Dave!

Afternoon guys and gals,
We've recently had a new kitchen fitted and the fitters got rid of the water meter (with our approval!) which we inherited when we moved in, as it was a big unsightly looking thing under the sink and would have been a ******* to refit in the new unit.

Severn Trent water say the meter is their property (fair enough, i've still got it and they can have it back) but they are also saying that once a house has been fitted with a meter, the household cannot go back to the old rated billing system.

Does anyone know if this is true?

And of course they want a fortune to come and fit an external meter...

Dave.

MrDBM

as far as I know that is true...

again, IIRC if a house is sold with a meter, then it stays

boxst

Hello

I moved from a house without a water meter to a (new) house with one.

As much as I tried, apparently once you have a water meter you are not allowed to go back.

Steve.

NACRO

What happens if you refuse to pay for a new meter or better yet say there wasn't one when you arrived? I presume they would have to bill you on a rateable basis until they can come to fit it. Personally I'd try to arrange this and then put them off for a few yrs- with the usual excuses.

messiah

yep its true.

if you're a shower man rather than a bath man you'll probably be better off, unfortunately there's no foolproof way to tell if you will save money.

I'm sticking with rates - I know how much it is! everytime i've switched suppliers for the leccy it ends up costing me more!

Scooby96

I think you'll find that removing or even relocating a meter is a capital offence - ok perhaps not but you'll definitely be in the ****!

Dave!

Thanks guys,...doesn't look good does it! We'll probably have to bite the bullet and get one installed externally before they cut us off!

Dave.

NACRO

Out of interest how can they cut you off? It's not like you have a meter or anything.
Personally I'd probably tell em where to stick their meter and ride it out.

Scooby96

I think its illegal to deny someone basic sanitation, however they might just sue you instead for criminal damage good luck

Mark Miwurdz

Certainly. There's 3 of us in the house (2 adults and a 12 year old) and at the time, 2 preferred showers, 1 preferred the bath and we saved shed-loads of money by going onto a meter. We were with Severn Trent at the time and they provided a handy ready-reckoner to work out how much water you were going to use.

From memory, the fixed charge was about £500 a year, on the meter we used about £300 over the same period.

Cheers
Kav

-=Buzz=-

yep, I too have a water meter, and I asked about moving it / getting rid when I wanted to put a patio outside. In no uncertain terms I was told it's there to stay, I can't touch it or move it etc etc.. so I had to incorporate access to it in my patio.

But now it's not working properly, it won't turn the water off fully when I want to do radiators for example.. so it needs repairing/replacing, but when they fitted it (before I moved in) they only put a 3 inch pipe in, so you can hardly reach it, never mind get tools to it...

If they think they are digging up my new patio after I spent ages going round the damn thing they are very wrong indeed, although I haven't as yet decided what to do about it. Not a lot of help to you I know, but someone may be able to help me while we are on the subject

Spoon

If it's an existing feature then I assume it stays.

How that would work if it was there less than 12 months is anyone's guess, because you can have a meter fitted on trial for 12 months and have it taken back out if you prefer the old way.

As new owners it would be interesting to see if, within the 12 months this rule applies.

ajm

Tear it out... by their own admission, if it saves you money (i.e. costs them money) for you to have one then they shouldn't have any cause to object if you wanted rid of it should they!!!

There is no way I would have one.... 2 large fish tanks and a pond to maintain!

Butty

iTrader: (2)

Most water companies will:

1. Install a water meter when they repair a leaking boundary stop **** but will ask if you want to pay by meter.
2. Allow a 12 month trial. If you want to go back to ratable based payments after a year, they won't remove the meter.
3. During mains renewal work, will replace old service pipework with new items including a meter. Again they will tell the householder and ask if they want to pay by meter.

Meters are being installed so that water co.s can get a better feel for how much water is really being used. This info is used to plan for new reservoirs, building new mains etc. It is not meant to be some sinister conspiracy to get customers to pay more.

If you have a large young family, small house and a bath then you are likely to lose out.
If you are an older couple, live in a big house then you are likely to pay far less than under the ratable scheme.

Any meter should be installed on the boundary of the property. Old flats can be a pain to submeter, but new build flats should have a meter installed at boundary with separate supplies to each flat.

In this case, I assume that you are in a flat. If not, then there should be no reason why the water company cannot relocate it to your property boundary.
Same goes to chap whose patio is on top of the meter.
If you get any grief about meter relocation then complain to Watervoice who are meant to protect the interests of water co. customers.


Nick

-=Buzz=-

cheers Nick

All they said was "its ours, you can't touch it" sort of thing, and that if I, say, built an extension I would have to provide access to it.. Its about 3 feet from the back door ffs, and Ive got a 25 foot long garden!

Still, I guess it depends where the water pipes are eh?

Dave!

All good stuff guys.
We were on a meter at the last house and i don't reckon we were any better or worse off really (cost wise), and i would have been happy to stay on meter at this new place if it hadn't been so big, fugly, internal and in the way - of course the fitters threw it out while we were away from the house..Mr Severn Trent man sir!.

Cost of having external meter installed is around £350 according to Severn Trent (new internal approx £150) and we were trying to avoid this expense by going back to the rateable system.

Spoon might have something there with the 12 month trial period...won't hurt to try it on!

Dave.

*Sonic*

Im 200 quid a year worse off cos i am no longer on a meter (my previous house was on a meter)

all the water pipes were replaced recently, and they didnt install meters

You can apply to go on a meter (apparently) but you pay all the costs !!! and it aint cheap ( i am talking several thousands too)

but if they replace it, or fit one, then its free

douglasb

United Utilities (formerly North West Water) install meters free. In fact, because they broke 2 appointments for installing the meter, they paid me £40! The meter is installed at the property boundary under the pavement outside the driveway.

I'm saving over £250pa on a meter (live alone, Band D rateable house, use a pressure washer, water the garden, etc.). Also made savings with a meter in a flat a fewe years ago. Thames Water instaled that free, as well.

Doug

Butty

iTrader: (2)

Most water co.s will install a meter for free as its for their benefit.
I have many gripes with Severn Trent over their customer care through my work. I obtain refunds for overcharging and leakage allowances for industrial clients and have to say that S-T do have particular attitude problems to their customers.

Nick

messiah

http://www.unitedutilities.co.uk/ind...water%5Fmeters

united utilities site - theres a link to a calculator on the left of the page.

scoob_babe

we've just had a note through from Thames Water about going onto a meter as the house we have moved to is rateable (our flat was on a meter). The monthly amount we are paying on rates is considerably bigger than the twice annual charges in the flat so we're going to do the 12 month trial.