to think water shouldn't be costing this much?

[gogoflo]

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?

Did you take a reading when you moved in?

No, I had a newborn so it was the last thing on my mind to be honest. I'm hoping my landlord might have taken one, am waiting to hear back from him.

It sounds very likely that you have been charged for the previous occupant's water. You need to check when that last reading was taken.

When I moved in the water company tried to get me to pay for the last tenants bill. It's annoyingly common for them to do that and took me ages to sort out as well, I don't have a meter though. I don't know what you can do when on a meter if you didn't read it when you moved in.

Sorry meant to add the landlord should have taken a reading when the last tenants left and again when you took up occupancy as they are liable for those charges so you should be okay.

Assuming of course you have a decent landlord who does things like that.

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.

well, find out from whoever is billing you if you are metered or not! then do as others have said. find the meter, turn off all water and see if you are using water.

that's a massive bill. sounds like a leak.

Got to be wrong. Ours is half that and we use a lot!

We are a family of 7 which includes five teens.

So thats at least 7 showers a day and probably 2/3 baths per weeks.

Washing machine on twice a day average
dishwasher 2/3 times per day
I must fill the dogs water bowl at least 5 times daily
Garden hose etc

Our bill is £70 per month so on that basis yours is very high

Have retrieved old bills. There was a read a month after we moved in so I'm not paying for previous tenants. It says we're using almost 80 units over 6 months, that cannot be correct. Am waiting to hear back from them.

Are you in Kent? Our water bill is extortionate, and in the past year the water company claim that our use has tripled. Yet our gas and electric use has remained constant, declined even. So how can we be using more water but not more energy? We don't have much of a garden, and certainly never water it.

They have confirmed that the meter isn't moving when water is off. We are getting a site visit. The worst thing is that the meter is so far down the manhole that we can't even read it ourselves.

Our water meter charges also seem to be higher than other areas. We use southeastern for water and southern for sewage, no idea why two companies are involved.