On 23 Mar 2016 at 12:54pm Mark wrote:
I've had a letter from Southern saying that they are unable to fit a water meter at my home. They are therefore putting us on a "metered assessed charge" and the cost will be doubled. Is this happening to others, I wonder. Can it be fought? Whatever happened to Ofwat who were meant to be policing the water companies when private-sector monopolies were established.
On 23 Mar 2016 at 2:30pm Celine wrote:
I know of someone who had the same issue and she was told her charge would remain the same as before. However, she was an elderly person living on their own although the house and garden were large, including a pond.
On 23 Mar 2016 at 2:44pm A Person wrote:
Southern are thieves and vagabonds (although you probably know this already).
The body you need to contact is the Consumer Council for Water. You'll discover you're very much not alone. I found them incredibly helpful when Southern Water were trying to fleece me of thousands of pounds during a house renovation.
Check it out here »
On 23 Mar 2016 at 5:02pm Old Plumber wrote:
Mark, did they say why they can't fit a meter? Are you in a flat for example. In my opinion there are only a few situations where fitting a meter is impracticable.
On 23 Mar 2016 at 5:48pm Mark wrote:
It's a semi detached house. Victorian terrace. They came to inspect and said the supply is shared for the two houses. One meter would be possible but not two. Thanks for helpful comments, townsfolk. I feel a bit uncomfortable about writing apolitical stuff on here so I'll just mention that Labour are ahead of the Tories according to Yougov's most recent poll.
On 23 Mar 2016 at 6:21pm landporter wrote:
Talking of southern water, I see they're just about to dig up Brooks Road. More bloody gridlock in the town !!!!!!!
On 23 Mar 2016 at 6:48pm Old Plumber wrote:
Presumably the pipe goes in nextdoor and then loops into your house. It might be worth getting a price for a separate new connection, then you can work out the payback time .
On 23 Mar 2016 at 6:52pm Money Direct Source wrote:
Mark I've been having a similar problem with Southern Water for 5 years! They have told me they won't fit a water meter to my property all because their contractors vehicle is too big.. Bleeding "Too Big?' yes that's right they say their contractors vehicle is too big to fit down my road, which by the way is just opposite the Elephant & Castle. Its interesting that the same vehicles can fit to install drainage & all sorts of different types of jobs in my road. I've posted on here before but it still makes me mad every time I hear about Southern Water and their rip off tactics.
On 23 Mar 2016 at 7:42pm Hyena wrote:
Mark, be careful what you wish for. Pre meter cost £39 a month post meter £104.
On 23 Mar 2016 at 7:52pm supporter wrote:
pre meter £39 a month post meter £18 a month happy days.
On 23 Mar 2016 at 8:12pm Peter Piper wrote:
They only impose this charge if they think that they should be able to fit a meter but you haven't permitted them to - for example if it's in your back garden but you won't let them in. If they decide that they can't fit a meter then they'll write to you to confirm this and you will remain on the old charging regime. Given them a call to discuss and they should sort it out.
On 23 Mar 2016 at 10:03pm Tipex wrote:
We had a Southern Water engineer round about 6 months ago. He said the location of the stopcock made it impossible to fit a meter. Our payments haven't increased and he fixed the dripping stopcock for free while he was there.
On 23 Mar 2016 at 10:16pm Cheeky wrote:
Glad he's fixed your dripping cock Tipex
On 23 Mar 2016 at 10:58pm edtheplumber wrote:
If you can fit a meter in your house where the mains comes in, then there shouldn't be an issue. I have seen meters fit in the most absurd of places (so it only measured hot water used), so I don't know how well trained the entry level meter fitter is trained. If you want a meter, contact your local plumber. They should be able to sort it out for you at a reasonable price.
A separate connection is good if you are running a combination boiler(no hot water storage), but pretty expensive if you have a traditional system.
Just contact your plumber, they tend to do things better when they are talking to someone that specialises in the field. They can also advise you on what is in your best interest.
On 24 Mar 2016 at 10:04am selfish git wrote:
I'm with Hyena on this one. Unless you strip wash at the garden well, much cheaper not to be metered...
On 24 Mar 2016 at 12:26pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I thin whether or not it's cheaper to be metered depends on the size of your family relative to the size of your property.
The fixed charges are based on the old rateable values, so if you have a big house and only 2 of you living in it, the metered charge is likely to be lower than the fixed charge; if you're a family of 5 squeezed into a small 2-bed semi, you'll be better off with the fixed charge.
Our bills got cheaper when we switched, but not by much. They went down a fair bit when we got a new washing machine that used less water though!
On 24 Mar 2016 at 2:01pm A Person wrote:
That's the key though, isn't it ACT? Having a meter gives you some control over how much you pay, and it's very likely to be cheaper than Southern deciding simply to double your unmetered bill. The CCW is amazingly helpful Mark: please do get in touch with them.
On 24 Mar 2016 at 6:31pm Belladonna wrote:
Do not let a Southern water contracted fit your meter - they fitted ours and flooded the place. We are still involved in a compensation fight with them. And we know the same thing has happened to others. I think you can elect to get your own trusted plumber to fit if Southern water say it's possible
On 24 Mar 2016 at 8:51pm Mark wrote:
I am in touch A Person and they do appear to be very useful. Thanks again.
On 24 Mar 2016 at 11:09pm Bongo wrote:
I've been in a long term dispute with Southern Water over this issue. I told them years ago that I'd be more than willing to set up a DD to pay my un-metered water bill if they bill me the same amount as my metered neighbours, but so far they have refused. Apparently, my water pipes are too close together to fit a water meter! They really are a bunch of crooks.
On 25 Mar 2016 at 1:36pm Trooper wrote:
It is a matter of considerable regret that the current administration is constantly telling us to switch Bank, Gas, Electricity etc but we CANNOT switch our water supplier, not that it seems the others are just as bad,but at least we could have a choice.
On 26 Mar 2016 at 10:59am Walter wrote:
When our water meter was being fitted, a nice lady came and explained how our monthly direct debit would reduce when our water was metered. She show us the figures to prove it. What she didnt say was that instead of paying our bill over 10 months as we had been doing, we would now pay all 12 months! So our yearly bill has increased, and we fell for her patter!
On 26 Mar 2016 at 11:00am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
It could be worse. Down on the coast they have their water supplied by South Eastern Water, but their sewage is treated by Southern.
They have 2 bills that combined add up to far more than one Southern bill for both services.
On 26 Mar 2016 at 5:30pm South East Water wrote:
2.1 million customers. No moaning like the Lewes ones. No wonder we left you to Southern. 