Is it actually cheaper to have a water meter?

[dontcomeatme]

I know its not the most thrilling thread but needs must.
We're trying to reduce some of our monthly bills and water is something we've always just accepted as the way it is. We live in a 3 bed semi and pay £55 a month, is this average or does it depend on the area? We're NE.
I'm debating getting a water meter installed but I've read so many mixed stories. Some say it reduced their bill, others say it massively went up!
Anyone have any experience of switching? Was it worth it?

I'd be surprised if uour household would actually save money. I've been looking at my water use recently and it's surprising just how much the average water use is - e.g. a washing machine uses 50 litres per load unless it's on an eco programme.

https://www.ccw.org.uk/save-money-and-water/averagewateruse/

The trend is to make water meters compulsory so you might not have a choice eventually.

Ours is £65 and we aren't on a meter but live in a 3 bed, there are 2 of us living here. It was half that just 5 years ago.

We try and be conservative with our water, but I have three children, two with SEN, and do 18-20 laundry loads a week and run the dishwasher 2-3x per day 😩 and that's before baths and showers. I can't see a water meter saving us money!

Doesn’t the NE have the most expensive water in the country, still paying to create Kielder damn?

We are a house of 3 adults and pay £52 per month on a meter 😭

If you're with Thames water they'll just ignore you and fit it if you enquire. They don't respond to emails and there are huge queues on the phone. Even if you do get through they won't listen to you. So my advice is to absolutely not enquire unless you are sure. It's all lies about being able to stop it after the event. The worst customer service i've ever encountered.

There is a water calculator that might be useful. https://www.ccw.org.uk/save-money-and-water/water-meter-calculator/

My parents have definitely saved money since having a meter fitted.

Water rates have nothing to do with council tax. They are based on the pre 1989 rates system.
Water meters generally work out cheaper and if you're on mains sewerage then you should see a reduction in that side of the bill. Obviously if you use water saving devices then you will save more.
If you take regular readings yourself between the water company readings and get to know your usual consumption then they serve as an early leak detection.
@Slurple you need to look at social tariffs.

We're with Yorkshire Water, 2 adults 2 DC and pay £53 a month on a meter. However, up until this year when they massively put prices up we were paying £32 a month. Approx 5 loads of washing a week, showers and my DH likes a big bath at least 2-3 times a week! Way cheaper than my neighbour, 2 adults, 1 DC, over £80 a month on water rates

We have stuck with a RV supply -p Bristol Water/Wessex

One reason being that with the RV supply you know exactly what you will be paying which if you are on a tight budget may be better than a potential saving

You have up to 12 months to make your mind up with a water meter, if you’re worse off you can have it removed.

I’m on a meter, it was in the house we moved to and you can’t change it then. We are two adults and pay approximately £32 a month. Our old house was a 3 bed semi and 3 of us lived there, no meter and we paid £50 a month, back in 2013, it’s approximately £100 now. We’re serviced by Severn Trent, they appear to be more expensive than who you’re with.

@Slurple If you were on a water meter and your huge number of washing loads is due to your DCs disability eg incontinence, you are able to apply to have your bill capped under the Watersure scheme. We were on it for our DD and paid a lot less than before we applied for the scheme. We already had a water meter as house was built after they became compulsory.

We had one installed and had a two year period to take it out and switch back if we wanted. After that it was considered permanent.
for us it made a massive difference. £110 a month when we moved in, down to £30-£40 after. 2 adults.

That was lucky. I've never been able to get one taken out.

In theory, mine should be much better value. It doesn't appear to be.

It wi be soon..south east water said when we moved in, its going to be phased in everywhere, any new purchases have to have them. Not had my first bill yet but our unmetered was up to 85/month and only 2 of us and partner not often here so can't see how can poss be more expensive

It has definitely saved us money going on a meter. We have a big house but now only two of us living here. We probably should have done it a few years ago but everyone seemed so negative about getting them we thought the same!

We never needed to try that as it was so much cheaper on the metre for us

We saved on a meter 2 adults and 2 children. We are conscious but not tight about our use. The thing I recently learned was how expensive dripping taps are and broken toilet cisterns. We fixed a tap washer recently and my rough calculations surprised me how much it would cost without being fixed. I mentioned it to a tradie I know and he said the worst were toilet cisterns as they can run for a long time undetected.

Only two adults but our water bill is £16 a month. It doubled recently. If you are not a big user of water it is massively cheaper.

This reminds me my kitchen tap is drippy. I'll have to call a plumber. Scary to think how much it would be costing me if I was metered!

it is impossible to answer your question because the whole point of a meter is YOU PAY FOR EXACTLY WHAT YOU USE

as you have doubtless read, the very rough rule of thumb is if you have more bedrooms than you have occupants of the house then you may be using less water than the assumed rateable value of the property which is currently dictating what you are paying at the moment.

if that is not clear cut then you need to take a hard look at how often does each occupant:

• bathe (shower or bath?)
• do laundry
• go to the toilet
• water the garden

Those are the big consumers of water

so what, prices have risen enormously over 5 years
Have you checked your own water company to see if the % price rise was identical for both metered and unmetered water?

Yes, the rise for those not on a meter was significantly more.

thank you , that is the situation with my own water co - effectively they are "encouraging" people to take a meter by making it much more expensive not to do so unless of course one knows their lifestyle makes them an exceptionally heavy user and therefore being made to pay for what they actually use would be against their own interest

I guess many on here will be aghast at my next comment. I think it is ridiculous that water is the only thing where people are not forced to pay for what they use at a time when "the world" is becoming much more environmentally conscious of the damage done by unrestricted "consumption".
I realise that the long history of the UK means we have many buildings where it is physically impossible to install meters for every user without almost rebuilding the building, but it is still a shame that legislation is not in place to make meters compulsory where that is not the case...

I get the washing machine being used lots with sen children

but not why dw is 2/3 times a day

once a day seems normal for a family at end of day

now I’m a single parent it may go on 4/5 times a week rather then 7

so why is yours 14-21 a week @dontcomeatme

We are in London and i understood that here it is going to be mandatory - everyone on Thames Water is being converted to a meter by 2030 because we are classed as an area with a water shortage. We got a letter about it when they installed the meter. Our first year comparison came last week and we will pay more with the meter - their prediction is our annual bill will go up by £100. But right now we have 2 x under 5s, the washing machine is constantly on, the DC are having baths instead of showers etc. So I recognise that we are using lots of water at the minute and hopefully it might settle back down when they are older.