Water companies leak for 4 years - compensation?

[Whatwater]

Hia,

We have found out we have been leaking about 600-700 litres a day.

This has been going on ever since we went on a meter so we never saw the spike.

Have had it investigated and it is the water companies responsibility. They have fixed it.

They are offering 12 month compensation. Is this all we can get? Considering it was their fault.

Thank you

How did it impact you? Is there damage or did the leak make you look like you'd used more so you've paid too much?

Thank you. The leak has been costing us about £800 a year I think.

No damage as was on the joint in the pavement.

How was the leak found? How long ago? How long ago was the meter fitted

Compensation is designed to compensate you for losses Incurred.

If you went on a meter 12 months ago and they're offering 12 months payments, then this is reasonable.

Apologies for not being clear. We went on a meter 4 years ago. We believe it’s been leaking this whole time.

They didn’t tell us we had a leak. We were just chatting about bills. This house is a bill monster for most things and first time we have lived in a property of this size. So never really thought anything of it except Jesus this is expensive!

It was only when we were chatting to a relative who happens to have a swimming pool that we realised we were paying more than them and they said that doesn’t sound right at all.

So we checked and yes, it’s been leaking this whole time at the joint to our house just passed the meter; in the pavement.

They are offering 12 months as that is their standard good will policy for water leakage. However should I be pushing for more considering it was their issue.

I would take the money and run as Google say you are responsible for anything after the meter.

We had a leak after they changed us to a meter. But because the meter was before our property line they where responsible, the chap fixing it also said it was a common issue when they had been changing the pipes form copper to blue piping and installing the meters for them to fail.

All usage that was above the norm was refunded.

Thank you Betty. Was this longer than 12 months leak use?

Ours wasn’t for that long no. I would argue for them to cover the cost of their leak.

Yes, push for the whole 4 years’ overpayments.

Is the compensation more than £800 a year x 4 years? Plus a bit for interest but I wouldn't know how to work that out? And the inconvenience of paying 60/70 extra a a month

12 months refund or just for the difference estimated as due to the leak?

So I’d ask for the bills to be recalculated based on the usage since the leak was fixed. Was there any damage ? Have u had to put up with low water pressure ? Have you made calls and complaints ? If so I’d want the usage back for the past four years and compensation on top, if not agreed I’d complain to ofwat.

Work out your daily usage now and compare it , don’t let them fob you off with 12 months worth.

You should push for 4 years of refund at the rate you paid (plus 8% as that is the standard - i.e. you could have invested the money you would have had available).

What they've offered shouldn't be a gesture of goodwill. That would suggest that you're at fault and they're giving you 12 months back to appease you.

You want to be very clear what you want or they'll start from their amount and work upwards. Give them an amount and they can work backwards from it and negotiate.

I'd say:

• we want a refund of what we paid above what we are now being charged
• av. 60 pcm paid since fixed, £120 paid during the leak = 48 months x £60 overpayment = £2880
• compensation of 8% as if that money had been available, this is the amount we could have earned over various investments
• I'm going from old memories of banking complaints so you might want to check this - but this was the standard offered for similar complaints for banking issues

And whatever else you feel like.

Can I just ask though - what were you paying and was the £800 you say the additional? Because we're paying about £60 a month, which is about double what we were paying at our (non-metered but also much smaller) old house.

If the leak occured on your side of the meter, take it and run, but, it sound as if they repaired it which implies it was on their side, in which case it's their responsibility and they're liable for any costs.

Depends what you mean by compensation. Is that on top of recalculated bills? We had a leak (1000 litres a day!) and they worked out what we overpaid and then that was “credited” to our account so we don’t pay anything for a few bills as it evened out. If the comp is on top of that I’d be running with it!

You want 3200 if that's the case

If the leak occured on your side of the meter, take it and run, but, it sound as if they repaired it which implies it was on their side, in which case it's their responsibility and they're liable for any costs.

It was on our side of the meter hence paying for the water all these years. But it was not at our property line and was in the pavement which is apparently their responsibility and they have fixed it.

Can I just ask though - what were you paying and was the £800 you say the additional? Because we're paying about £60 a month, which is about double what we were paying at our (non-metered but also much smaller) old house.

We have been paying nearly 800 every 6 months. It was only fixed a week ago and our daily usage is around a third of previous days so I am being generous in my guesstimate that we have been overpaying atleast half. Ie. 800 a year.

Thank that’s a very helpful post @FunMustard

You're welcome, and good luck.

As others have said, I'd work out what your bills should have been and how much you've overpaid since then. It might be worth gathering some evidence from friends or neighbours to see what they're paying so you can compare and use as evidence.

I generally hate the compensation culture but I think on this occasion at least a small amount is deserved.