South West Water bill has jumped from Ј44 to Ј142 a month!

A question about : South West Water bill has jumped from Ј44 to Ј142 a month!

Been happily paying around Ј40 for month for a couple of years when my wife and I (just the two of us with usual usage - shower every morning, toilet flushes, dishes washed every couple of days and washing machine used once a month) get an amended bill through that is now charging us Ј142 a month. I phoned SSW up who said that it'd been going on for a while and immediately suspected a leak. I've done the meter test with the stop !!!! tap fully closed and there was no change, so it's not an outdoor leak, and I checked the meter with the stop !!!! tap open before and after I was out for the day (5 hours) and there was no change at all to the reading. So it doesn't appear to be an indoor leak.

I'm going to keep a water diary for tomorrow and see how it compares with expected usage with how much the meter has registered to check if it could be a meter fault.

Is there anything else I can try before I phone back SSW?

Thanks in advance! =)

Best answers:

• I take it that your previous bills have been based on actual readings rather than estimates?
  And isn't it silly that you're not allowed to use the word c0ck
• As suggested above have you had estimated bills previously and not checked to see if they were correct. This might be a big catch-up if that's the case.
  Have a look at your previous bills to check (assuming that you've still got them)
  Perhaps regularly reading your meter over the next month or two will give you an average consumption which might help you negotiate with the water company although it would help a lot if you've got a previous actual reading as a reference to calculate your average over a longer period.
• Thanks for all the advice, folks. Some more information:
  The meter reading was an actual reading as our water meter is situated outside on the main road. In our last flat we were using an average of around 20 to 30 cubic metres of water every six months, but since we moved into this new building (both flat 2 and then downstairs into flat 1 when that became empty) it's shot up to 80 to 90 cubic metres.
  I've done a leak test both for 2 hours a few nights ago and for 7 hours overnight last night, and both have come back with absolutely zero movement, so there's nothing going on there that I can see. I checked the toilet flush with the lid off and it filled up fine with no leakage or overflow problems.
  I'm planning to keep a water diary to see if the usage matches what's registered.
  Is there anything else anyone can suggest before I ring SSW back up?
• As you suggest a water diary with daily meter readings would help you identify what is using it all and when.
  Have you got power or high flow rate showers - 10 mins in the shower can easily use up 150litres. Reducing shower times to 5 minutes or less and not letting water run down the sink when washing, rinsing or cleaning your teeth can save quite a lot.
  Flow restrictors on taps and the shower can reduce your consumption as can only using dishwashers and washing machines when they are full.
• Our shower is just a standard one connected to the tap. It's just the two of us living here and we both have a 20 minute shower each every morning. No dishwasher, just a basin full of water every few days to wash the dishes and time save washing machine cycle every Sunday.
  I've phoned SWW twice and both times they've agreed that the water bill is way too high. They've made be do the water leak tests twice now and have told me they're sending me a check list leaflet to go through all possible scenarios. But there's a Ј143 bill looming up just before Christmas and I want to get it sorted asap. =/
• OK, so you have tested for leaks and the meter did not move over night. This suggests that a cistern is leaking.
  When you turn off the stop C0Ck was there a inrush when you turned back on? A simple leak in the toilet can easily double you consumption and go un noticed.
  And I beat the profanity filtre as well!!!!!
• Last bloody time I wrote round here Stop !!!! got ....
• Scunthorpe
  Na na na na!
• When I turn off the stopc0ck how long should I leave it before turning it back on to see if there's a whoosh?
  SSW have gotten back to me. They're arranging someone to come over to go through water habits and, I'm hoping, to check the water meter over and make sure it's actually giving an accurate usage reading.
  Is there a simple check I could do to see if it is, like could I fill up a container and see if it corresponds with the resulting meter change or something?
  Thanks again for all your help and advice! =)
• If you reckon that you are having two 20minute showers a day then you could easily consume between 200-500 litres a day (70-180cu'm a year) without all the stuff you use for drinking, cooking and washing.
  Try reducing it to 5 minutes each a day and you would reduce your water consumption by 75% and save a lot of energy heating it as well.
• I am with south west water. Ask them to change to pay quartly then you pay for what you use.