Comments on: Drowning in Devon Water Bills!!!

By: sharon

sharon — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:13:43 +0000

Thanks again Amy, wow 29% – that’s incredible, how??? I think we’ll be better off going on a meter. Will get it sorted then blog again on the results in a few months.

By: Amy from CCWater

Amy from CCWater — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:04:28 +0000

You, and your followers tweeting about water bills brought me here!

To be fair, the Consumer Council for Water’s calculator errs on the side of caution. It doesn’t take into account if you have dual flush toilets, water saving shower heads, or other eco friendly appliances. Uswitch’s water meter calculator is much more in depth, if you want to try it here. http://www.uswitch.com/water

Plus, South West Water offer free water saving kits to help their customers be more careful. http://www.southwestwater.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=8012

Don’t forget, you can ‘test’ the meter out. If you ask South West Water to install one and after the first bill it doesn’t look like you’ll save you can just ring them to go back to the old charges.

You might also want to keep in mind that between 2010 and 2015 South West Water customers who have a water meter will on average see bills go up about 1% above inflation, while South West Water customers who don’t have water meters will see bills go up on average 29% above inflation. You’ll likely want to make the switch eventually anyway. Probably not the news you wanted to hear, but it’ll help you decide what’s best for your household.

Good luck!

By: sharon

sharon — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:17:38 +0000

Hi Amy, great to hear from the Consumer Council for Water. How did you find my little blog? I've been on your site http://www.ccwater.org.uk and done the water meter calculator. It came out as more than I pay now, but I think if we had a meter we'd be forced to be a lot more careful, which can only be a good thing for the purse and for the environment. Thank you for your help.

By: Amy from CCWater

Amy from CCWater — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:52:24 +0000

Water customers do pay different ammounts depending on where they live, and there can also be huge differences between what someone can pay on a metered charge vs the standard, rateable value way of charging.

If anyone’s curious as to whether or not they can save money by switching to metered charges, they can check by using our water meter caluclator at www (dot) ccwater (dot) org (dot) uk.

If you do take the plunge & ask your company to fit a water meter on your property you can ask to switch back within the first year if it doesn’t look like it’ll save you money. (The switch-back option isn’t available if your water company is one of the two which has a compulsory metering programme – Southern Water and Veolia Water Southeast.)

By: sharon

sharon — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:21:55 +0000

Thanks Tim – def going to try the meter option. My daughter esp is into being as green as she can so kids will be ok, it’s me giving up so many deep hot baths that’s the problem, plus our shower is rubbish.

By: Tim Andrewes

Tim Andrewes — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:19:07 +0000

Hiya, we are paying about £25 per month, for 2 adults on a water meter in West Cornwall. Consumption goes up a lot in the summer holidays when the house is full of friends/family on holiday. Switching to a water meter is your best bet. We did the South West Water self-assessment questionnaire before getting a meter, and once we had one, our consumption was a lot less than they were forecasting. You do change your behaviour if you know you’re on a meter (the kids might not be as aware though, so you’d need to get the message across by involving them in discussing the pro’s and con’s). If you have water butts to collect rainwater, you shouldn’t need to use tap water in the garden at all. There are plenty of water saving tips to follow if you look on the web. Go for it!

By: sharon

sharon — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:00:37 +0000

Thanks Richard, so you are worse off with a meter? Do you know your monthly costs before and after?

By: sharon

sharon — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:59:35 +0000

Also diesel costs way cheaper, not having to drive in and out of town for shopping etc.

By: sharon

sharon — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:59:02 +0000

Thanks Stray, one thing about moving into town is the council tax is much much cheaper. Thanks for advice about the sites to estimate usage. Will look into that for sure.

By: Richard Lawson

Richard Lawson — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:01:39 +0000

How many in your household? I bet y’all are waste conscious, with low usage.

We went on a meter, although Wessex Water were not encouraging. They got us to fill in an estimate form, which suggested no financial advantage to us from the meter. And that, so far, is how it turned out to be.

Even so, it feels better, to be in charge of water bills.