Plain Talker Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 The "rule of thumb" tends to be, if you have more bedrooms than people living there, then theoretically, you'd probably be better off on a meter. I'm on a meter, and I don't find the charges are too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Talker Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Im sure the local water board will fit them and give a 12 months grace of if you want to keep it? Worth enquring then if your not happy have it removed. If it had been installed by a previous tennant, theres no going back! The meter is not removed after the 12- month-grace period. The meter stays where it is, but the Water Board simply charge you Water -rates as per the method used before installation of the meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strix Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I still object to the darn things - the water system was installed for public health A housing estate in Bradford had to abolish the scheme after the re-emergence of dysentery - something we thought we'd seen the back of in Victorian times! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozzie624 Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 we have a water meter and I hate it, we bought a property with one already installed and by law you cannot get them removed and my bills have doubled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamltd Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hiya, I work in the water industry ( for thames water but policy is the same for all providers). What you need to consider when thinking about a meter is how do you use the water at the moment and how are you likley to use it in future. I have a 4 bed detached that is full to bursting with kids that keep leaving home and comeing back and love my meter. If your kids are small they may prefer to have a bath. cost 25p. if they are older they may prefer a shower. cost 5p. power shower 20p.What is the rateing on your washer. cost varies 15p to 30p per load. Do you have a dishwasher? turn on once rather than 3 10 litre bowls for the pots. Boyfreinds/Girlfriends staying over.... extra water..... paddling pools... about £1.50 to fill..... The policy is you can request a meter.... if it costs you more you can revert back, however if you move the next occupier will have no choice but to pay on the meter. Also if you have a leak you are resposible for the water that is lost..although most water providers will reach a compromise. Hope this has made things a little easier for you to reach an informed decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddycoffee Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 I'm thinking about this too as I could be saving as much as £5 per week... Is there an installation fee ? Do they charge more if they find problems such as Lead pipes or anything like that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazza Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I tried to get one fitted for my 93yr old aunt she lives in a 2 bed semi when they came they said it could not be fitted to lead pipes,they came back to connect to the outside but found they could not do that either because the other semi and hers are joint water supply ,so not every house is suitable for a meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRclaim Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 (edited) I just want to make a small point about water meters. I know that the OP is asking if they personally would benefit, and it's fair enough to want to do what's best for yourself. I'm not having a go at you or anyone, but I think peaople are being hugely naive about water meters if they think they will ultimately save money. Water is free, almost. The chap who works in the industry may wish to correct me but I think it costs Yorkshire Water about the same to fill up a glass or a swimming pool. What does cost money is treatment, storage, pipe maintenance, personnel etc. These are largely fixed costs. Let's say Yorkshire Water needs £80m a year to run, and they want to make a profit of £20m. Under the rates system that £100m gets divided between the rate payers. Now imagine everyone has a meter and YW charges you a penny a litre, they need to 'sell' 100 000 000 00 litres. If the good people of Yorkshire start saving their water and making sacrifices to save money so much that they only buy half that amount - the price will double To answer your question, purely in terms of how much it costs you now, of course you should get a meter. The price of metered water is being kept artificially low and being subsidised by ratepayers, it will continue to be this way up until the point that it needs to change. Just be aware that at that point you will start to pay more per litre and, the truly sick part, the more everyone saves, the higher the price will go. Edited January 20, 2010 by PRclaim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRclaim Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 What I´m saying is that the water company has certain fixed costs (staff, infrastructure, vehicles, building maintenance etc) these do not change if we use less water and they need to be covered, along with a legally allowed profit. As you say ratepayers pay more right now so if they switch to meters they will pay (and the water company will receive) less money. If we all have meters and use less water then the price will go up, it will keep going up until the above is covered. As use decreases so unit cost will have to rise, currently Yorkshire water sells water at 0.2pence per litre, can I imagine a world in 10 years where they sell it at 15 pence a litre, a rise of just 7500% , yes absolutely - they´d tell you it was a bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PESKY6969 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 not one to be concerned with bills just found out paying nearly £63 a month water bill. would it be cheaper to change to a meter. do not use bath only shower 3 bed house 5 persons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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