Leaking Nightmare!
Quietearth
Posts: 24 Forumite
in Water bills
Being a single mum on a low income I hoped that having a water meter fitted would lower my monthly outgoings. Alas my water bill has gone up to £100 per month. Severn Trent say their meters are rarely faulty and suggest I have a leak on my supply pipe. I've done all the flow supply tests and yet the numbers keep rolling. I realise this is a "piece of string" question, but does anyone know how much a repair might cost. I live in a 19th C semi with (im guessing) about 50ft of pipe on my property, under a concrete path. I assume this would not be covered by my home insurance?. Furthermore if I simply ask them to remove meter and revert to the standard charge, would it return to the old rate, or would they be entitled to charge more?
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Quietearth wrote: »Being a single mum on a low income I hoped that having a water meter fitted would lower my monthly outgoings. Alas my water bill has gone up to £100 per month. Severn Trent say their meters are rarely faulty and suggest I have a leak on my supply pipe. I've done all the flow supply tests and yet the numbers keep rolling. I realise this is a "piece of string" question, but does anyone know how much a repair might cost. I live in a 19th C semi with (im guessing) about 50ft of pipe on my property, under a concrete path. I assume this would not be covered by my home insurance?. Furthermore if I simply ask them to remove meter and revert to the standard charge, would it return to the old rate, or would they be entitled to charge more?
Get 3 independant quotes for the work required
Check with your insurance company whether they will cover the repair.
It's unlikley the water company will remove the meter on your request.
It may be, dependant on their terms and how long you have had the meter, that you can request to be billed on a non-metered basis again (even though the meter will remain in place)
- but as a single mum (and dependant how many children you have living in the house with you) it's probable that having a water meter is cheaper for you than not (when there is no leakage of water), which is presumably why you asked for one in the first place.
Whichever way they charge you - you will be billed at the rate currently in force.0 -
You might be able to revert to old RV based charges if you have had a meter fitted less than 12 months(24 months?) but you will still have to get the leak fixed if it is on your property(including garden)
Have you turned off the stopcock in the house to confirm that the leak is in the supply pipe and not internal?
As you say how much a repair will cost is a 'how long is a piece of string' question. It will depend on where the leak is, how deep etc etc. If the whole pipe is very old it might need replacing.
Severn Trent used to allow a one-off repair as a 'goodwill' gesture, but people have posted that no longer applies. It might be worth trying to 'sweet talk' them into using their discretion. Otherwise you could contact the Consumer Council for Water to see if they can help.0 -
We had a leak on our property several years ago and it was covered by our house insurance - I just had to pay the excess. Anglian Water credited me with the estimated cost of the lost water based on a couple of weeks of testing after the repair had been completed.
Anglian Water threatened me with a statuary notice if I didn't get the repair completed within 28 days.
Some water companies will do a one off repair for free, so check with them first and also check with your household insurance (or landlord if you house is rented).Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers0 -
if the meter is outside it could be the boundary box leaking, i suggest you get ST out to look0
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I had a water supply pipe replaced about 8 years ago because no one could trace where the leak was on my existing pipe. It cost me approx £1500 (45m length). They quoted £30 per meter + £150 access for point of entry. They used a hydraulic mole so no trench was required. My household insurance refused to pay. Severn Trent did oblige with a one time water leakage allowance though.0
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Quietearth wrote: »I've done all the flow supply tests and yet the numbers keep rolling.
Could you clarify what this means? I would be unwilling to commence digging up before I was absolutely certain that the leak was in my property.
On my meter (East Devon), there is a set of numbers which increment slowly but there is also a little rotary dial which you can see turning even with a minute flow of water. It spins wildly when you have a tap turned on.
If your meter is the same, have a look at the dial when nothing in your house should be using water. Is the dial turning - even slowly? Then, as already said, if you turn off the house stopcock, does the dial turn?
These two tests will determine if you (a) have a leak on your side of the meter and (b) if the leak is inside the house or between the meter and your stopcock.
Leaks can be visible, e.g. dripping at a tap but also invisible, e.g. in a loo cistern or loft cistern. So don't progress unless you've proved for certain that a leak is in the pipework between your new meter and your stopcock.
Oh and all of this assumes that the installers have fitted the meter to your supply. It's not beyond the bounds of possibility that they could have fitted the meter to your neighbours water supply or a pipe supplying both you and your neighbour. I lived in a 19C property where the supply coming off the road was common to my house and the adjoining one. We left before water meters became common.0 -
Ask your water company if they could revert you back to non metered. They don't need to remove the meter to do this.0
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Speculator wrote: »Ask your water company if they could revert you back to non metered. They don't need to remove the meter to do this.
the leak still needs fixing0
This discussion has been closed.
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