Surely this water bill can't be correct?

[simonneilsbeautifulhair]

I moved into a two bedroom house with my youngest daughter a year and a half ago, only us in the house except when my eldest dd (21) comes to visit occasionally. Our first water bill was about £250 for six months which was relatively high for two people I guess but we have a dishwasher so not unusually so. However the last two bills have been double that so £1000 for the year, which seems absolutely insane. It's more than I was paying for water when we lived in a four bedroom 3 bathroom house with my eldest daughter (who was a teenager at the time so spend half her life in the bath or shower!) and my ex husband.

I've queried it numerous times with the water company and they have supposedly checked the water meter and said it's correct, as it wasn't moving when nothing was on in the house. After the last huge bill they said the consumption had gone down and was now in line with what it should be but then I get another bill just as big at the last. Nothing has changed, no extra appliances, building work been done and it's just a tiny two bedroom terrace with 1 bathroom and no garden to speak of so not using extra to water plants or anything. No dripping taps or obvious leaks. We even share bath water most mornings. Dishwasher goes on once a day at the moment as we are both home all the time but up until lockdown it was once every three days roughly. About 4/5 loads of washing a week max.

It just seems absolutely massive. When I search average water bill it seems to be over double the typical 5 bedroom house cost! What is your water bill and for how many people? We are in the south east if that makes any difference. And does anyone have any advice on what could be causing it?

You bill is insane! I’m South West Water who are meant to be the most expensive in the UK and my bill is £35 per month. 2 adults and 1 toddler. Dishwasher, washing machine, DH loves showers and DD and I love baths.

I would call a plumber out when the restrictions are eased/lifted and get them to investigate!

Do you have an underground leak? Possibly inside or outside.

First run a tap and go and have a look at your meter, whilst the water runs, a little cog like thingy on the dial should be revolving. Now you know what that looks like. Then turn your tap off.

To check outside turn off the stopcock where water comes into your home (not next to the meter) and check the meter. If the little cog thingy on the meter is turning then you have an issue outside. If it’s not shifting then it’s probably not that.

Then try turning the stopcock back on whilst ensuring that you are using no water. Does the little cog thingy turn now. If it doesn’t you theoretically don’t have a leak inside either.

These very simple tests came to me courtesy of Thames Water who messed up putting in a water meter and it leaked.

If your tests shows it leaks then either you or your water company will have to sort it out.

If there are no obvious leaks and you are still getting no help from your water company I suggest you contact the water regulator with a complaint and see what they can do.

If you can easily see your meter then taking your own readings every few hours would give you an idea of if it's going up consistently across the day or in jumps for when you're showering, washing etc.

You haven't said where you live, is it an expensive water area? As other posters have pointed out the price varies by area so comparing with people on here will tell you nothing useful

We pay £39 a month for 2 adults, have a dishwasher & washing machine, a slight leak from the (soon to be replaced) boiler and drip into the (soon to be replaced) lavatory pan. And DP is incapable of turning off a tap properly!

We're with Southern, so charges are quite high. Yours sound on the high side, OP, but not massively so if you're in an area served by one of the more expensive companies.

I know it won't be happening any time soon, but next time you go away for a few days, it might be worth reading the meter before you go and when you get back, just in case you've got a slight leak somewhere.

Years ago, we had a big bill and it turned out that my idiot ex had left the outside tap trickling for months! He'd also left the hose attached and discharging into the outside drain, so I hadn't noticed.

That does sound very high. Our water is included in our council tax (Scotland) which is great. No extra costs.

That’s high OP. My ds had a similar problem a few years ago. It turned out there was a leaking pipe which they didn’t know about, under the kitchen floor.
Definitely check out neighbours water meter. Or perhaps the next door builders damaged one of your pipes and didn’t tell you and have since repaired it.

Two adults here - no dishwasher and we pay about £23 a month.

That's very high - I would double check everything is as it should be.

Definitely get the water company to check if you're paying for the correct meter! Thames Water had messed up two meters so I was paying my neighbour's bill and they were paying mine.. only came to light when they wanted to upgrade the meter and my water was still running when the guy said he had switched it off. Turned out they had mixed up the plot numbers (new build). I was reimbursed everything I had overpaid thankfully.

