Spoon

I'm interested as I think my water bill based on Rateable Value is a fair bit more than 2 of us use so I enquired about having a meter fitted.

After 2 visits to my home (the 1st visit ruled out an internal meter) I was told I couldn't have a meter fitted at all as the outside stop tap was on my property. It has to be out on the street for the water company to be allowed to work on it.

So the next step is for them to offer you an assessed consumption charge due to the fact you showed willing to go on a meter. This is a saving on the RV charge but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be as cheap as being on a meter.

Even according to their website their assessed consumption charge is equal to either average use for 6 people or high use for 3 people.

I'm not bothered by this as just by making the enquiry I've saved a few quid and I am free to use things like the jet washer etc without much thought.

However, as a matter of interest, what do you people on water meters pay per annum and how many occupants share that supply?

Obviously prices will differ slightly depending on where you are geographically.

MattW

4 Bed house

Two adults showering and one child bathing every day.

£14 per month on DD

Nigel H

4 Bed detached 2 adults and one 5 year old. Pay about 20 quid a month, which is about half what I was paying before.

I don't go mad watering the garden though

Spoon

Thanks Matt, already it appears it's going to confirm what I thought.

After they cut my bill I'm still paying £28/month but was paying £41/month!!

Anybody want to buy water from me?

MattW

A touch high I feel.

Mind you we have AAA rated Washing (Clothes and Dishes) machines and that made a big difference when we first bought them. We also have modern short flush toilets.

TonyNesta

2 bed bungalow, live on my own most of the time, no garden watering = £17/month.

T

Spoon

But it's only high Matt because it's not metered which is my point. I too have all the so-called energy/cost saving appliances and my toilets are bagged too for a super short flush, even more reason I guess to be on a meter.

NigelH seems to have been on a similar charge to me originally and has halved his bill on a meter.

MattW

I didn't realise rateable bills were so high, they used to be quite reasonable.

RRH

5 Bed detached- three children (two of which are teenagers). Wife keen gardener so uses hose lots, paddling pool for little'un every day in the summer, refilled daily.

£30 by DD each month on a water meter.

In comparison, my elderly parents, both late 70s. Four bed detached, hardly use any water. Their bill based on rateable value circa £700 pa. Changing to meter as we speak...

Ringpeas

Not sure how they calculate it.

Went from a band A semi to a band B detached and found my water bill dropped by a third

Go figure

ProperCharlie

so aren't the water co.s gonna come a bit unstuck when everyone starts changing over to meters?

NACRO

Once you go to a meter you can never get rid of it. Some short sighted people I know did this, fine when they were just a couple. However with the 3 kids they now have they are paying 40% more than their old flat rate bill.
They also suffer from what I think of as "water poverty"- they live their lives constantly trying to save water. No more deep baths, don't flush the toilet every time it's used (the dirty *******). I'd rather pay a flat rate and use as much as I desire without the spectre of cost hanging over me.

The choice is yours but as I said once it's done there is no going back. It has to reduce the desireability of your property for some buyers, like me for example, I'd always pick the property without metering.

Spoon

They calculate it based on 1990 figures when a man went around giving out RV's. It has nothing to do with community band levels at all.

The guy that come to me yesterday had just been to a woman who had asked for a meter but couldn't have one fitted due to her stop tap being under her new driveway.

Therefore they had to offer her the same assessed consumption charge as me (standard detached charge) which is £338/per annum.

Guess what? Her RV was £3500, some saving I'd say!!

PC-Meters appear to be cheaper but that's why RV billed customers are getting stung.

Spoon

Not true, you can have a meter here for a 12 month period and if you don't save money you can go back to RV.

They might not advertise that fact but you need to ask or read the small print.

The meter however does stay in the property in case you change your mind at some point or indeed move house.

ProperCharlie

interesting. since my flat rate bill is under £300 p.a., (and i've just had a new lawn put down which requires regular sprinkling ) i think i'll leave things as they are. especially considering the length of time my brother spends in the shower with his girlfriend .

