To be shocked at our water rates this year - £920!

[Tensixtysix]

And we live in the South West and hardly use any water (not on a meter).
I feel like using loads now!

How much do you pay and which area?

[CoraPirbright]

That’s shockingly high! Ours is around the £400 mark and we have a pool that has had to be drained and refilled twice in the last 18 months due to leaks. SE here too so would assume it would be pretty expensive. Do you think you might have a leak somewhere?

[killpop]

Wow that's a lot. Is that on top of council tax?

[womanhuman]

We reduced ours from about 80 to 40 by getting a meter. Family of 4, not shy about using what we need.

[Blue5238]

Can you ask to go on a meter?

[popcorndiva]

It is based on your house size if not on a meter. The rule is if you have less people living in your house than bedrooms then it is cheaper to be on a meter.

[Ellabella989]

That’s crazy! Ours is about £400

[BitchQueen90]

That is shocking.

I'm Severn Trent which is one of the cheapest in the country though. I pay £15pm. Not on a meter.

[callymarch]

unless you cant physically have one, why wouldnt you just ask for a meter. my bills halved from the water rates.

[GOODCAT]

Our metered water is less than £120 a year. There are only two of us, but even if you have a family of 8 that is still cheaper than the amount you are paying.

[HarrysOwl]

I'm Severn Trent too, not on a meter, £55pm

[Ellabella989]

I’m also Severn Trent and we pay about £34 a month

[BasilWhoosh]

You should ask to get a water meter fitted. If your bills are higher with it you can switch back to water rates in your first year.

[Tensixtysix]

It's on top of council tax @killpop. Our rateable value is 320, but we're not a business, but it's based on the rates of 31/03/90.
So they calculate it as;

Supply charge; £110.90 X 3.20 = £354.88
Sewage charge; £163.79 X 3.20 = £524.12
Standing charges; £41

Daylight robbery!

[Tensixtysix]

No point on having a water meter. The rateable value will stay the same. It cannot EVER be taken off as per their website.

[Hereward1332]

Isn't the rateable value only an issue if you don't have a meter? It doesn't affect the cost of metered consumption.

[Tensixtysix]

I'm going to look further into this. DH pays it each year without question. But now it's getting ridiculous how much they want.

[BlueSkiesLies]

No point on having a water meter. The rateable value will stay the same. It cannot EVER be taken off as per their website.

I think you misunderstand.

The rateable value is used to calculated the charges if you are NOT on a meter.

If you are on a meter you pay the standing charges + usage. WAY lower than £1.2k a year for most people!

I pay between £21 and £28 a month for 2 people

[justthecat]

Ours are the same op, we’re on a meter.
I remember finding out as a kid you had to pay for water and I was amazed!

[redwoodmazza]

Get a water meter for blooming sake!

[Chlo1674]

Definitely get a meter that is shockingly high. I pay about a third of that have a biggish house

[Walkerbean16]

We are on a meter, ours is £864 a year but there are seven of us. Between us we have 4 showers and 2 baths a day and way too much washing up/washing.

[DieCryHate]

If you don't use that much, request a meter. The RV won't dictate any metered charges. It doesn't matter if you shower once a month or if you have 20 children bathing every day if you have RV, the charge is the charge.

[chillpizza]

We pay £66 a month and that’s metered.

[HappySeven]

Definitely agree you need a meter. We are a family of 4 and pay £31 a month with a meter. Our rates would be similar to yours without.

[AnnaMagnani]

Get a meter. I had water rates like that. Phoned up the water company who suggested that even if we were a family of 6 and did washing and watered the garden every day, we'd still be quids in with a meter.

As it is, we are a family of 2 and now pay about £60 a quarter.