Water bill questions

egyptiancotton
egyptiancotton Posts: 525 Forumite
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in Water bills
Hi guys. My water bill is due - £533 for the year. I normally put aside money each month to then pay the bill in full when it's due because I get a 1.5% discount. I'm not sure whether to pay by Direct Debit instead which is about £53 a month for 10 months or pay it off in full and then carry on putting money aside each month to pay the bill in full when it's due.

I currently live in my own in a 3-bedroom property so I've considered asking for a water meter the be installed. Would this affect the value of my property or make the difficult to sell?

Comments

  • D_M_E
    D_M_E Posts: 3,008 Forumite
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    On your own - you will definately be better off on a meter.

    Ask the water co to fit one and if you are not happy you can revert to your old way of billing within, I think, a year (could be 2)

    How old is the property - you may well already have a meter, just not be aware of where it is.

    Metered water won't have much effect on selling as they are getting more and more common these days.
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
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    I pay £12 per mth with a meter. It will not put anyone off buying your property.
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,036 Forumite
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    You almost certainly will be better off with a meter.

    When you do sell it is very probable that the new occupant will have no option but to have a meter fitted.
  • egyptiancotton
    egyptiancotton Posts: 525 Forumite
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    Thanks for the replies. My house was built in 1900. I'll consider going on a meter. I was a bit hesitant because if my circumstances change in the future and I no longer live on my own, then perhaps I'll be worse off on a meter than if I was unmetered.

    At the moment I'm unmetered and every month I put aside some money to pay the water bill off in full when it's due because of the small discount I get but it's only about £8. Is this worth me carrying on do you think? Or should I just put aside the lump sum I've saved at the moment and pay the bill by DD over 10 months instead?
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
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    With my meter at £12pm 60% of that is the standing charge so even if my water usage tripled my bill would only rise 80% to £21.60 pm.
  • matelodave
    matelodave Posts: 8,606 Forumite
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    edited 2 April 2018 at 2:56PM
    We are at home all day and aren't particularly frugal when using water although I've got flow restictors on the shower and taps. I've even got an automatic watering system in the garden which is on between April & September and I wash the two cars and caravan several times a year

    We are on a meter and it cost me £29 a month for around 70cu.m a year. It would cost me over £55 a month just to cover the standing charge on rateable value which is equivalent to more than doubling my water consumption.

    AFAIC it's a no brainer to save around £250-£300 a year
    Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers
  • egyptiancotton
    egyptiancotton Posts: 525 Forumite
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    Just had a chat with Dwr Cymru. They said I'd almost certainly save money by having a meter installed and also they wouldn't force new occupiers to have one installed, but then again an unmetered property might be more desirable as the new occupiers (could be a large family) may save money be being unmetered.

    At the moment every month I put aside some money to pay the water bill off in full when it's due because of the small discount I get - it's a small discount of only 1.5% off the annual bill which is about £8. Is this worth me carrying on do you think? Or should I just put aside the lump sum I've saved at the moment that would've been used to pay the bill off in full and pay the bill by monthly DD over 10 months instead?
  • t0rt0ise
    t0rt0ise Posts: 4,276 Forumite
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    You should get a water meter. People barely look at whether there's a meter fitted when buying a house.. it's just not relevant.

    The comparisons of others with your bill on this thread is pointless as each area charges vastly different amounts for water.

    Just get a meter.
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,098 Forumite
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    OP, it's a no-brainer. If, for some bizarre reason, it actually costs you more (it won't), them you can revert to RV billing at any time in the first year, and the meter readings are then disregarded.
    If someone wants to buy a house, the presence of a water meter is not going to put them off.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • Haylescom
    Haylescom Posts: 342 Forumite
    Not sure if it's the same in Wales but, in England when a house is purchased and the new owners move in, the water company will want to install a meter.
    As a single occupant it would be a no-brainer to me, my 2 adult household spends under £300 on water a year.
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