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Original poster

Water meter: yes or no?

21 replies

empirestrikesback · 12/01/2010 19:06

What are your experiences of water meters? We're paying £60 a month for water. We haven't got a meter. There are 3 of us and I think we are quite aware about not wasting water (well I am anyway !) and I wonder if we'd be better off with a water meter. We don't have lots of baths, we only put the washer on when it's full, turn off the tap when brushing teeth, all that kind of thing. Don't have a dishwasher (is that good or bad??). I went to the Which site and did the calculator thing and it looked like we'd be paying EVEN MORE with a meter but I can't believe that! But I wouldn't want to get one, obviously, only to find out it costs MORE and then we're stuck with the damn thing.

OP posts:
CaptainUnderpants · 12/01/2010 19:23

We had a water meter put in over a year ago and saved £200 compared to paying rates.

We are with Thames Water . We hade a water meter installed for free and had the option of changing back within 12 months should it prove not cost worthy.

There are 4 of us in house , both hubby and I shower each day and watching machine is on everyother day.

We have been careful in our usuage and a water meter makes you think about how much you use.

I think a dishwasher may be more economical on water than washing up in sink.

See if your water compnay will let you have one installed on 12 months basis with the option of going back to rates.

DecorHate · 12/01/2010 19:26

£60 a month is a huge amount - do you live in a mansion?? Think we pay around £25 a month. Generally I would say a family is better off not being on a meter but in your case it might be worth giving it a go.

thisisyesterday · 12/01/2010 19:30

i reckon you'd be better off!

I have just paid £61 for the period 29th may 2009-18th nov 2009

that's with 2 adults, 3 children (2 in cloth nappies). i have the washing machine on at least once a day! we both have showers in the morning etc etc
we are careful about water, but not obsessive

thisisyesterday · 12/01/2010 19:34

should say, that's just for water coming in, we have a separate bill for water going out, but can't find that right now.
it's not much more than that though i don't think

we're with southern water for the supply and thames water for the waste

ChristieF · 13/01/2010 13:11

Don't do it! In a modern house we had we had a water meter and major problems with it. We were paying well over 1000 pounds a year for water and we weren't running a laundry or swimming in a pool. United Utilities couldn't care less. The Water Advisory Board dealt with it and they couldn't get any results. Neither could the Guardian's Watchdog page. We moved house in the end. We are two adults and two children. Something wrong with the meter I think but they wouldn't do anything about it. We now are meter free and pay 30 a month, about a third.

emsyj · 13/01/2010 15:05

Same thing happened to my mum as ChristieF. She was on her own in a 5 bed house so got a meter on the promise it would be cheaper, and if not she could have it removed if notified to do so within 12 months. There was clearly a problem with the meter as her bills SHOT up and the water co were ringing her asking did she have a swimming pool etc as the amounts were so high that they couldn't believe it. They never managed to trace the leak or problem and when she said, 'look, just take the meter out ffs' they refused and said there was no need as it would be sorted. 5 years on....
You couldn't pay me enough to persuade me to get a meter after that fiasco.

Original poster
empirestrikesback · 13/01/2010 18:48

OMG what horror stories!! I'm not getting one. Thanks!

OP posts:
lozster · 13/01/2010 18:58

Wow! £60 a month. That does sound a lot!

My house (4 bed, but just 2 people) already had a meter when I moved in. Here's how it works for me. I have two bills a year. Each bill is divided up (as I recall) in to some standing charges, water in (ie. metered) and water out (assumed to be what went in). I think my metered part is about a third of the total bill so it's worth bearing in mind that the standing charges don't change. However, I pay less than £300 a year in total (£150 x 2) which is about what I payed in my non-metered 1 bed flat about 15 years ago! If you have a modern dishwasher they only use about as much as doing two bowls of washing in the sink so no worries there. Oh - and most insurance policies cover water lost in leak - though I think if you'd lost enough to exceed your excess you'd have more to worry about than your water bill as the would be a heck of a lot of water....

The location of the meter seems to have some bearing on whether you have problems or not. My meter is in my garage and totally accessable to check it's all working/metering ok. If you're wavering you could enquire as to where it would be sited.

hana · 13/01/2010 19:04

we pay about £200 a year on a meter, with 5 in the house. Washing machine and dishwasher used at least once a day, plus adult showers and baths for kids. You're def paying too much! I think everyone should be on a meter, and pay for what you use.

Speckledeggy · 13/01/2010 21:29

I wouldn't do it, not with a family.

We're in rented and had a leaking tap. It took our landlord about four months to fix it. We got so fed up at one point we measured it - was losing 42 litres an hour. Glad we're not on a meter...

feedthegoat · 13/01/2010 21:33

My experience with a water meter was similar to ChristieF cost wise. We now pay much less and I'm at home most of the time. Back when we were on a meter there were only 2 of us and we were out of the house 10 hours a day and hardly used any water.

Stinkyfeet · 13/01/2010 21:37

We're on a meter - we currently pay £24 per month. We're a family of 4, washing machine and dishwasher run every day, 1 or 2 baths a day.

poorbuthappy · 13/01/2010 21:47

We had a meter installed in a 3 bed terrace when it was just me and dh and started off paying £15 a month...bloody marvellous.

1dd later and slowly but surely our bills crept up to the point that we were only paying £5 less a month on a meter than standard water rates.

When we moved to a slightly bigger house and ended up having twins it was agreed that we would never have a meter! We pay £45 a month standard rates now...

feedthegoat · 13/01/2010 21:51

I wish we'd had your meters! We paid about £80 a month and still ended up in debt at times. That was for 2 of us having showers once a day, one bowl of washing up a day and washing machine on 3 or 4 times a week at the most. And definately no garden watering!

MaureenMLove · 13/01/2010 21:56

That's interesting CptUnderpants. We're with Thames Water and pay £24 per month on rates.

There are only 3 of us. All pretty much adults. Washing machine only on 3 sometimes 4 times a week.

Is that a recent thing you've done? I wonder if it would be any cheaper for us.

CaptainUnderpants · 13/01/2010 22:21

Changed over in Dec 2008 , so just had the final bill in . looked back at our water rates and paying £200 a year less. Bill inlcudes water in and waste out.

Someone else I know , family of 5 , also said that it worked out cheaper.

It does make you think about the consumption water that you use. I think it is worth a try .

MaureenMLove · 13/01/2010 22:49

Wow! If it's cheaper for a family of 5, it's got to be cheaper for us 3. We are quite often away for 1 weekend every month too.

Thanks.

Original poster
empirestrikesback · 14/01/2010 15:00

It's interesting how much variation there is here.Some seem to be paying loads more/less than others. So I wonder if it depends on your water company/ where you live. Ours is United Utilities.

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 14/01/2010 16:27

it does depend where you live, certain areas have higher water charges

i think one of the highest areas is devon/cornwall, my in laws pay quite a lot

hana · 14/01/2010 18:28

thames water here

ambercat · 14/01/2010 18:41

In somerset, £55 a month pre meter
£30 a month post meter!!
5 in house, showers daily, washing machine daily and dishwasher. Def worth it.

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