Water meter

[scrumpyjack]

We are on a meter and the Water company gives you a credit to cover one off water leaks if they occur, so no you don't have to pay if something breaks and lost of water is lost.

I claimed once because a faulty stopcock cost us about £75 worth of water and they refunded it without problem.

[UncleEbenezer]

I'll let them "give" me smart meters when they are 2nd generation ones, that work with all suppliers, and not before.
Slarti

It's not the meters that cause trouble. It's the regulatory regime and infrastructure. Informed comment at http://itreallyisupsidedown.blogspot.co ... -mkay.html

Regarding water meters, getting one installed here cut my bills by more than 80%.

[Watis]

We are on a meter and the Water company gives you a credit to cover one off water leaks if they occur, so no you don't have to pay if something breaks and lost of water is lost.

I claimed once because a faulty stopcock cost us about £75 worth of water and they refunded it without problem.

Thank you for that, scrumpyjack, that's good to know.

I had asked a friend who worked for a water company and he knew nothing of any credit to cover the cost of water leakages.

Watis

[vrdiver]

We are on a meter and the Water company gives you a credit to cover one off water leaks if they occur, so no you don't have to pay if something breaks and lost of water is lost.

I claimed once because a faulty stopcock cost us about £75 worth of water and they refunded it without problem.

Thank you for that, scrumpyjack, that's good to know.

I had asked a friend who worked for a water company and he knew nothing of any credit to cover the cost of water leakages.

Watis

Worth checking with your specific Utility company. E.g.
United Utilities: https://www.unitedutilities.com/faq/wat ... hat-water/
Southern Water: https://www.southernwater.co.uk/bill-adjustment-leak
Severn-Trent: https://www.stwater.co.uk/my-supply/pip ... allowance/

Note that the leakage allowance appears to be a "one-off", which isn't defined (as in how long between claims before it's a one-off again?).

VRD

[mutantpoodle]

FAO Watis

It's on the radar but one concern is what happens if I have a massive water leak. Do I have to pay for all that lost water?

???

yes you or your insurers (subject your policy T & Cs would be liable IF the leak were on your property ie YOUR side of the meter
unless of course others were involved...builders etc et

[Slarti]

It's on the radar but one concern is what happens if I have a massive water leak. Do I have to pay for all that lost water?

I had problems with a toilet cistern and the main cold water header tank and didn't notice for some months. Toilet ran down the loo, header tank was only noticeable after we hadn't run hot water for quite a while, and were outside. Usually we were asleep when the overflow was running.

Water company contacted us to ask us if there was a reason our most recent 2 quarters readings were noticeably higher than usual. When we checked and got things fixed we got a big enough refund for estimated excess water bills to cover the plumbing costs and a bit over.

Slarti

[Slarti]

I'll let them "give" me smart meters when they are 2nd generation ones, that work with all suppliers, and not before.
Slarti

It's not the meters that cause trouble. It's the regulatory regime and infrastructure. Informed comment at http://itreallyisupsidedown.blogspot.co ... -mkay.html

There is nothing in that article, or part 2, relating to the UK regulatory regime and infrastructure.
And he contradicts himself by saying privacy is of no concern, but that companies have entered the NZ market because of the data available to them. If data on my household is profitably available to the power companies, then it must be a cost to me, somehow.
Also, he misses the biggest privacy worry, the power companies will have data to show when your house is regularly unoccupied. But I can't see that being any sort of problem Or can I?

Slarti

[Nemo]

And he contradicts himself by saying privacy is of no concern, but that companies have entered the NZ market because of the data available to them. If data on my household is profitably available to the power companies, then it must be a cost to me, somehow.
Also, he misses the biggest privacy worry, the power companies will have data to show when your house is regularly unoccupied. But I can't see that being any sort of problem Or can I?

Slarti

Onzo, bragging how they could monitorize your date from Smart Meters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Hct6atQOo

I'll give Smart Meters a 'miss' as well

[johnstevens77]

As this is the LBYM board, I have to ask "why not?"

VRD[/quote

simple.............its NOT beyond his LBYM

It's on the radar but one concern is what happens if I have a massive water leak. Do I have to pay for all that lost water?

Watis

I think that the answer to that one is, yes. With a meter you can keep track of what you are using, so no excuse. We had a massive and undetected underground water leak that was fortunately on the water co's side of the meter, they detected it and paid to fix it even though it was on our property.
For the garden and pond we use mainly rain water and top up the largeish pond rarely, only if the water is very low. Our bills are much lower than before the meter was installed.

john

[Howard]

For the garden and pond we use mainly rain water.

john

I've found it difficult to avoid using rainwater for my pond and garden

Sorry!

Howard

[LadyGagarin]

I have nothing against having a smart meter in principle - it's just the fact that my supplier makes it so inconvenient. I was with BG, now SSE and both have made attempts to impose a SM fitting on me at ridiculously short notice. They seemed incapable of grasping that I might need to give my employer some notice before staying home all day waiting for the fitter. Also, presumably you need a reliable internet connection whereas ours is a bit hit-and-miss. Fortunately they backed down and have not tried to push the matter since but I suspect it is only a question of time.

[Alaric]

Also, presumably you need a reliable internet connection whereas ours is a bit hit-and-miss.

I believe they use the mobile phone networks to report home.

We've had a water meter for perhaps 20 years. Thames Water required you to have one, if you admitted to having a garden hose, or was it a sprinkler? Either way for two people in a decent sized house, it was cheaper than the rateable value method. That was also confirmed by friends whose water bill was much higher and didn't have a meter.

[LadyGagarin]

Also, presumably you need a reliable internet connection whereas ours is a bit hit-and-miss.

I believe they use the mobile phone networks to report home.

Alas that would still be an issue for us, we seem to live in a bit of a dip and making/receiving calls you have to balance on one leg hanging out the window in a particular room of the house - no exaggeration! Some days you have to walk a few yards up the road to make or receive a call, and only then do messages start arriving from people who phoned or texted a couple of days ago.

[LadyGagarin]

Granted there may be the very rare occasion when a narrow range of family/friends might be inconvenienced if they can't contact me urgently but I don't see why the utility companies need that level of urgent response.

[mearnsfool]

From reading what these guys are saying you could be paying for a very large water leak every year if you fall into the typical situation where a meter greatly reduces charges and you do not have a water meter.

Looks like you need to do sum sums here.

[Nemo]

Strictly speaking, no meter, no ponds and cascade during a hosepipe ban.

Last time there was one someone at one of my clients got a hefty fine slapped on them for wasting water. Just saying.

Slarti

Hi Slarti

Just noticed this. I've checked the T&C of our water supplier and can find nothing that says this. Presumably it must depend where you live?

[Meatyfool]

Nemo,

It may not specifically refer to this, but does it refer to Drought Orders?

IANAE, but these aren't Water Company things, they are governmental legislation - someone may be able to explain better than me.

It is the Order that will prohibit. And thinking about it, only legislation can place a fine?

Meatyfool..