Cheaper Water Bills Article Discussion

Beanington

Hi,

I have recently moved into a very compact flat in Oxford, having never lived away from home I am unsure how much bills for utilities cost, or whether it is best to set up a direct debit or pay quartely, I have been quoted that the average usage of electricity is 60pm (for an entirely electric flat). This seems fairly reasonable. Does anybody know how much water me and my boyfriend are likely to use and how much this would cost.

Any information would be much appreciated.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

You haven't said if the flat has a meter or not?

Asumming it has a meter, the average consumption for a couple is approx 120 cubic metres a year. This should cost in the region of £25 to £30 a month.

There is no discount for paying by Direct Debit. It is just easier to pay by that method.

If your flat does not have a meter the charges will be based on the Rateable Value.

Madgecho

Hi there,
do I have any other options if a meter isn't one? I've just moved from one rental property to another within 5 minutes walk of each other. Both are modest three bed houses and the one I moved to has a lower rental value currently. My rates in the new house are almost double that of the old house leaving me with a new bill of almost £500 per year. The water company -united utilities - were as unsympathetic as I'd expected basically saying rates is rates, nothing they can do. My problem will come if a meter isn't an option. Have requested landlords permission to apply for one, but she doesn't have to agree and if she doesn't I seem to be stuck paying what looks to me to be an extortionate amount for the small amount of water I use.
Any help gratefully appreciated!

claret_85

Me and my flatmate are having problems with our water bill, we are with welsh water. The bill for the past six months came to £295, whereas, the bill for the previous 6 months was only £68. I rang them up to query this and apparently their estimate was £70 but they did a meter reading and it came to £295! So I started arguing with them and they said they will ring me back monday as their systems shut down now so they cant access it. I'm pretty sure I gave them a reading for our other bill which was £68 although they're saying that was an estimate. Anyway, there is no way we've used that much water. Unfortunately my flatmate was being organised and has paid the bill but I'm still going to fight it as that does not seem right.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated

Keeper

New to the site first go Hi To all

Thames water as part of there fixed charges get all customers pay for the waste water that runs off the roads and down the drain

Is this not the responsability of the higway agency if not why not:eek:

TW wont tell me how much of my fixed charges go there but its a principle thing:mad: Not happy

Cardew

Keeper wrote: »

New to the site first go Hi To all

Thames water as part of there fixed charges get all customers pay for the waste water that runs off the roads and down the drain

Is this not the responsability of the higway agency if not why not:eek:

TW wont tell me how much of my fixed charges go there but its a principle thing:mad: Not happy

Welcome to the forum.

All water companies are mandated under the water Act to charge customers if any surface water enters the sewer system. This is normally water from the gutters. However it can be water that drains off land onto the roads and subsequently sewers.

Of course there are plenty of other sources where water enters the sewers. You mention roads and consider the Highway Authority are liable, e.g. rivers overflow - who pays etc etc.

Getting the Highways Authority, local council, Government, instead of householders, to pay a proportion is just swapping one form of taxation for another.

deanjw

I installed a water meter last year and my direct debit went from £44.00 a month to £22.00 - I was delighted.
There are two of us in a four bedroomed house, and, we both leave the house at 8.30 and return at 5.30.
We dont use the bath only the shower.
We have just been sent a bill by Northumbrian Water for .... wait for it £1656.44 and our direct debit is being increased to £138.00 a month, nearly treble what we were paying WITHOUT a water meter. I think the whole thing is a CON - has anybody got any advice on this?
Thanks.

Cardew

deanjw wrote: »

I installed a water meter last year and my direct debit went from £44.00 a month to £22.00 - I was delighted.
There are two of us in a four bedroomed house, and, we both leave the house at 8.30 and return at 5.30.
We dont use the bath only the shower.
We have just been sent a bill by Northumbrian Water for .... wait for it £1656.44 and our direct debit is being increased to £138.00 a month, nearly treble what we were paying WITHOUT a water meter. I think the whole thing is a CON - has anybody got any advice on this?
Thanks.

You very probably have a leak, or a wrong meter reading.

Check if the meter is moving when you are using no water - take a reading(including the decimal points) before you go to work and check that it hasn't moved when you get back.

If that is OK then start looking at meter readings and how much they say you have used. The average couple should use 120 cubic metres per year.

Gothicfairy

deanjw wrote: »

I installed a water meter last year and my direct debit went from £44.00 a month to £22.00 - I was delighted. Was there any debt for the old RV before the meter was fitted ? Did they go through the calculator with you to work out what your usage should be ?
There are two of us in a four bedroomed house, and, we both leave the house at 8.30 and return at 5.30.
We dont use the bath only the shower. What kind of shower ? Power shower or normal one ?
We have just been sent a bill by Northumbrian Water for .... wait for it £1656.44 and our direct debit is being increased to £138.00 a month, nearly treble what we were paying WITHOUT a water meter. I think the whole thing is a CON - has anybody got any advice on this? No con really more a case of check the bill,is it based on an actual read ? If not then take a read and call them. What does the bill actually say ? Is there any outstanding balance from last year ? Is this your first metered bill ( if so you still have time to revert back to RV)
You have clearly ended up in debt but the question is how...Try a flow test as well as that might help, no leaks then the usage is right (as long as the meter readings are correct and actual)
Thanks.

You need to check the bill and make sure that is right before going anywhere else or doing anything else

dane-katie

Im with Yorkshire Water (metered) and our bill was just £51.90 for 3 months, really cheap but we do have a septic tank, which costs us £80 every 2 years to empty.