[Help] Southern Water - massively reduced bill

[KLF]

Just received my latest water bill from Southern Water which has reduced from £850 to £239 in one year. Obviously great news, but it got me thinking… last year they worked on the pipe work and meter to my house. We’ve not done anything different so it does seem like whatever they’ve done has fixed some kind of leak from our meter. The prior years were also higher but not as much as last year. Question is how do I go about proving we have been paying for water that we haven’t been using? Anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[raymondo]

Just received my latest water bill from Southern Water which has reduced from £850 to £239 in one year. Obviously great news, but it got me thinking… last year they worked on the pipe work and meter to my house. We’ve not done anything different so it does seem like whatever they’ve done has fixed some kind of leak from our meter. The prior years were also higher but not as much as last year. Question is how do I go about proving we have been paying for water that we haven’t been using? Anyone else had a similar experience?

That seems very low to me for a 6 or 12 month bill to a house. I live in Wiltshire (not a perfect comparison!) and we pay closer to your 800.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Sounds like an issue with your current bill rather than past bills to be honest.

 

[nickbrighton]

if the leak was between the meter and your house, then I am afraid its your responsibility, just like with gas. Unless it was leaking at the meter then its down to you. If you think the leak was at the meter, then you can contact them and querry it. They may look at pre and post work and agree a rebate based on the difference

 

[Triggaaar]

Just received my latest water bill from Southern Water which has reduced from £850 to £239 in one year. Obviously great news, but it got me thinking… last year they worked on the pipe work and meter to my house. We’ve not done anything different so it does seem like whatever they’ve done has fixed some kind of leak from our meter.

My meter says that in the 5 months from March to August, we used 540,000 litres of water

 

[raymondo]

My meter says that in the 5 months from March to August, we used 540,000 litres of water

Time to sell your golf course maybe

 

[Triggaaar]

if the leak was between the meter and your house, then I am afraid its your responsibility, just like with gas. Unless it was leaking at the meter then its down to you.

It needs to be on your land for it to be down to you. So if it's between the meter and your land, then it's them. And if it's down to you, you pay to fix it, but they make an allowance for the water usage.

 

[sully]

Could it be that the previous meter reading was too high and you didn’t check it?

 

[KLF]

I agree it does seem low now, but it’s based on actual readings right? They came to work on the meter (not my land) so repair wasn’t my responsibility as far as I am aware. Since then my usage has plummeted. Are they likely to accept last years bill was high due to them?

 

[raymondo]

I agree it does seem low now, but it’s based on actual readings right? They came to work on the meter (not my land) so repair wasn’t my responsibility as far as I am aware. Since then my usage has plummeted. Are they likely to accept last years bill was high due to them?

Talk to them

 

[KLF]

Talk to them

Thanks for your words of wisdom. Nice in theory but almost impossible in reality having tried recently. However, yes of course that’s the aim, just wondered if anyone had had similar experiences and what the outcome was, that is all.

 

[AmexRuislip]

Thanks for your words of wisdom. Nice in theory but almost impossible in reality having tried recently. However, yes of course that’s the aim, just wondered if anyone had had similar experiences and what the outcome was, that is all.

Only issue we had recently was with Affinity Water.
Got up one morning and found the cold water was light yellow, phoned them and they said run water for 10 mins, roughly about 1000 ltrs.
Did this, cleared the yellow stuff and got a waste water credit.

 

[Grizz]

Just received my latest water bill from Southern Water which has reduced from £850 to £239 in one year. Obviously great news, but it got me thinking… last year they worked on the pipe work and meter to my house. We’ve not done anything different so it does seem like whatever they’ve done has fixed some kind of leak from our meter. The prior years were also higher but not as much as last year. Question is how do I go about proving we have been paying for water that we haven’t been using? Anyone else had a similar experience?

Depends how many in your family, how much water you use etc. We're in Thames Water, there's two of us here, all appliances use eco washes, two showers and maybe a bath a day. Water the garden with a sprinkler if there's a couple of weeks without rain. Ours is £30 a month and I'm still in credit.

As to your proving the last year was because of a leak outside your responsibility, the best thing to do is phone/email them with your evidence and they usually offer some kind of resolution/refund.

If that doesn't work I'm there's an independent regulator that can adjudicate on a dispute. Just depends on how much time you want to invest.

 

[essbee1]

Talk to them

This 100%. We had a similar problem. We were using "allegedly" as much water as 9 flats which is just ludicrous. It was a leak on
our property. But talk to them - in a nice way (don't get shirty even though I know that's hard) and you'll be amazed what they can do.
We had the leak fixed for free and a refund. Took a few months mind.

 

[Fungus]

We had a bit of a scare a few years ago (wife misread the meter!), but ever since I’ve recorded monthly readings in a simple spreadsheet.

It shows our daily usage trending downwards (we’ve been careful since), and I can quickly spot any anomalies.

 

[Bodian]

£800? That's insane, are they making the water or something? We pay £24.65 a month - just under £300 for the year.

Not metered though.

 

[KLF]

This 100%. We had a similar problem. We were using "allegedly" as much water as 9 flats which is just ludicrous. It was a leak on
our property. But talk to them - in a nice way (don't get shirty even though I know that's hard) and you'll be amazed what they can do.
We had the leak fixed for free and a refund. Took a few months mind.

Thanks, will give it a go.

 

[essbee1]

Thanks, will give it a go.

Btw - we spent ages in phone queues waiting to talk to someone which is a right pain, but it
is worth the hassle to get it resolved.

 

[drew]

Might be a ballsache but worth persevering to talk to them. We went on holiday a few years ago and came back to find our en suite shower was in full flow and couldn't be turned of!! Turned out the valves had failed and dropped down in the unit in the loft. Explained to South East water and they gave us a credit (and also got a credit from Southern Water who deal with the drains).

 

[raymondo]

Thanks for your words of wisdom. Nice in theory but almost impossible in reality having tried recently. However, yes of course that’s the aim, just wondered if anyone had had similar experiences and what the outcome was, that is all.

I wasn't meaning to sound like a smart arse, sorry.