The cost of water is going up....

By : Forum Regular
Published 27th May 2014 |
Read latest comment - 2nd June 2014

14 months ago I decided to have a water meter fitted, given that my expensive, ungrateful and spoiled children (3 of them) had finally plucked up the courage to pay their own domestic bills. This decision was based On the assumption that me and the wife would be using less water it seemed to make economic sense.

at the time I was paying approx £400 per year in water rates. Yorkshire water assured me that the average cost for 2 adults would be about £260. My direct debit was fixed at £26 per month and I was happy.

well 14 months later Yorkshire water claim that according to the meter I now owe them £900. When I called to voice my disapproval and request the removal of the offending meter, they argued that I probably had a leak? The bill also shows that you pay for the water delivered to your home, you also pay more for the waste water taken away. 

Having made sure that all water in my home was turned off I took a meter reading 229.526 I then returned 4 hours later and the meter then showed an increase to 229.650. Yorkshire water think this could be a sign of a leak...no shit Sherlock. 

 


Thanks,
Ray Priestley
Comments

Probably pointing out the obvious, but where is your meter?

I had one fitted to one of my houses and it was under the sink - if the meter is increasing doesn't that mean the leak is on your property and wont you have wet feet by now?

 


Clive

I've always had a water meter and pay around £86 every six months to Thames / Essex water, it was the first thing I did when I moved here 10 years ago. The nine other neighbours thought I was mad and swore they would never go on a meter... Their water bills remained at around £600 per year but gradually they have gone to water meters once the realised how much I was paying...


Thanks,
Barney

"and wont you have wet feet by now?
When I spoke to Yorkshire water "again" they said the engineer did not detect a leakage, they added that while I have been on a meter (14 months), I have used 535 litres of water per day....that's is about 6 full baths per day. 
 
I have used our stopcock twice (in other words turned of my supply) on each occasion the meter has continued to record water flow. If they argue no leak, my pipes must be supplying another propert?
 
yorkshire water are not sure a about that and will send the engineer out again.
 
its not rocket science, if I cut my supply of and the meter recirds water flow, the engineer states there is no leak, it has to be water theft by a neighbour....

 


Thanks,
Ray Priestley

Its not uncommon for one property to be connected to another properties water supply. However a water meter will have one pipe in from the street 'the supply' there will be an isolating valve, normally with a plastic key type connection. When this is shut off the water meter must stop spinning, regardless if one or the whole neighbourhood are connected to your water pipe which comes of the otherside of the meter i.e. the 'feed pipe'

So if the meter is still spinning when isolated, it is a faulty meter or the isolating valve on the meter is letting by. Way to prove the isolating valve is working, is to shut it off, open up taps in your property and let any residual water drain out, shut the taps off again and leave for say 10 - 15 minutes, then re-open the taps, kitchen tap is best as this is generally closest to incoming main, any pressure or water coming out of tap, proves whether that the meter isolating valve is letting by or not. If it is letting by the water company needs to replace it, if it is not and the meter is still spinning then the water company needs to replace the meter as it should not be moving at all....

Invoice is in the post....


Thanks,
Barney

Problem resolved, Yorkshire water have confirmed that I am on a shared supply...(shock horror, you don't say..!) The water feed to both houses pass through and under my drive way. 

Whilst I am pleased that I no longer have to pay for my neighbors water, it is again very ironic that in order to avoid being over charged, ripped off and legally robbed by big companies, you have to stand your ground and argue your point over several days. Your capacity for reason and common sense is often wasted because the person you argue with does not care anyway.!!!

How many people simply pay what the utility companies demand? In my case Yorkshire Water simply don't know where my water pipes go and who they supply and yet they felt justified in saying:

"we know it sounds a lot but the engineer confirmed there is no leak and we have calculated that we supply water to the boundary of your property (at the meter) at a rate of 600 liters per day, that is what you will be charged for" 

In fairness to Yorkshire Water they have accepted the error and given they can't split the water supply they are going to estimate my usage based on two adults. This will be significantly cheaper than paying the full water rates....

Another victory for the working man....

 


Thanks,
Ray Priestley

Glad you have got it resolved, I'm still a bit miffed though as I don't know whats the point of having a water meter if it is shared and that they are going to estimate the usage for you, what about the other user? Are they going to give them the balance to pay? What happens if your neighbours have a leak in the future, do you share the cost with them, what about if you end up washing your new car every other day? Are they required to share the cost? Seems to me the water bill is based on a guestimate with no accurate meter readings, which makes having a water meter pretty much pointless.......


Thanks,
Barney

Seems to me the water bill is based on a guestimate with no accurate meter readings, which makes having a water meter pretty much pointless.......”
 

Totally agree, my neighbour pays full water rates, they think this is cheaper than a meter because they use lots of water (as my meter shows). Yorkshire water accept that I can't have a meter on a shared supply so it would be unfair to charge me the full rates, as a compromise they estimate my consumption and charge me for that. Both me and my neighbour can use as much water as we like at no extra cost. However the neighbour does pay more because they refused the option of a meter...

under the circumstances I think this is fair 


Thanks,
Ray Priestley

Pleased you got it sorted Ray, felt a Clive style rant brewing in the background.

Your situation was totally unacceptable and really a warning to everyone else on a meter, double check your usage!!

 


Clive

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