Are people with water meters getting fleeced more than those without?

[KievLoverTwo]

I'm confused, I've never had a water meter so please excuse my ignorance. There's a Martin Lewis post on FB this morning (can't link, FB won't allow, search 'More water bills rises announced today, on top of those already planned').

https://www.facebook.com/mrmartinlewis

In the comments, several people are claiming their water bills have doubled. But, as far as I'm aware, the highest rise OFWAT allowed this year was something like 47% down South.

So, where are these DOUBLE bills coming from?

I'm not on a meter and my bill has gone up 19%, which is exactly what I expected after the press releases earlier this year. I understand non metered charges are attached to rateable values from 1991 which can't be changed. Mine's £712 a year which feels a lot, but it's nothing compared to down south. A friend in London balked earlier in the year when Thames Water wanted £1200 a year for one person living in a 2 bed flat (he's not on a meter). He was paying £800 before (which was also silly, he should've got a meter before now).

I guess I'm asking because we're in the process of looking to move and I don't want to get lumbered with a massive water bill (for disability reasons, have to use quite a lot of water, unfortunately).

Also, WTAF, if people's bills really have doubled from one year to the next?

BBC article Martin linked to:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg4jkexgl1o?fbclid=IwY2xjawNUjWBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHrWTai9igdnva4u1qSOuXX_S7DaGwZ34ZFI3XMcD8bvmmfy_e_mEvN14Br_O_aem_XCrqJpPRO8lrYSiSlxAGYA

tyia

I'm not on the South and I'm on a train so I don't have access to my bills but I reckon I have saved an average of 300 a year since switching to a metre. And that's based on my old unmetered payment rate, I expect that has gone up so I may be saving even more.

We are in the South West and our rates went up to £1640 a year, so paying over £160 a month.

Shifted to a meter and for the last quarter, the bill was £200 with 4 adults in the house. Should reduce as we’re now 3 adults, with two out all day, pretty much every working day.

They certainly used to be.

Ours was 60 something a month off meter, it went to 30 something on meter a couple of years ago and is now a slightly higher 30 something. Bills are going up a lot especially where I live (40+% I think) but it's over 5 years so I doubt there'll be a sudden huge jump. Our non metered bill also still went up every year.

If people's bills have doubled it's probably because they've increased their water use.

I have a smart water meter and it shows my actual usage, and I end up paying for that.
My last bill was £145 and that was for 6 months.
I live in a 3 bed house (alone) and have a large garden that I water regularly.
My DP lives about 5 min walk away, and has had his 6 months bill... £450. he lives alone in a flat. It makes no sense.

Anglian Water and been on a meter, latterly changed to a smart one, after moving to a new build in 1998. We pay about £500/year for two of us in a 4 bed. We know we could reduce that by being more careful about how often we run the washing machine.

If you're forced to a metered property and use a lot more for disability reasons speak to the supplier, there are some special tariffs for such users.

Southeast water
2 people and we pay £85 /month with no meter

We definitely don’t use that much. Never water the garden as we have barrels , never clean the car because it rains. We also have a well in the house and we use that water for cleaning the floors and a lot of other stuff

Ours has doubled in not many years, but not sure how many. It was about £300 or so pa for ages then suddenly its £625 pa, I'm sure it was more like £470 pa a year or two ago.

That's unmetered for a 2 bed semi in Yorkshire. We're on an assessed charge, which knocks about £10 pm off because there's only 2 of us here. l asked for a meter but couldn't have one due to shared pipes.

But beware of anecdata as many people misremember or misunderstand their bills and probably mean it's doubled in a few years not one.

Late 2024
No meter: I was going to be charged £375 for 6 months.
With meter: I was actually charged £16/month, or £96 for 6 months.

I have a meter and pay around £175 twice a year. Severn Trent.

Why don’t you get a meter? I assume you’re not one of those people who insist on washing towels every time they’re used… You’ll almost certainly pay less than you do now.

The obvious answer is that the commenters on Martin Lewis's post are wrong. I really don't think anyone living in the same property using the same method of being charged/same amount of water has seen their bills double in a short period of time unless they had a leak and were metered

Prices have gone up and the articlr refers to future increases over some years but not doubling, don't be scared by strangers comments, you can find information online to work out a pretty good estimate of your likely bills

I was initially saving about 80 pound a year. Sole occupanct in 2 bed house. This year my bill was nearly 40 percent more for the second half of year- was told prices have gone up😫

How much water do you use?

I have a metered 4 bed house which is £67 per month. 4 people daily showers and washing.

I have an unmetered 3 bed house which is £80 per month.

I think whether you are being fleeced does depend on your family situation and water usage. We are also unmetered and we regularly get advertising materials from the water companies telling us we could save £££ if we switched to a water meter. However if you look at the maths we would only actually save if each person was limited to a 3-minute shower each day, no baths ever and limited washing machine use. Given that we use a lot more water than this (not exactly disability related but water is one helpful tool in sensory soothing for neurodiversity reasons) we would pay much more on a meter so we will stay on rates as long as possible. If you are moving you'd be very lucky if the house that is right for you for other reasons also happens to be still on rates. Gradually all the older properties are being converted over and it's impossible to switch back so they will become rare. Sooner or later each house will be occupied by someone who is a relatively low-volume water user, who will therefore switch over to a meter to save their own money, so every subsequent occupier of that house with higher water needs will then get fleeced.

I’d say I’m a medium user for a single person. I have a big garden so have done a fair amount of watering this year. I don’t scrimp but I don’t do stupid stuff like leaving the tap running while cleaning my teeth 😁

I live alone in a 2-bedroom flat and have had a water meter for about 15 years. My DD with Thames Water varied between £19 - £25 and that always worked out about right over the year; so TW calculations were accurate.

Prior to a water meter my yearly bill was around £500 as based on rateable value, getting a meter halved my bill.

They have recently nearly doubled the DD to £48 per month - I shall of course be keeping a close eye on things and making sure I don't build up credit, but from what I've read that's unlikely.

Do you think your bill is too high then because it doesn't seem like a lot to me

Yes I am the same.
bill was £120 for the 6 months -2 bed flat 2 adults
last bill was £180 for 6 month so it’s gone up 50% but it’s still very low.
i shall check now that it’s priced that have risen nor usage.
strange how much it can vary. We do wash!!!

Mine was cheaper and I had 6 in the house.

They say they can’t put one in.
We’ve had them around several times and they hum and ha and say it’s not possible

Apparently we get water from two different sources and water companies . They actually had to use a guy with diving rods to track the run.
The cost of creating one new supply would be £50,000 plus.

and no we don’t wash towels or clothes after one use. We are very careful with water, gas, elects etc because we are very aware of its overuse on the environment.
We are very much a plant a tree, no mow May family to support the environment.

I never understand this when water companies say they can't put a meter in because of the outside pipework - there must be one pipe in your property, near the stopcock, that your water comes in.

I live in a flat and because of the outside pipework my meter is in my hall cupboard - it's about the size of half a shoebox and attached to the inlet pipe, or whatever it's called.

No there’s two runs

We also had two separate electricity supplies when we moved in. Both served by the same company so they sorted it out free if charge

A meter on each pipe then!