water meter fitted, not using much water :confused:

Deleted member 77746 · 7 Jul 2012 at 10:52

paradisiac said:
my property had a water meter fitted previously, they just changed it to an unmetered bill. then when I moved in a asked for a meter they came and swapped the old one for a new one free. I don't think they remove it, I think they just change your billing.

Still worth a chance though if you know it will be cheaper.

mattyg · 7 Jul 2012 at 11:03

Dont forget they also charge you for removal of the water. Sewerage and rain water

Belly · 7 Jul 2012 at 11:14

It might be for consideration that when the guy fitted your meter he did NOT set it to 000000. I've seen it where new electric and gas metres have been installed in houses the guy who fits them will often set them to say: 999992, effectively giving you a minus 8 to begin with.

Best thing we ever did having a water meter fitted. Just the two of us, both out of the house during the day, price dropped to about 40% of what we were paying.

We were told, and I don't know if it's true, that if we were unhappy with the meter we could have it uninstalled (switched off) and revert back to standard billing. It might have been a "one-off" I'm NOT sure, but we are certainly NOT going back to standard billing.

CaptainRAVE · 7 Jul 2012 at 11:19

mattyg said:
Dont forget they also charge you for removal of the water. Sewerage and rain water

Yes, this is where most of the expense comes from a water meter.

paradisiac · 7 Jul 2012 at 11:19

Belly said:
It might be for consideration that when the guy fitted your meter he did NOT set it to 000000. I've seen it where new electric and gas metres have been installed in houses the guy who fits them will often set them to say: 999992, effectively giving you a minus 8 to begin with.

Best thing we ever did having a water meter fitted. Just the two of us, both out of the house during the day, price dropped to about 40% of what we were paying.

We were told, and I don't know if it's true, that if we were unhappy with the meter we could have it uninstalled (switched off) and revert back to standard billing. It might have been a "one-off" I'm NOT sure, but we are certainly NOT going back to standard billing.

nah it was def 000000

they guesstimated I would probs be paying about £30 on a meter, not sure if this works out about right with standing charges and all and its really confusing. I suppose I can just wait for my first bill and see.

ilcp · 7 Jul 2012 at 11:27

paradisiac said:
no, no fitting fees, all free

Also if you dont like water meter rates, you have 12 (?) months to go back to being un-metered.

reilly · 7 Jul 2012 at 11:41

We have one and pay around £30 a month. That's 3 people in a flat, cooking/washing everyday. Rateable value is a rip off if there are many off you/don't use much water.

Narj · 7 Jul 2012 at 12:19

Hrm where would they normally fit the meter, only I don't really have easy access under my floor - the only point where the water main comes up is at the stopcock under the sink. I definitely don't want my carpet ripped up to get at the pipework, in the event of wanting one to be fitted.

paradisiac · 7 Jul 2012 at 12:20

PianoBasher said:
Hrm where would they normally fit the meter, only I don't really have easy access under my floor - the only point where the water main comes up is at the stopcock under the sink. I definitely don't want my carpet ripped up to get at the pipework, in the event of wanting one to be fitted.

they stick it where the main stopcock is, normally just outside your house.

*Moangroan* · 7 Jul 2012 at 12:29

£72 a month...all I can do is LOL.....u should have really asked friends and family maybe to get a better picture of bills if you were not sure......although in hindsight its easy to say this.

Disco Boy · 7 Jul 2012 at 12:33

Are you factoring in sewage rate? That costs significantly more than the water itself.

Also, £72 per month, LOL.

Dogbreath · 7 Jul 2012 at 12:45

StonedPenguin said:
At £72 a month you was being robbed. I pay £26 a month (non-meter)

That's because your water authority is not the greedy money grabbing thieves that are South West Water. We have the highest water rates in the country; the average down here is about £520 pa compared to about £340 in the rest of the country.

Narj · 7 Jul 2012 at 12:45

paradisiac said:
they stick it where the main stopcock is, normally just outside your house.

Hrm, odd, because I had a new water main fitted and the plans said "metered supply", however they didn't bother for whatever reason.

zipp0r · 7 Jul 2012 at 15:19

15-20 amonth for me and i bath a lot! 50p a bath or something, with 25p of it being the sewage cleaning charge for it. e.t.c

Stolly · 7 Jul 2012 at 15:45

CaptainRAVE said:
On my own I use hardly anything and am glad of a meter - wouldn't fancy having one with a family though! On my own I pay about £13 a month.

I've got a family of 4, got a meter, charges halved.

Don't know why you wouldn't do it, family or no.

GeX · 7 Jul 2012 at 16:38

*Moangroan* said:
£72 a month...all I can do is LOL.....u should have really asked friends and family maybe to get a better picture of bills if you were not sure......although in hindsight its easy to say this.

I think something to bear in mind, some water companies only bill for 10 months of the year. So that's actuall £60 pcm

Lunatic Dreyfus · 7 Jul 2012 at 16:42

£72 p/m was mad money. :eek:

I was using £25 or so a month on my meter. Still felt a little high then.

LeeUK · 7 Jul 2012 at 16:50

I pay £30 a month for 10 months of the year for unmetered water.

I understand that you can have a meter installed for free and if you don't like it within 12 months you can revert back to unmetered water. However they don't remove the actual meter, they just change your billing. BUT if you sell up/move out, the next occupier has to go onto metered water.

This is what I read once. Might have changed now.

PermaBanned · 7 Jul 2012 at 17:12

How much exactly is a unit?

Blinkz · 7 Jul 2012 at 17:20

I live alone in a 3 bed house, I pay £100 every 6 months for water/waste.