Water And Sewage Charges ?

[TOPGUN749]

3 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Absolutely shocking, surely the Water Company should have noticed how much they were billing you?

I expect it’s alll computer generated bills and it’s all down to numbers,without a human involvement.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

30 minutes ago, TOPGUN749 said:

I expect it’s alll computer generated bills and it’s all down to numbers,without a human involvement.

But the water company has a duty of care to its customers.

OVO have just been fined £237 million because they have terrible customer service.

[marsh man]

2 hours ago, TOPGUN749 said:

In other words the meter has recorded over 10 times as much as you actually used! If it’s a leak then 173 gallons a day is going somewhere,and 15 gallons you are probably using! However long this has been going on they owe you £2.50 a day approximately. 
Shame you didn’t raise the problem sooner,as your bank balance would be healthier.

Yes with hindsight I should have done , but before my wife passed away she looked after all the bills and throughout our married life we were never behind with any bill so you let sleeping dogs lie , then up onto till early this year we were getting two separate bills in , one for water and one for sewage , it also stated that the last bill from 21st August to the 19th of February we had used 56 m , that was in about 6 months , still high but not excessive , or was it ?    MM

[TOPGUN749]

53 minutes ago, marsh man said:

Yes with hindsight I should have done , but before my wife passed away she looked after all the bills and throughout our married life we were never behind with any bill so you let sleeping dogs lie , then up onto till early this year we were getting two separate bills in , one for water and one for sewage , it also stated that the last bill from 21st August to the 19th of February we had used 56 m , that was in about 6 months , still high but not excessive , or was it ?    MM

Yes MM 56 cubic metres in 6 months is very excessive! Equal to 68 gallons a day,when it should be around 20 gallons at most in your situation,( I average 15 gallons myself).For me that would mean an extra £295 a year. Your recorded usage is far more than that recently,like the meter has got worse or a leak has! 25-30 units a year would be expected for one person.

[marsh man]

2 hours ago, TOPGUN749 said:

Yes MM 56 cubic metres in 6 months is very excessive! Equal to 68 gallons a day,when it should be around 20 gallons at most in your situation,( I average 15 gallons myself).For me thatould mean an extra £295 a year. Your recorded usage is far more than that recently,like the meter has got worse or a leak has! 25-30 units a year would be expected for one person.

THANKS for that , I will play it by ear and see how it turn out , I will enquire about the sewage charge over the years as we would had been paying to much as according to my latest bill it is based on how much water you have been using , now they know my house haven't got a water leak then they should only charge me what a average household use with one person in the house , if they come up with a sensible solution then I will just bypass the worry and get on with my life .

[JKD]

Further to my PM,,,,,

At least it's certain that the leak is between your house and the meter, so not so much disruption to repair. I'm so glad it's not inside your house, that would have been awful ! Just remember that you're the customer, so they should be doing their utmost to help you in these circumstances.

Keep a 'diary' of events,,,, visits, who and why,,,, phone calls, who and why. Also of any work carried out. Just use an A4 notepad for ease of use 😉

[TIGHTCHOKE]

1 hour ago, JKD said:

Further to my PM,,,,,

At least it's certain that the leak is between your house and the meter, so not so much disruption to repair. I'm so glad it's not inside your house, that would have been awful ! Just remember that you're the customer, so they should be doing their utmost to help you in these circumstances.

Keep a 'diary' of events,,,, visits, who and why,,,, phone calls, who and why. Also of any work carried out. Just use an A4 notepad for ease of use 😉

Yes and mention "going to the Ombudsman" in any contacts you may have.

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, So you have a water leak on your property ??  How far between meter and property ?? do you know where it enters from underground ??,  Is the stop tap by the meter brass ? same as internal ?? When I was on TWA we did go about 3 ft past the meter to fix a leak but any further was down to the resident, Depending if the pipe is plastic more like the old black type, or steel/ copper it is not hard to fix, You maybe lucky on Insurance but have to pay excess, then cost more on next renewal, If it is a short pipe run from meter to property it is very easy to confirm a leak as i mention in last post, If Insurance wont pay and you need a plumber careful on quotes, Shame you are so far away or I would help out, 

[JKD]

19 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Yes and mention "going to the Ombudsman" in any contacts you may have.

