Buggered up water meter - help!

[buggeringbuggery]

Had a water meter fitted this afternoon. They looked for somewhere inside, but it would mean cutting the pipework and the back of the unit (kitchen is less than two months).

Found the external stopcock in a covered hole outside. I said that this was put in by them a few years ago, and we were told that the stopcock controlled us and the next few houses - I remembered this as they had a laugh at how if our neighbours annoyed us we could turn their water off.

I said this to them, so they turned it off and knocked to ask them if they still had water - they did, so they put it in there.

When DH came home just now, he was annoyed that they didn't put it on the wall where the pipe comes up into our house (there is a metal thing on our wall that they put there when they did it a few years ago, instead of going underground). DH said he would have asked them to put it there, but I really didn't think.

I was concerned as when I washed my hands, the water ran for a while, before spluttering, which indicates there was still water in the pipe - I guess that would be the same for the neighbours, so asking them to turn on their taps for 2 seconds was not the best way to check?

So we've just checked the meter. Apparently we've used 51 litres of water since it was put in. All I have done is wash-up with one bowl of water and washed my hands. I've not filled the kettle and no one has bathed/showered.

How do we find out if it has been placed incorrectly? I don't want to, nor can I afford, to pay for next door. Can they move it?

Hopeful bump

Just call in the morning and insist they come back.

Take a note of your reading before you go to bed. Don't flush the toilet if you use it overnight. In the morning before sing any water, check the reading. I can't believe no one from any of those house will use the loo overnight.

Who are “they”? You'd think a water meter fitter would know the difference between one house supply and multiple houses. I don't really understand what you've said but would someone really get it that wrong, am I understanding correctly, you think your meter is measuring your neighbours water too?

Could that even happen?

All the best op

51 litres isn't that much. Water companies charge by the cubic metre which is equivalent to 1000 litres, and depending which water company you are with it's about £1.50 per cubic metre.

Remember, flushing the loo will also contribute as will washing machine and dishwasher usage. Even a dripping tap or cistern overflowing will clock up.
The only way to prove if it's a shared supply is to turn off the external stop tap then get your neighbours to run their kitchen cold tap, (as it's first tap off the rising main) until it runs dry. If it does, then it's a shared supply. In that case the water company will need to come again to relocate it. Ig this is not possible then investigate the possibility of Assessed Measured Charges (it's a tariff for properties that want to ne metered but it's not technically possible)
With regards to the location of the meter. It's usually sited at the junction of the public main under the street with your private service pipe (the household owns the pipes from the external stop tap).
Finally check for leaks. Turn everything off in the house and then go out to the meter and look at the dials to see if there's movement. Some meters also have a flow indicator. It's a little metal disc that spins round when there's a flow of water too small to register on the dials. A leak can be under the garden/drive or under the foundations.

I couldn't get a water meter fitted for exactly the same reason as you. Because they couldn't fit one I got a discount off my bill

Turn your water off and wait. If the neighbours fail to get water they will soon knock on each others doors

I had a meter measuring a shared supply, and it was a nightmare.

The water company effectively said 'yes you're paying for two flats, but we're not going to do anything about it, tough'. We moved (not because of that!) and I know it hasn't changed.

I'd get this looked into ASAP.

But it's not your fault OP - you're not a water engineer. So it's shitty of your DH to be annoyed with you.

If that’s the case they’ll have to remove the meter which is easily done.

Maybe they didn't let the tap run for long enough next door? If there is a long run of pipe then it could run for quite a while before it stops. Perhaps turn it off again and then ask your neighbour to run the tap for longer, or flush the toilet a couple of times?

We too couldn't have a water meter because of shared external pipework and nowhere suitable inside for it to go, so are on an assessed charge that's about a tenner a month less than metering.

If it's been done incorrectly, it's probably easier to get it sorted out if you call them back straight away than if you wait.