Worthingite
Sexy Pete... :D
They don't. Owned by the Aussies.
[MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION], I'll PM you in a bit with some advice.
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Help needed with Southern Water bill.
- Thread starter Stat Brother
- Start date
They don't. Owned by the Aussies.
[MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION], I'll PM you in a bit with some advice.
slimes
Well-known member
pay up Drip by Drip 
Its there fault , offer an extra pound a month..saying hardship
good luck tho
Its there fault , offer an extra pound a month..saying hardship
good luck tho
- Thread starter
- #43
Oh and for the record.
Sorted out SW this morning, with NSC assistance.
Last years bill ringfenced at £15 a month.
This years bill set up on DD.
Meter requested, as is more of a refund due to the stress caused
, although not holding my breath.
No credit black mark.
Sorted out SW this morning, with NSC assistance.
Last years bill ringfenced at £15 a month.
This years bill set up on DD.
Meter requested, as is more of a refund due to the stress caused
, although not holding my breath.No credit black mark.
Just paid my latest water bill.. 24th June to 19th October 2024... £164.89
29 October 2024
£164.89
10 September 2024
£12.94
29 April 2024
£27.81
3 November 2023
£30.95
5 April 2023
£22.63
That's quite a jump! I pay cash, not DD. Meter reading taken on the 19th October. Blimey.
29 October 2024
£164.89
10 September 2024
£12.94
29 April 2024
£27.81
3 November 2023
£30.95
5 April 2023
£22.63
That's quite a jump! I pay cash, not DD. Meter reading taken on the 19th October. Blimey.
Mustafa II
Well-known member
Looks like you've got a very bad leak, or there's been a meter read error.
Change at Barnham
Well-known member
I had something similar last month.
Southern Water offer a free service for someone to come to your property and to try and see if there is a leak (details on your bill).
The worker that came to our home turned off our stopcock and looked at the water meter which showed a cog going round very slowly.
Which he said indicated that we have a tiny leak somewhere.
We can see no evidence of a leak anywhere so we're going to wait and see what the next bill is.
About 2 months ago we had water running into the toilet fairly constantly from the cistern which was sorted be our plumber by replacing something.
So we reckon that was what caused the large hike in our bill.
Hopefully there isn't also a small leak causing too much damage that we can't see.
I didn't even think I had a water meter?
There is a flat on our road with the same door number.. I've known tradesmen to go there instead of to our house.. could it be a simple mix up?
- Nov 15, 2006
- 4,158
Had similar and it turned out the leak was undergorund between the meter and the stopcock in the house. I assumed it would be a Southern Waters problem but apparently not. Householders responsibility starts from the stop cock. Required moling a new pipe from the meter to the house. £1200 thank you very much
Southern water did refund the overcharge over four months, which was only spotted when the bill came in at about 5 times the normal bill. Took them 8 months with repeated hassling though.
Hope you don’t end up in the same boat!
Yikes!Had similar and it turned out the leak was undergorund between the meter and the stopcock in the house. I assumed it would be a Southern Waters problem but apparently not. Householders responsibility starts from the stop cock. Required moling a new pipe from the meter to the house. £1200 thank you very much
Southern water did refund the overcharge over four months, which was only spotted when the bill came in at about 5 times the normal bill. Took them 8 months with repeated hassling though.
Hope you don’t end up in the same boat!
Just spoke to them, and my insanely low bills were because my meter stopped.. so I was only paying the standing charge. They have since replaced it and are now billing me for usage. So I'm paying what I owe and can expect another bill in six months. Oh well. At least it isn't a leak!
Mustafa II
Well-known member
It's not your fault that your meter stopped, unless you sabotaged or removed it, as it is Southern Water property and their responsibility to maintain.
You are entitled to a refund here. Call them back.
Mr Bridger
Sound of the suburbs
I do leak detection, so have quite a lot of dealings with our water company, Anglian Water, so if anyone thinks they have a leak then call water company first.
They should come out and do a free test to start with, to prove that it’s not at the boundary box. Your responsibility starts from your boundary, so if there is any distance from their boundary box to your boundary that is their responsibility as it will be on a public footpath.
Once they have proved this, then it’s up to you to sort the leak out.
If it’s a big leak, they can issue you with a waste water notice to get the leak fixed within 30- days. This is not binding though, as long as you are dealing with it, they will extend this period.
To find out whether the leak is internal or external, isolate the main internal stop tap and if the meter stops then the leak is internal.
The most common call I get is push button toilets. Best way to check these is place a piece of toilet paper on the back of the pan, just above the water line and if the paper gets wet then it’s letting by. Get your plumber to replace the siphon washer or float valve.
If you have a gravity fed system, check the tanks in the roof space to see if the ball valves are dripping.
If you still can’t find the leak it may be under the floor if an old house, so look out for plaster blistering, wooden floors bowing, doors sticking or low level mould.
Place a screwdriver on your main stop tap and put your ear to it, sometimes you can hear water rushing through.
If the meter still spinning when the main internal stop tap is isolated, then the leak is external.
Call your buildings insurance or look at the policy and you should have trace & access cover, usually £5k for a domestic policy.
Some insurance companies have their own contractors that will come out, repair the leak so you will only have to pay your excess on the policy.
If not they will ask you to source a leak detection company yourself, they will repair the leak and provide you with a report so you can claim your costs back. They won’t pay for the actual repair itself but will cover the trace, access and any reinstatement.
Trace and access will also cover any hidden leak inside the property.
If you have an old property with Lead pipework your water company will do a free lead test to see if you have a high lead reading, over 10ppm will be deemed as high and you should look into getting your mains upgraded and use bottled water.
If you ever have difficulty with your water company, just say you will put a complaint into OFWAT and they will take you a bit more serious.
They should come out and do a free test to start with, to prove that it’s not at the boundary box. Your responsibility starts from your boundary, so if there is any distance from their boundary box to your boundary that is their responsibility as it will be on a public footpath.
Once they have proved this, then it’s up to you to sort the leak out.
If it’s a big leak, they can issue you with a waste water notice to get the leak fixed within 30- days. This is not binding though, as long as you are dealing with it, they will extend this period.
To find out whether the leak is internal or external, isolate the main internal stop tap and if the meter stops then the leak is internal.
The most common call I get is push button toilets. Best way to check these is place a piece of toilet paper on the back of the pan, just above the water line and if the paper gets wet then it’s letting by. Get your plumber to replace the siphon washer or float valve.
If you have a gravity fed system, check the tanks in the roof space to see if the ball valves are dripping.
If you still can’t find the leak it may be under the floor if an old house, so look out for plaster blistering, wooden floors bowing, doors sticking or low level mould.
Place a screwdriver on your main stop tap and put your ear to it, sometimes you can hear water rushing through.
If the meter still spinning when the main internal stop tap is isolated, then the leak is external.
Call your buildings insurance or look at the policy and you should have trace & access cover, usually £5k for a domestic policy.
Some insurance companies have their own contractors that will come out, repair the leak so you will only have to pay your excess on the policy.
If not they will ask you to source a leak detection company yourself, they will repair the leak and provide you with a report so you can claim your costs back. They won’t pay for the actual repair itself but will cover the trace, access and any reinstatement.
Trace and access will also cover any hidden leak inside the property.
If you have an old property with Lead pipework your water company will do a free lead test to see if you have a high lead reading, over 10ppm will be deemed as high and you should look into getting your mains upgraded and use bottled water.
If you ever have difficulty with your water company, just say you will put a complaint into OFWAT and they will take you a bit more serious.