Water Charges

[kmdmr1]

A little bit sad I admit, but how much are you paying for your water/sewage charges per month ?

Reason for question is,we recently moved into a 4 bed house (House was built in 2006) and on a water meter.
When we moved in, we was paying £35 pm (estimated) after 6 months we recieved a bill, £200 in debt,
I took a reading from the water meter and called our water company (Welsh water) the lady on the phone explained the estimation was based on just two people living in the property, I explained we had five people living in the property (mum,dad,18 yr old, 15yr old,and 9 yr old)
The DD went from £35 to £45 pm to cover the shortfall,ok I thought not too bad.
Today I have recieved another bill, £300 in debt ? again phoned the water company and the DD has gone from £45 to £75 pm (£30 pm increase) although if we had been on benifits it`s capped at £28pm,

Does anyone pay more than this, how many live in the property ?
Do I have a leak ?
Thoughts apprieciated.
Thanks

 

[richart]

We have just gone on to a water meter, and are currently paying £27 a month for a 4 bed house. There are only three of us, though I do use the hose a lot, cleaning car, washing down drive etc.

Our water pipes are ancient so I was worried abot a leak. So far so good though I am anticipating dd will go up after our next reading. Only had one and that was only after a few weeks.

If you were £200 in debit after six months, ie £33 a month, your dd should surely have gone straight up to £70 odd just to maintain your position (wouldn't have paid off existing debit) £45 was always going to leave another shortfall.

Does sound a lot to me, so either your usuing a hell of a lot of water, or you have a leak.

 

[chellie]

It should be fairly easy to check if you've a leak as your meter will be moving when you're not using any water. I was petrified of having leak when we first swapped to a meter so used to check it each day and submit reads online every month. That way I know my direct debit is correct as it's adjusted if needs be.Water costs vary so much depending on where you are in the country.

 

[Break90]

3 bed house, 3 people, 35 quid a month and in credit.

 

[Rooter]

2 adults, 4 kids in a 3 bed house, 2 showers and 1 bath per day and people in most of the day. we pay about 188 per 6 months. HTH.

 

[Garesfield ACE]

Water metered.Was paying £33 per month wasnt happy with it as increased from £22 per month inside 2 years.Switched to "2 push button system" for both toilets from the 'old' handle system.Within 2 months costs have gone down to £27 per month.RESULT.

 

[Slab]

2 adults & metered is roughly £3 per month but I've seen it go to £4 if not careful

Although have to add in bottled drinking water I suppose so maybe another £15 for that

 

[Fyldewhite]

Leaving aside the water usage for a moment look at the maths.

After 6 months you had paid (£35pm) £210. The bill said you owe £410 (£200 debit). So, you should have been paying about £70pm to cover that usage. The lady (for some reason) put you on £45pm which although better still wouldn't be covering your £70pm usage (not sure why you accepted that tbh unless you had paid the £200 separately)......so over the next few months you ran up another £100 debit. Not surprising really. Now they have put you on £75pm......assuming constant usage this will cover your usage and reduce the £300 debt by £5pm. So, at that rate you should be straight in about 5 years!!! They should really be upping your payments to about £100pm to cover usage and reduce the outstanding debt.

I'm not on a meter so can't comment but looking at everyone's posts on here it looks very much as though your usage is very high so I'd do a check for leaks at once if you haven't already done so.....and stop leaving the taps on

 

[kmdmr1]

Leaving aside the water usage for a moment look at the maths.

After 6 months you had paid (£35pm) £210. The bill said you owe £410 (£200 debit). So, you should have been paying about £70pm to cover that usage. The lady (for some reason) put you on £45pm which although better still wouldn't be covering your £70pm usage (not sure why you accepted that tbh unless you had paid the £200 separately)......so over the next few months you ran up another £100 debit. Not surprising really. Now they have put you on £75pm......assuming constant usage this will cover your usage and reduce the £300 debt by £5pm. So, at that rate you should be straight in about 5 years!!! They should really be upping your payments to about £100pm to cover usage and reduce the outstanding debt.

I'm not on a meter so can't comment but looking at everyone's posts on here it looks very much as though your usage is very high so I'd do a check for leaks at once if you haven't already done so.....and stop leaving the taps on

I wasnt on a meter until I moved into this house,
But when we moved in,wifey gave meter readings to Welsh Water,and as this is estimated, they came back with £35 per month,I suppose this was based on the previous occupants,2 adults & 3 (young kids)
after 6 months and the price hike WW suggested upping the DD by £10 pm,again this was estimated based on a family of five,
I have checked for leaks,turned off in road,turned off internally and everything seems fine,(No leaks)
Suppose we will just have to pay or have less showers,
But thanks for the feedback,Gives me some idea on what others are paying.

 

[Biggleswade Blue]

2 adults, 2 children, on a meter, £55/month.

 

[kmdmr1]

2 adults, 2 children, on a meter, £55/month.

Great,at least your somewhere near the mark

 

[chellie]

Do WW offer any free water saving devices? We got a Hippo bag for the old toilet plus shower and tap adaptors.

 

[kmdmr1]

Do WW offer any free water saving devices? We got a Hippo bag for the old toilet plus shower and tap adaptors.

Yes they do Chellie,
Just ordered some in fact,never heard of freebies from WW before.
When I started researching why my bills are so high, I seen something on Anglian Water regarding reducing water bills,
WW offer a 4 minute timer for the shower,that might just hurry the eldest lad up a little,he takes one shower in the morning,goes the gym and then takes another,
Some type of valve which reduces the water flow through the shower,No doubt as soon as fit this,the will be in our shower,
and a bag which fits in the cistern,although as ours are twin flush, so I dont think they will work correctly, but is free,

 

[Pipetwister]

Yes you are right about the bag! The toilet will not flush properly if you put the bag in the cistern. There will not be enough water to do the job properly.