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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think water shouldn't be costing this much?

60 replies

gogoflo · 30/06/2014 13:51

In our house each week we have:

7 ten minute showers
2 normal baths
7 bowls of washing up
1-2 loads of washing

We're all out most days between 8 and 5 so toilet usage is minimal.

Yet I received a water bill this morning saying the past 6 months have cost £1000, split almost equally between water and sewage costs. Surely this is extortionate? Friends and their kids all have showers and baths each everyday, do loads of washing, use dishwashers etc yet never seem to complain about the cost of water but it must cost a fortune.

Aibu to think this is really expensive and to ask how much you pay?

OP posts:
taxi4ballet · 30/06/2014 13:53

Are you on a water meter?

VampyreofTimeandMemory · 30/06/2014 13:53

eek, that does seem a lot. there are 5 in our house and it's less than £50.

HighwayDragon · 30/06/2014 13:55

There are 3 of us in the house, me and dd are in 70% of the day, dd constantly leaves the tap on, several loads of washing, we have just upped our dd from £17 to £25 per month!

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 30/06/2014 13:57

No way is that right.

In our house there is me, DH and DS. Showers every day, I do about 4 loads of washing per week, leave the tap running whilst I clean my teeth (really pisses DH off that one) and when I have a bath I have it full to the brim.

We pay about £200 per year.

taxi4ballet · 30/06/2014 14:05

If you're on a meter you might have a leak. Switch absolutely everything off, and go and check if the meter is going round. If it is, you have a problem!

Is it a property on a new estate? The pipework might have been hashed up and you are paying for someone else's as well...

unweavedrainbow · 30/06/2014 14:10

That is never ever right. In my house there is my DH and I. We use the dishwasher several times a day, run the taps copiously, have long showers, leisurely baths and water the garden. We do not pay any attention to our water usage at all and still only pay £200 a year. In fact, our water bill has just been reduced-and not only that, we are on a meter and have been for years.

halfdoneharris · 30/06/2014 14:13

Your usage sounds like 200/250 a year to me - so something must be wrong. Any chance you have a water leak somewhere, or maybe the meter is on the blink. Either way I would definitely question it with your supplier.

Enb76 · 30/06/2014 14:15

I think you have a leak. I had a leak and it cost me £300 over 3 months before I realised. The water company let me off but only because it may have been them who caused the leak in the first place when fitting a new up-to-date metre.

Original poster
gogoflo · 30/06/2014 14:18

Yes it's on a new estate taxi. Sounds dumb but not sure if I have a water meter - I don't think so because there's never been any request for meter readings. I've been paying £44 p/m by DD which I would've thought was plenty but apparently not. I can't afford £100 p/m which is what they're asking.

OP posts:
Dilligufdarling · 30/06/2014 14:18

We had a similarly enormous bill ad it was due to the ball-cock in the toilet being out of alignment and the water was constantly overflowing and running into the pan.
Because it was a trickle there was no noise and you couldn't really see it either.
Think it cost us in the region of £1500 in total... Shock
Literally money flushed down the toilet.
Defo check for a leak!!

IAmANightOwl · 30/06/2014 14:19

I think you must have a leak somewhere! DH and I Pay £30 a month atm, which is the most we have ever paid because of water cost rises etc. Contact your water company ASAP!

Dilligufdarling · 30/06/2014 14:20

If it's a new build I would expect it to be a meter. They come and read it themselves quite often because the meters are outside (normally under a metal cover in the path)

lildottie · 30/06/2014 14:20

sounds like a leak. when we had one sww put a stop on our account until it was sorted so phone supplier asap. leak was on our land so we had to fix but was covered by house insurance so check your policy. we were given a form to claim a leak allowance. they basically recalculated our last 18 months bills (because I'd suspected a leak earlier but had probably only just started and I'd spoken to them about it) based on our useage before that period. we got a massive credit put on our account and a £400 cheque. I then put us on qtrly direct debit as monthly they only bill you twice a year. now I get quarterly bills so I would pick up a leak sooner.

Permanentpanicmode · 30/06/2014 14:22

Definitely check for leaks - we are a family of 6, and with two loads of washing a day, dishwasher, showers etc, we are only paying £18 a month. Our sewerage is about the same, so I echo everyone above saying you must have a leak somewhere......

dottyaboutstripes · 30/06/2014 14:24

Get them out to check - you are def on a meter and it's def not right. We are a family of 8, lots of showers, dishwasher and washing machine use, and we pay approx £50pm

CarmineRose1978 · 30/06/2014 14:27

Are you with Thames Water? We pay 200-300 per year - 2 ten minutes showers a day, one lot of washing up per day, maybe 8-10 loads of washing per week, one bath per week, and the dishwasher 5 times per week. We're on a meter.

unweavedrainbow, you run the dishwasher several times a day? Do you cook a lot?

BaldricksWife · 30/06/2014 14:27

I received a bill for 2500 for six months, the water company refused to let it be paid in installments and I had to find the whole lot in one hit. I queried it and was told that if it was a leak it was still my responsibility, I asked to have the meter checked and was told their meters are never faulty and that I would have to pay to get it checked by them- yeh. They are a bunch of barstewards I am afraid.

googoodolly · 30/06/2014 14:29

We pay £30 a month for the two of us (two adults) and two cats who like to play with the taps!

taxi4ballet · 30/06/2014 14:41

Is it the first bill since you moved in? If so, was the meter read when you moved in, or were the builders using YOUR water for months and you're now being expected to pay for it all!

It should say on your bill if there is a meter reading - they will read it themselves as it is usually outside your property on the footpath.

If it is a leak on a new property, you might be able to pin responsibility on the builders' negligence, but you need to get to the bottom of it ASAP.

PuppyMonkey · 30/06/2014 14:48

Just paid my bill (Severn Trent) and it was £191.56 for six months. They read water meters remotely I think, they don't need to come inside like the gas or electricity.

stubbornstains · 30/06/2014 14:52

That doesn't sound right baldrickswife- did you pay up? I would complain in writing, and if not contact the regulator- I'm guessing that would be OFWAT.

BaldricksWife · 30/06/2014 15:50

I had to pay up, they threatened court action and were thoroughly unhelpful. Baldrick had to sell his collection of Medieval turnips. :-(

offtoseethewizard64 · 30/06/2014 16:06

You will definitely have a meter - it has been compulsory on all house built since the early 90's. Our meter is in the pavement at the end of the drive, so if we are out we wouldn't know if it had been read or not.

Your bill sounds extortionate. We pay £30pm for a family of 4 and DS is in the shower for hours. Sounds like a leak to me and if it is a brand new build I would be finding out who put the services in and holding them responsible for the bill.

quietbatperson · 30/06/2014 16:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Charlieboo30 · 30/06/2014 16:11

I find water just extortionate. There are 2 of us and we are out at work from 7-6, have a shower each every day, wash up once a day and washer on a few times a week. No garden, no bath, no dishwasher. Water bill just recently gone up to £32 a month. Our LL won't let us go onto a meter so we are stuck with it. My PIL are on a meter in much bigger house and pay £17 a month!