@thameswater Water bill is huge due to a leak. The steps to sort it out.

[pugilist]

Hi everyone,

 

I moved into a rented house June 2018.

Recently I received my first water bill, and it shows me that my average use was around 600 litres of water a day.

So the amount to pay is £186 (for 2 months - June and July!!)!!

 

 

That is a complete nonsense - only two people live in the house, and we don't use water more, then anyone else

- we never leave the taps open when not necessary, never take shower more than literally 3-4 minutes.

 

 

But here comes this bill...

Thames Water acknowledges that the amount of water consumption is really unusual .

They suggest me to contact some "Homeserve", and sent me a leak allowance form to fill.

 

 

Well, I reported the matter to the agency i'm renting the house from.

But it looks like they are a bit reluctant to sort it out.

 

 

They didn't say "no", but more than a week passed since i reported the problem, and they still didn't arrange anything to establish if it is an external or internal leak.

[dx100uk]

do you know you have a leak?

could it be you are paying for all the flats in the block?

 

is this a water meter, where is it … is it moving when you have all your water turned off?

[pugilist]

Last week I took the meter readings 2 times: 1st - at 22:30 pm, and the 2nd reading - at 8:00 next morning.

2 toilet flushes and 2 washups were made in between the readings. Just look at the figures:

 

I passed the readings to the agency.

But for some reason they asked my to do another test

- turn off the main valve before going to work and then turn it on when I come back home to see if the meter readings changed..

 

Well, i tried to do so today morning, but then i changed my mind, as I'm not a plumber and i'm not sure what can happen if i twist and turn something in a wrong way.

[pugilist]

do you know you have a leak?

i suspect it. as i do not use such amount of water for sure.

 

could it be you are paying for all the flats in the block?

everyone has their own meters

 

is this a water meter, where is it ...;

 

it is a water meter outside on the pavement;

 

is it moving when you have all your water turned off?

 

i didn't notice a movement at the moment i was taking a photo of the meter reading after I'd turned all the taps off in the house.

[dx100uk]

well keep the taps etc off and check in an hour or so

if you have a leak it must then move

but id expect it to be constant

if it suddenly moves then stops again i'd suspect someone else is connected to your meter as well or you've the wrong meter

we've known that before in flat complexes.

[pugilist]

it looks like 154 litres of water were used for 2 washups and 2 toilet flushes... is it normal?

[dx100uk]

no!

[mariner51]

Contact the water Co and suggest you may have a leak. They may send an operative round with a listening tube to locate any outside leak.

Anglian did this for a row of terraces and showed the leak was beyond my supply pipe.

[pugilist]

well keep the taps etc off and check in an hour or so

if you have a leak it must then move

 

ok, do you think there is a difference when to do such test - morning/afternoon/evening?

 

but id expect it to be constant

if it suddenly moves then stops again i'd suspect someone else is connected to your meter as well or you've the wrong meter

we've known that before in flat complexes.

both neighbours' houses has their own meters outside. well, i dont know..

 

Contact the water Co and suggest you may have a leak. They may send an operative round with a listening tube to locate any outside leak.

Anglian did this for a row of terraces and showed the leak was beyond my supply pipe.

 

i contacted Thames Water, and they sent me the leak allowance form and suggested me to contact Homeserv(god knows what it is). So I supposed that such matters should be solved by the agency i'm renting the house from. As there's no visible leaks anywhere.

 

Well, today's water consumption is 167 for the period from 8:30 till 17:30. Looks like 2 people living in the house consume more than 300 litres while they are sleeping at night and working during the day far away from the house.

 

Good news. I've just contacted the agent to let him know about the recent readings, and he said that it is not normal, and we gonna meet up tomorrow to sort things out.

[dx100uk]

if you have a leak your side it wont matter what time of day your turn your taps off will it, the meter will still increment...think about it.....

[pugilist]

if you have a leak your side it wont matter what time of day your turn your taps off will it, the meter will still increment...think about it.....

 

am I right to understand that if I have the leak not my side it does matter what time of the day I turn my taps off, and the meter won't increment..?

[dx100uk]

are you for real

Of course it wont

[ericsbrother]

get on to your landlord and be letting them know that it is their responsibility to sort this out and you will be billing them for every drop after the letetr was sent.

as for turning the water mains off, righty tighty lefty loosey, just like when you turn on the tap in the kitchen sink.

 

 

as for contacting homeserve, theyare just trying to sell you their insurance disguised as an offer of help.

Now if the meter is increasing then any leak has to be your side of i as it measures the amount of water that has passed through itt, think about it

[pugilist]

Thanx.

On Tuesday a plumber from the landlord should come to locate the leak.

I think he must have some special equipment to be able to do so, as no visible signs of a leak can be seen anywhere.

Edited October 21, 2018 by dx100uk
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[ericsbrother]

what, he can turn a stopcock off and see if there is still water coming out of your taps or waits to see if someone else starts moaning about their sudden loss of water. When he has determined if there is a suspected leak he might have some pressure testing kit but the most likely thing he will do is follow the pipes into the property and take up the floorboards to look for a swimming pool under the house

 

testing these simple things should be within anyones capabilities so when he turns up show an interest in what he is doing so you know what to do in the future. You would have saved yourself some money by now if you had just turned the water off at the stopcock and only put it back on when you need to run a tap or whatever. There is one on the side of the meter.

 

 

 

where is your washing machine? hoses commonly split on these

[mariner51]

I doubt he will rip up floor boards without obvious signs of a leak.