Only if you get a negative response. This sort of thing needs to be done calmly and professionally, but also with persistence, as 'they' won't hurry up if you're not bothered to chase them up 🙄

1 minute ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, So you have a water leak on your property ??  How far between meter and property ?? do you know where it enters from underground ??,  Is the stop tap by the meter brass ? same as internal ?? When I was on TWA we did go about 3 ft past the meter to fix a leak but any further was down to the resident, Depending if the pipe is plastic more like the old black type, or steel/ copper it is not hard to fix, You maybe lucky on Insurance but have to pay excess, then cost more on next renewal, If it is a short pipe run from meter to property it is very easy to confirm a leak as i mention in last post, If Insurance wont pay and you need a plumber careful on quotes, Shame you are so far away or I would help out, 

John has already explained most of your queries, but the water company need to finish their side of things before contacting the insurance company. It's just an abc process from now on 👍

[oldypigeonpopper]

5 minutes ago, JKD said:

Only if you get a negative response. This sort of thing needs to be done calmly and professionally, but also with persistence, as 'they' won't hurry up if you're not bothered to chase them up 🙄

John has already explained most of your queries, but the water company need to finish their side of things before contacting the insurance company. It's just an abc process from now on 👍

Hello, I never caught up on previous posts, The Insurance will not pay out if it is down to age of pipe work, They might if it is earth subsidence , If after a new meter is fitted and still leaking past the meter then as i said it is not a problem to fix but if John has to get a Plumber be careful on costs, I have seen so many property owners get ripped off

[Penelope]

52 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Yes and mention "going to the Ombudsman" in any contacts you may have.

Yes, helped me massively with a dispute with British Gas; result - a large credit to my account.

[JKD]

8 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, I never caught up on previous posts, The Insurance will not pay out if it is down to age of pipe work, They might if it is earth subsidence , If after a new meter is fitted and still leaking past the meter then as i said it is not a problem to fix but if John has to get a Plumber be careful on costs, I have seen so many property owners get ripped off

With insurance claims it's all down to the 'small-print'. Some claims I've been involved with have cover for this situation, some haven't.

Before anything else happens, the leak needs to be sourced [after the meter change] and exposed, with either a permanent fix or a temporary one. Commonly called 'trace and access'.

Also, I'm sure a few on here would directly help John if they were closer,,,, I certainly would !

Let's wait for the next stage results, then we can help John further if required 😉

[Westley]

On 11/09/2024 at 12:58, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Incompetence is EVERYWHERE lately.   

I would second that. I too was a time served gas fitter and plumber, working for a Nationalised company.  I had a new bathroom fitted about 6 years ago. Because building work was involved,  I got a builder to quote for the work. He would also use 'his' plumber. The plumber was rubbish, culminating in his managing to run TWO cold supplies to the shower mixer valve. I am unable to get under floorboards anymore,  but I insisted on using my own plumber and billing the builder. Shortly after this, I had a new kitchen installed. I did most of the plumbing work myself, except the connection of the appliances.  Last week the dishwasher packed up. I decided to do the job myself.  When i came to disconnect the old appliance, I found a leak on the dishwasher isolation valve. Upon cutting the pipe and removing the existing valve, the conex nut had been fitted, crossing the thread. That had been leaking from day 1 and the water had been going under the floorboards for around 6 years.

[oldypigeonpopper]

4 minutes ago, Westley said:

I would second that. I too was a time served gas fitter and plumber, working for a Nationalised company.  I had a new bathroom fitted about 6 years ago. Because building work was involved,  I got a builder to quote for the work. He would also use 'his' plumber. The plumber was rubbish, culminating in his managing to run TWO cold supplies to the shower mixer valve. I am unable to get under floorboards anymore,  but I insisted on using my own plumber and billing the builder. Shortly after this, I had a new kitchen installed. I did most of the plumbing work myself, except the connection of the appliances.  Last week the dishwasher packed up. I decided to do the job myself.  When i came to disconnect the old appliance, I found a leak on the dishwasher isolation valve. Upon cutting the pipe and removing the existing valve, the conex nut had been fitted, crossing the thread. That had been leaking from day 1 and the water had been going under the floorboards for around 6 years.

