AIBU?
Water bill over £2000
FloatingLeaf · 20/03/2021 10:49
Looking for urgent advice.
My water bill has been around £30 a month for year, on a meter. It went up last year and I didn’t get around to querying it. I thought of it as saving! I live in a part of country where water is expensive. I live alone in a 2 bed house . Shower daily , wash dishes by hand and put on washing machine twice a week .
My bill for last 6 months is £2200 .
It’s either a mistake or a leak. Is there any point in taking out specific insurance now and waiting a month to challenge it bill with water company? Will home insurance cover repairs if there is a major leak.
Brainwave89 · 20/03/2021 12:27
Hi, cover varies from policy to policy. It is less likely to be covered if the leak is outside your house it is less likely to be covered. Companies such as Homeserve provide specific cover for this kind of leak, but you obviously cannot purchase this if you already have one. If you have a water meter, turn the stopcock off in your house and then check if the meter is still turning. If it is, then the issue is between you and the meter, i.e. somewhere on your land.
Mamamia456 · 20/03/2021 12:33
Household insurance only usually covers water leaks that is causing damage to the property. You need to find out where the leak is coming from. If it is within the boundary of your property it is your responsibility, if it's outside your boundary it is the water company's responsibility.
kasho5 · 20/03/2021 12:44
If it is a leak and you speak to them they will adjust the bill. We had a high bill once when the shower was overflowing for several hours and it resulted in an abnormally high bill. I spoke to the customer services and explained that we'd had a leak and they reduced the bill.
littlewhitestar · 20/03/2021 13:23
It's not standard for it to be covered if the leak is on your property but outside the house, ie underground, unless it was caused by damage, such as a heavy vehicle. It probably won't be covered if the pipe is damaged/cracked from wear and tear/age.
Water companies usually allow a discretionary one off leak allowance though.
Jumpers268 · 20/03/2021 21:43
We had this once. It was a leak in the pipe in the garden. We had no idea. The water company were amazing. After it was fixed we had to take monthly readings for 6 months so they could work out our average usage. They wrote the rest away. Don't panic! Easier said than done but I remember getting a similar bill and almost throwing up.
1Dandelion1 · 21/03/2021 14:40
Generally your buildings policy will a section that covers accidental damage to underground services like mains water pipes, this section does not cover damage to the pipe because of age.
Some water providers have a discretionary allowance that they can offset against your bill in the event of a leak, you can then claim the cost of any lost metered water from your contents insurance.
FloatingLeaf · 22/03/2021 10:38
It’s definitely a leak. I have called insurance company and they will look at the wording of my policy. They will call me back!
I just have to hope it’s not on my side of the property. I would never have guessed this want covered by my insurance.
The water board d said that once leak is fixed they would refund me once they’d established my normal water usage.
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