Water bill increased to £130pm

[anothernetter]

We used to pay about £30pm. We then moved house and the monthly payment went up to £80pm. I have just received a bill from our water company telling me that from January next year they need to charge us £130pm until further notice. We are a family of four; 2 adults one toddler one baby. I put the washing machine on 3/4 times a week, we have a dish washer that goes on once a day, we have shallow baths or shower once a day. Surely something isn't right? The bill included a chart showing our daily average water use with three bars (each covering a period of six months between meter readings) and the daily use was around 600, 1400, 500. If our daily average use has gone down to approx 500 units then why are they increasing our bill from £80 to £130? There have been no large leaks that I know of; however one of our toilets had a continuous dribble for a couple of days and we stopped using one of our showers because the wall was getting damp - however surely this isn't enough to explain why the bills have gone up so much? I tried to call the water company but of course they are closed because it's the weekend. I'm panicking about this - this represents a huge increase to us I really don't know what to do and I'm worried that the water company will just fob me off when I call them on Monday

We're in the midlands. Large 4 bed house. Two adults, 2 kids. At least one bath and 3 showers a day, sometimes more. Washing machine run most days. Never use dishwasher but do washing up in a bowl twice a day. We pay £33 a month, we are on a meter.

Sounds like you're paying way over the odds.

We had an insane water bill once of about 4K for the year. I was terrified! I called up the water company and cried. Turns out we were being billed for usage for all the flats in block. The actual bill was about £200.

That leaky toilet would have contributed to the increased meter readings (as would overflowing cisterns, garden hoses, dishwashers, washing machines and taps).
Being on a direct debit for metered water is always a prediction. The water company will be taking several things into consideration when adjusting the amount. 1. Carrying forward debt from your last bill. 2. Predicting future usage based on past usage history. 3. Changes in cost per cubic metre and increases to standing charges.