Forum Topic

Check your water meter reading!

Comparing water bills with a friend recently I wondered why mine was so much more. After all   our properties and households were quite similar. We decided to check the meter which for most older properties is below a small metal cover in the pavement directly outside your house and easily accessible. Just flip up the cover with a screwdriver.Lifting the cover all we could see beneath was dirty muddy water. This was baled out and I took a picture of the meter reading including the meter’s serial number to compare with my recent and earlier bills.The actual reading was far less than the one on the recent bill and even less than a so called reading (not an estimate) taken over a year ago?To cut a long story short I was in credit with Thames Water for just under £900! Thames have now revised my bill but offered no explanation or apology.Is this a one off? Maybe or maybe not. Best Check. Who knows you might get an early Xmas present.

Steve Lewis ● 538d6 Comments

Would it have been better if it had not been privatised?  Some would think so but then Welsh Water is a not-for-profit and that has problems too.There are plenty of regulations and there are regulatory authorities but water companies still have problems...

Philippa Bond ● 538d

Philippa,I’m sure Thames Water are grateful for your understanding concerning the level of their service we should come to expect. In my book however this is just sloppy, inaccurate and simply not good enough. Thames Water is a listed public utilities company. It has a contract with its customers and should fulfil its obligations. No more no less.

Steve Lewis ● 538d

https://www.thameswater.co.uk/help/water-meters

Philippa Bond ● 538d

We live in a water stressed area and water meters help to show where there are water leaks.  Many people do seem to manage to save on their water bills by having them and of course smart meters are preferable as these send the meter readings direct more often without having to employ and supervise meter readers.  You can also be threatened with being put on an emergency tariff if you don't have a meter.I understand from their website that Thames Water should be reading the non-smart meters more often than every five years BUT then there do seem nowadays to be many companies who are struggling to get the staff and to carry out regular maintenance of anything. This contracting out of works can also cause a lot of fragmentation and... the lack of joined-up systems.

Philippa Bond ● 538d

It's definitely worth checking your water meter (non smart) from time to time.I happened to take a proper look at my last bill and discovered that apart from the initial reading taken when we moved in 5 years ago, all bills since had been based on estimates. I naively assumed that if you had a water meter somebody would actually read it. Silly me!I wasn't owed anything like £900 but it was still a significant sum.

Bruce Hammal ● 538d

That's scandalous behavior by Thames Water.What a shower!Thanks for posting that about that happening.

Jim Lawes ● 538d