Spoon

PC- On the face of it your bill still appears excessive,(unless the 3 of you live there full-time) but, as I said earlier as it's not hideously excessive it's some how comforting that you can use water without too much thought.

ProperCharlie

There are 3 adults and 1 baby (so far!). AFAIK he's ditched his g/f, so there may be a potential saving there

Nicci

Total of 2 adults in my house on a water meter.

I pay £30 DD a month with Anglian Water.

I don't have a hose or dishwasher and after reading some of the above, I think something is wrong.

NACRO

quote: "Not true, you can have a meter here for a 12 month period and if you don't save money you can go back to RV."

Then it must vary by company (unless of course the water supplier to my tenanted property was lying to me). I'll look further into this as they (water company) told me there was no way to return to the flat rate.

Thanks for the info- I'll be looking at the water act to confirm this is the case.

TonyNesta

I work for a subsidiary of a water company, and Spoon is correct - if you have a meter installed and don't save money, you can go back to RV after 12 months, although the meter stays in place for future owners. The water co's DON'T like meters, cos they don't make as much money - they are forced to offer them by the government regulator.

T

Butty

iTrader: (2)

B**locks excuse for not fitting the meter.
Water companies I deal with will either freeze the pipe (if copper) from the mains to you boundary or clamp it (if plastic).
They may end up relaying the whole pipe by disconnecting the old tapping to mains and installing a new one under pressure - its not difficult and it sounds like they are being lazy or unhelpful.
The Atplas or meter housing unit comes with an integral stop **** for their own use.

Which water co. has told you it can't be fitted?
Thames Water perhaps? They have the highest RV charges in the country so its in their best interest to avoid large scale metering - trouble is that they are being hammered for not controlling water leakage. Not surprising if they can't account for a large slice of customer use.

Nick

Spoon

Butty- It's Severn Trent. The guy explained the claw-back procedure but the cost would be prohibitive to place the stop tap in a new position. Plus they'd need to remove trees in my garden to access the one I have now.

douglasb

Hi Spoon. I've been on a meter for about 18 months and have just checked old water bills against the latest. On the RV payments, I was paying around £35 per month. On the meter, it's £9.61 .

On my own in a 3 bed bungalow. I do a bit of travelling with work and probably average a couple of nights a week away from home, but I also wash the car with a hose, pressure wash the paths, water the garden, fill birdbaths, etc., so I'm not consciously restricting my water use.

Another bonus was that the water company broke 2 appointments to fit the meter. They pay £20 per broken appointment .

Doug

Spoon

Hello Doug, I might yet appeal against their assessed consumption charge because it definitely is higher than I'd use on a meter. If they don't want to budge then I could always try insisting they do fit a meter at their cost.

After all I wanted a meter fitting so who are they to then *give* me just another estimate, all being it was lower than my RV?

With a little pressure then surely they could lower my assessed consumption charge in line with their own website estimates.

On another note, did that young lady get sorted with accommodation near Knowle?

douglasb

Short answer is "no". She's now one of the people hoping for a crash in house prices. She is also now going for a job which is based more centrally in Birmingham, so (assuming she gets it) this could open up more possibilities of suitable (less expensive) areas to move to. In the meantime, the problem neighbours have moved out and the new people are fine and friendly, so the pressure is off for the moment.

Cheers!

Doug

Spoon

Oh right, well as long as she isn't in a rush now then she can play the waiting game.

Butty

iTrader: (2)

Spoony,
The average water use per person per day in the UK is about 150 litres if that helps. You can estimate your total house consumption off that.
Once a meter is fitted try turning off the stop **** in the house is shut off and see if the new meter is still ticking around.
If so then get S-T to carry out a repair (typically FOC) or you may end up paying more than the RV rate if its a biggun.

Nick

Spoon

Butty- Thanks, but unless I kick up a fuss it looks like I won't be getting a meter.

I calculated my *useage* on ST's website and I reckon £200ish annually should be about right.