My suggestion was to first report suspected leak to Water Co, not LL

Water Co should have access to layout of your supply connections.

Identification of leak/liability can be easy to determine.

[pugilist]

what, he can turn a stopcock off and see if there is still water coming out of your taps or waits to see if someone else starts moaning about their sudden loss of water. When he has determined if there is a suspected leak he might have some pressure testing kit but the most likely thing he will do is follow the pipes into the property and take up the floorboards to look for a swimming pool under the house

 

Yesterday that plumber came, tried to find any signs of the leak, didn't find any, then left.

He said that he would tell the agent to contact Thames Water, and they would send their man with the pressure testing kit. Well, today i'm going to call the agency and find out if they arranged that visit or not.

 

testing these simple things should be within anyones capabilities so when he turns up show an interest in what he is doing so you know what to do in the future. You would have saved yourself some money by now if you had just turned the water off at the stopcock and only put it back on when you need to run a tap or whatever. There is one on the side of the meter.

I think I'm not going to pay my first bill until the issue is sorted and until i get my leak allowance from Thames Water.

 

 

 

where is your washing machine? hoses commonly split on these

It is in the kitchen on the ground floor. I'm not sure about the situation with the hoses there. What if they are not split? Can it be a cause of the water loss.

[pugilist]

I doubt he will rip up floor boards without obvious signs of a leak.

My suggestion was to first report suspected leak to Water Co, not LL

Water Co should have access to layout of your supply connections.

Identification of leak/liability can be easy to determine.

 

That was what I did in the first instance. But the Thames Water redirected me to the LL.

[pugilist]

We agreed with the agency that i would come to their office next Monday and we would call Thames Water together.

 

Just now I've received a text from Thames Water, reminding me that my payment is due.. my first bill - 186 pounds for 2 months

[pugilist]

Updating

We didn't meet on Monday, as I came home early, and the agent was not in the office, because he thought I would come back from work later in the day. So he said he would call them on his own then. Well, since then I hear no reply from him. I sent him a text 2 days ago asking him if he had called to the water board, but still no response.

 

What I'm thinking to do now is to write a message to Thames Water, telling them to contact my agency and get all information about the attempted leakage location by the agency's plumber. Let them agree with the agency about sending a man from Thames Water.

 

What else would you write to them, if you were me? Should I tell them, that i'm not going to pay the bill until they sort the leakage issue out and recalculate the bill and issue me a leakage allowance?

[mariner51]

Who is resp for paying the Bill (Account Holder)?

I am guessing it is you, (even if you are renting),as per AST.

[pugilist]

Yes, I am the account holder, and the bill came in my name.

 

I am renting from an agency - it is a 6 months' contract started June 2018.

I can prove that I contacted the agency in due time and reported them the matter.

 

Well, I understand, that for Thames Water it is easier just issue me with bills and bombard me with reminders, but i do not have a slightest intention to pay for something, that i didn't use.

 

I'm going to ask them to put the account on hold or smth of the kind, until the matter is solved.

 

Do you think it is a reasonable thing to do?

What would you do if you were in my place?

I hardly use the water in the house

- it is literally couple of washups a day,

couple of toilet flushes,

several showers a week,

washing machine once a week.

Same thing with the other tenant.

We don't use 600 litres a day.

Everyday, according to the readings.

 

So why on earth do I have to pay for the water loss that is happening because of the LL(agency) don't do their job properly??

Edited November 4, 2018 by dx100uk
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[ericsbrother]

the meter readings are real so TW will want paying.

let LL know that you expect them to pick up the tab or expect to be sued for your loss becuase they cant get a plumber that can tell the difference between his elbow and basal cleavage.

 

However, what you dont do is enter into a war with TW.

Get them to look as a matter of urgency or pay a plumber to come round yourself, it is in your interests as you are the bill payer.

 

Tell agency that you are billing them for plumber.

 

stop wittering about how much or how little water you use, this wont mend a leak.

that is for totting up your losses afterwards.

 

Have you tried turning the stopcock off for a day when you are at work and then looking at the readings ( should be the same) ask your neighbours immediately afterwards if they have has water problems that day and you might find an answer to your conundrum.

 

at my previous house my next door neighbours stopcock and meter was in my garden and more visible than mine so easily confused, esp as I didnt have metered water

Edited November 5, 2018 by dx100uk
spacing

[pugilist]

I know what you mean and have no intention to wage a war against Thames Water.

 

My idea is as follows:

i'll write them a letter, via email or by post, informing them that i do my best in trying to make the LL to sort it out as soon as possible.

TW themselves said in their letter that my consumption is unusually big. I don't want a war neither with the LL, nor with TW. But when I get a reply from TW I'll act the way you suggest - tell agency that i am billing them for plumber.

 

Have you tried turning the stopcock off for a day when you are at work and then looking at the readings ( should be the same) ask your neighbours immediately afterwards if they have has water problems that day and you might find an answer to your conundrum.

 

at my previous house my next door neighbours stopcock and meter was in my garden and more visible than mine so easily confused, esp as I didnt have metered water

 

Yes, i tried turning the stopcock off for a day when im at work - the readings were the same.

But i didn't ask neighbours about anything, as they have their own meter just in front of their entrance gate.

Edited November 5, 2018 by dx100uk
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[king12345]

Are you sure they're not billing you for unpaid water before the start of your tenancy?

They seem to try this when the previous account holder goes missing without settling the final bill.