Hello, It is not easy finding good tradesman what ever needed, It was many years ago but it was going on then with cowboy plumbers and builders , poor work and over charging,Alas it happen to my younger Son unbeknown to me, Lets hope MM can get his water problem sorted soon

[JKD]

10 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, It is not easy finding good tradesman what ever needed, It was many years ago but it was going on then with cowboy plumbers and builders , poor work and over charging,Alas it happen to my younger Son unbeknown to me, Lets hope MM can get his water problem sorted soon

I call them 'chancers', and through my work carrying out insurance repairs, I come across their poor workmanship more often than not, and across all aspects, not just plumbing ! The building company I work for is often given work due to reputation, and I sometimes get requested to carry out certain works/repairs down to reputation, which is quite pleasing, and also humbling 🤭

[oldypigeonpopper]

3 minutes ago, JKD said:

I call them 'chancers', and through my work carrying out insurance repairs, I come across their poor workmanship more often than not, and across all aspects, not just plumbing ! The building company I work for is often given work due to reputation, and I sometimes get requested to carry out certain works/repairs down to reputation, which is quite pleasing, and also humbling 🤭

👍

[TIGHTCHOKE]

23 minutes ago, JKD said:

I call them 'chancers', and through my work carrying out insurance repairs, I come across their poor workmanship more often than not, and across all aspects, not just plumbing ! The building company I work for is often given work due to reputation, and I sometimes get requested to carry out certain works/repairs down to reputation, which is quite pleasing, and also humbling 🤭

Yes, much better to go on reputation and results.   

 

Unless you are trying to get in to the FIREWOOD business.  

[JKD]

24 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Yes, much better to go on reputation and results.   

 

Unless you are trying to get in to the FIREWOOD business.  

Oi,,,, leave it out !!! 😡🤬

🤭😆🤣

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Outside, NOW!  

[JKD]

3 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Outside, NOW!  

See you in the corner of the playground, behind the tennis courts 🥊🦧🤜🤛👊👋💤

🤓🤣

[ditchman]

3 hours ago, JKD said:

See you in the corner of the playground, behind the tennis courts 🥊🦧🤜🤛👊👋💤

🤓🤣

im more of a "behind the bike shed" sort of person

[marsh man]

Good afternoon all , Update ... After a fairly sleep ness night worrying where all this water is going I rang up E / S Water first thing to ask them if they can turn my water off until my new meter is fitted and they can trace  the direction of where my water main go , a fairly polite lady answered , I told her this is keeping me awake with the worry and as I only use a small amount of water I could manage until they come on Monday which I was told they come within three working days , she said she will find out when someone can come and get back to me as someone need to be at mine when someone turn up . as expected nobody got back to me  so I rang them up again early this afternoon .

I got through to a chap this time and told him the same situation , he said the same that he will get in touch with whoever do it and get back to me , I told him that was exactly what the lady said and I have wasted the best part of the day waiting for a phone call that never arrived and could you please ring me back to let me know one way or the other , it was about an hour and then he did ring back to say they are not allowed to turn it off for that amount of time and I said it is only till Monday when they are due to dig the old meter out , he then said they can't come till Wednesday at the earliest and that if they are not on an emergency , I told him mine was an emergency and he said as you can't see any water then mine is not classed as an emergency , my mood changed then and I told him it might not be to you but it is to me and the last thing I want is all this waste water to undermine my footings , he then said , if the leak is on my property then it is my responsibility any how and not the water company .

I told him I know that and I will get it sorted as soon as your company renew a broken meter and someone can tell me in what direction the water come out of your water main as the chap who came Wednesday didn't have a clue , so if one of your own blokes don't know then how do you expect me know as the meter box is on my next doors neighbours and not on mine.

So in the end we got nowhere and up to now they ( should ) come Wednesday so the three working days have now turned into five , so you can see what I am up against .

THANKS for your help and advice    MM

[TIGHTCHOKE]

I really feel for you and your predicament MM.

What a sorry state of affairs.

[marsh man]

5 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

I really feel for you and your predicament MM.

What a sorry state of affairs.

THANKS T C , They say that the N H S is in a crisis , these last two or three months I have had several one day appointment's and even an operation near my eye that needed six stitches and I can honestly say that I have had first class treatment that was also bang on time with very polite and friendly staff , how different the water company have been . 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

5 minutes ago, marsh man said:

THANKS T C , They say that the N H S is in a crisis , these last two or three months I have had several one day appointment's and even an operation near my eye that needed six stitches and I can honestly say that I have had first class treatment that was also bang on time with very polite and friendly staff , how different the water company have been . 

But the utility companies have shareholders to keep rich.