Are you in the South west by any chance? My water bill was £80 a month when I lived In Devon for a 2 bed flat, one adult and one child. Checked with my neighbour and they were paying the
Same. They sent and engineer to check for leaks, nothing. Friends in the area said they were paying similar. Now in a different region and paying £33 pcm for 3 x adults!

Wow, something definitely not right there OP! We live in a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house (just the two of us) and our water bill is £23 a month! We don’t have a dishwasher but only use one bowl of water a day for washing up, 3 loads of washing a week on average and then just the toilets and showers (no baths). We never use tap water in the garden as we have loads of water butts...

Great advice from @Grumpyunleashed

I can't get the cover off to read the water meter outside, it just won't come up far enough to lift out which is really helpful! We are in the south east so south east water company as a pp asked but it was in my op. I've done a water calculator estimate and even massively over exaggerating what we use based on now as we are at home all day rather than being out at work/school and it says even with exaggerated consumption that my water bill should be less than half what it is now. All the water company say is that they will send the consumption team out and when they do they just say the meter reading is accurate so tough luck basically! Dismissed my query about whether I could be paying for next door as well.

No outside tap or garden to water as it's patio. This is driving me insane as there's no way 1 adult and 1 child with no unusual means of water consumption can use that amount! I don't even drink tea/coffee/ anything that uses water from the tap! I was struggling financially as a single parent anyway but after losing some of my wages as I've been furloughed and this water bill palaver for the last year I'm at my wits end

It isn't back to normal now, they checked it after last massive bill (about sept )and said it seemed back to normal then. However the most recent bill has been just as big! Over £500 for 6 months in each of the last two bills. £250 for the first six months when we moved in then suddenly doubled.

So it sounds fairly conclusive that there's either a leak or you're paying for next door water.

I would find out how to send a formal complaint and do that. Include details of the calculation to illustrate your point. If you don't get a resolution, I think there's an ombudsman. Try googling OFWAT.

Depends where you live. If you live in the South west it could easily be right. Water bills are a lot higher where there's lots of beaches!!

Also before we lived here it was only 5 mins down the road so same town, same water company. But in a larger house with more people and lower water bills... makes no sense.

They haven't added a previous debt? Def just metered water usage?

Water meter in the last place?

Can you access the outside stopcock? If so turn it off and you will find out if your neighbour is on the same supply. (Just make sure you have a enough water n buckets etc for yourself during the shut).

My bill in a 2 bed terraced house that dated back to the 1880s was ridiculously high. It turned out it was linked with next door so we had to go to estimated bills only.

Can you access the outside stopcock? If so turn it off and you will find out if your neighbour is on the same supply. (Just make sure you have a enough water n buckets etc for yourself during the shut).

That's what I would do. Then go away for the weekend (if only).

Has your house been built in the last few years? We had very large water bills for years and couldn’t work out why our neighbours with 4 children had been paying much less. In the end the water company found that the meters had been connected up to the properties incorrectly and we had been paying our neighbours bill. The water engineer said he saw it many times with new housing developments.

Love the idea of turning the supply off.
Years ago we moved into a new build, small 3 bed semi, just 2 of us.The water bills were really big, company kept dismissing it.It turned out we were being billed for big 4 bed with 5 in the house 3 doors down,mistakes do happen,
go higher in the complaints department, unfortunately sometimes you have to make a nuisance of yourseldf to be heard.
it was lovely getting the refund!

To test if the loos are leaking water, put dye in the cistern and see if runs into the bowl

Me n DH live in a 4 bed, 2 cats (so steam mop the floor e/o day) no dishwasher, 3 or 4 load of laundry per wk, 1 bath and 1 shower per day, 1 lot of washing-up after our main meal each day.
We clean the cars, conservatory roof, patio, water the garden etc and our bill is equivalent to £20ish per month (pay every 6, so the summer half is always higher than the winter half iyswim).

1.Make sure you are on a meter and not rateable value - just in case they are billing incorrectly.
2.If you are sure you are on a meter, it does sound like it's faulty - raise another fault-based enquiry and refuse to pay until it is resolved.

1. send a copy of all your correspondence to your MP.