative tariff initially so you carry on paying the unmetered rate and they advise the costs under both billing methodologies each month for the first 3 or 6 months. At the end of which, you can opt to remain on unmetered billing.

I can't see any way that the meter install could have contributed to your toilet flush valve fault.

Now you know there is a leak in your property boundary after the meter, you need to investigate where that leak is located. It may be unrelated to the TW meter. You should also ask TW to inspect their work and demonstrate to you that the leak is not at the meter. Have you lifted the cover at the meter box and is it flooded? How quickly does it refill if you dry that meter box out?

Gonk1967

Wasn't there an external stop tap for them to fit the meter to? I'm assuming the had to cut the pipe to install the meter? It may be that some grit has got into the pipe and subsequently into the toilet flush.

We've recently had our supply pipe changed, one thing they didn't do was to flush the pipe through and that led to our toilet flushes getting grit in them which meant a hefty bill from a plumber to clean them out.