Help Needed/Can you solve this??

[JGreen]

Hi!

New member, no knowledge of plumbing, but desperate times and all that... I have a water bill problem and not getting anywhere with it, need to speak to a plumber but I decided to google it first. Here's my situation:

I live in a small flat, me and housemate only, no baths, no garden/hoses, no dishwasher, 2 -3 washing loads a week. Got a massive water bill early this year £600 for 6 month period, couldn't find any evidence of a leak (i.e. turned off water supply and checked gauge on meter was stationary) land lord blamed it on small leak in toilet. Fixed this, paid up.

Now today we have received another bill for 6 month period, £400. Same useage as ever, nothing has changed - leak is definitely not back! Called water company, they said thats roughly twice what we would be expecting. Said to check water gauge with stop tap off. Did this, still no leak.

So I asked the neighbours and turns out the flat above me has had the exact same problem... massive bill, thought his toilets were taking to long to flush, fixed it and paid up. Now he has another massive bill again, and still can't find any evidence of a cause.

Trying to figure out firstly what our problem could be, and whether it could be a bigger problem now I know about my upstairs neighbour! But I'm reluctant to have to pay lots of money for a plumber to come out until I've exhausted all other options.

Would greatly appreciate any help here whatsoever!!

 

[jackso]

Think you need to have a word with the supplier and take note of your readings, obvious theres no leak. I have a terraced house that i rent out which is split into two flats, just got bill this morning for £207 for 12 months!

 

[JGreen]

Thanks for your response. Supplier are just telling me to watch the meter more closely, because if there isn't a leak then as far as they are concerned we have used the water!

 

[jackso]

wouldnt take their word for it buddy, look into their billing and how much they charge per unit etc, the amounts sound ridiculous to me

I live in a 4 bed detached with my missus and two little ones and i,m on a meter, my bill comes to around 250-300 a year

 

[WaterTight]

Fight it!

I know someone who had this same problem and it took one hell of a battle to win. Monitor usage, make lists of showers taken, toilets flushed when and where... note how many digits the metre goes up by. Phone up company, demand to see someone, visit the head office in person. Bring notes, lists.

They will either end up suspecting that there's a fault with the metre or that you're paying for part of some one else's supply or that there's something else at foot but it doesn't matter because they won't insist on getting the bottom of it. If you fight them and demonstrate that your usage bares no relation to the charges they will just give in and give you a set monthly charge regardless of apparent metred usage.

But you have to make lots of noise and mean business. They'd much rather you just shut up and pay.

 

[tamz]

If something were to happen to the meter so it could not be read they would fit a new one

 

[Dannypipe]

What? Like someone accidently smashed the theiving lieing thing to smitherines!! LOL.

 

[tamz]

What? Like someone accidently smashed the theiving lieing thing to smitherines!! LOL.

 

[Resolute]

Before you take drastic action make sure you note usage! Can you isolate your supply? If so, does the meter go up once turned off at all? Is it a new meter? I'm guessing that if your neighbours also have a problem that they are either a dodgy batch or haven't been installed correctly - eitherway it's down to the suppliers to sort out.

 

[GreenArmy]

JGreen, is your meter internal (in your flat) or external (outside)?

 

[JGreen]

Its an external meter, on the pavement outside my block of flats.

I have turned the water supply to the flat off and checked the meter and it doesn't register any useage when we aren't using water. I don't know how old the meter is because I have't lived here for long myself but the flats are pretty new, it can't be more than a few years old.

I have just noticed that the meter is a couple of inches under water and not all of the other meters for the other flats are, and our reading is about double theirs. Also the silver/red striped disk looks a bit like its come away from the meter... going to have a google and see if thats right.

I am starting to wonder if its a faulty meter but not sure how to prove that?!?

 

[Phil]

I was going to suggest turning off your stoptap and askng neighbours to check if their water is still on (incase someone else has tapped your supply) but if its a new building it's probably okay.

I was working in a local shop last week and the place was such a muddle. stoptaps everywhere, plastic pipes tee'd into cold main and disapearing into voids, flats upstairs which seem to have showers that use the shops metered water, no one stoptap shuts everything off etc.

That place must be a nightmare as at least one person is paying more for water they haven't used.

Crazy!

 

[madmart]

Check your bill. You are being charged in metric or imperial and make sure your meter is the same. Sometimes it happens that the two get mixed up.

 

[GreenArmy]

JGreen, please confirm that you turned off the internal stopcock before monitoring external meter!