Knowledgable People

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month, more than my leccie and gas added together.

Is this a normal ammount for 2 adults and 2 kids, or should I get a
meter fitted .........

Thanks
Rick

"Rick" wrote in message
...
Knowledgable People

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month, more than my leccie and gas added together.

Is this a normal ammount for 2 adults and 2 kids, or should I get a
meter fitted .........

Thanks
Rick


I suggest you're being ripped off.

We (2 adults, 4 children) use about 250M^2 per year at £1.02 each (combined
water and sewerage charge). And we don't economise.

When you add standing charges it's about £25/month.

IIRC you can buy a water meter from www.bes.ltd.uk for £25.00. You could
get one and check your usage!

David

Rick wrote:
Knowledgable People

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month, more than my leccie and gas added together.

Is this a normal ammount for 2 adults and 2 kids, or should I get a
meter fitted .........

Thanks
Rick

Unless you have a meter the charges are based on the Council Tax band of
your house. I used to pay about 40 quid a month, after the (free)
fitting of a meter it dropped to 21 quid. There are only two of us though.

Ring the water company - they are obliged by law to fit a free meter if
you ask. Note, however, you can never go back to the un-metered state.



--
Change nospam to webtribe in e-mail address

Unless you have a meter the charges are based on the Council Tax band of
your house. I used to pay about 40 quid a month, after the (free) fitting
of a meter it dropped to 21 quid. There are only two of us though.

Ring the water company - they are obliged by law to fit a free meter if
you ask. Note, however, you can never go back to the un-metered state.



I believe that you can go back to unmetered at any time in the 12 months
following the fitting of a meter, but if a meter has been fitted, for the
next owners
of the property the only choice will be metered water, or no water.

Rick wrote:

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month, more than my leccie and gas added together.

Is this a normal ammount for 2 adults and 2 kids, or should I get a
meter fitted .........

If you haven't got a meter fitted, then AFAIK it doesn't matter how many
folk you have using water, isn't the amount proportional to the size of
home/garden and whether you tell them you use a hosepipe and/or sprinkler?

I'd be interested to know how they come up with figures; at least with
council tax they tell you what band you are, and you can compare your
banding to other properties s to help you decide if its right. I don't
know how/if you can do that with water, other than opt for a meter.

David

The message
from Another Dave contains these words:

Unless you have a meter the charges are based on the Council Tax band of
your house.

Strictly speaking (except for new builds) the charge is based on the
rateable value of your house at the time CT was introduced. AFAIK with
new builds they have some kind of fudge to produce a 'rateable value'.

However there seems to be plans afoot to do a CT revaluation to extract
even more tax from householders under the guise of being fair and no
doubt the rateable value link will soon disappear.

--
Roger

John Woodison wrote:

I believe that you can go back to unmetered at any time in the 12 months
following the fitting of a meter, but if a meter has been fitted, for the
next owners of the property the only choice will be metered water, or no water.

That is my understanding too (Severn Trent in case it varies across the
country)

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 18:43:46 GMT, Rick wrote:

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month...

=A3480/year! We pay about =A3180/year to NW Water but that is un-metered=

supply only as we don't have mains drainage. Even doubling it for
sewage still gives =A3120 change...

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 19:28:35 +0000, Another Dave
wrote:


Ring the water company - they are obliged by law to fit a free meter if
you ask. Note, however, you can never go back to the un-metered state.

Northumbrian Water will allow you to try a meter. If, after a year,
you find you're paying more, you can revert to non-metering. However,
the meter will be left installed, and a subsquent owner will be
metered.

--
Frank Erskine
Sunderland

Wish I knew how to get my gas and electricity down to under £40-00 a month
combined. 5 of us here and gas and electricity are £45 a month EACH
averaged over the year.


"Rick" wrote in message
...
Knowledgable People

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month, more than my leccie and gas added together.

Is this a normal ammount for 2 adults and 2 kids, or should I get a
meter fitted .........

Thanks
Rick

On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 20:09:26 GMT, Roger
wrote:

The message
from Another Dave contains these words:

Unless you have a meter the charges are based on the Council Tax band of
your house.

Strictly speaking (except for new builds) the charge is based on the
rateable value of your house at the time CT was introduced. AFAIK with
new builds they have some kind of fudge to produce a 'rateable value'.

However there seems to be plans afoot to do a CT revaluation to extract
even more tax from householders under the guise of being fair and no
doubt the rateable value link will soon disappear.

In Wales, they have allready uped all the rateable values, and council
tax bands.

Rick

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:36:19 GMT, "wounded horse"
wrote:

Wish I knew how to get my gas and electricity down to under £40-00 a month
combined. 5 of us here and gas and electricity are £45 a month EACH
averaged over the year.


Switch suppliers every year, heat the house to 18 degrees. Insulate -
All decorating jobs start with working out how much insulation you can
stuff in.

And train tje kids to turn things off - SHMBO is impossible to train,
so kids go round after her .........

Rick


"Rick" wrote in message
.. .
Knowledgable People

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month, more than my leccie and gas added together.

Is this a normal ammount for 2 adults and 2 kids, or should I get a
meter fitted .........

Thanks
Rick

"Rick" wrote in message
...
Knowledgable People

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month, more than my leccie and gas added together.

Is this a normal ammount for 2 adults and 2 kids, or should I get a
meter fitted .........

If you do get a meter fitted (I wouldn't - it puts off future housebuyers)
also install a green water system at the same time to use rainwater for
hoses and if possible flushing the loos.

"Rick" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:36:19 GMT, "wounded horse"
wrote:

Wish I knew how to get my gas and electricity down to under £40-00 a
month
combined. 5 of us here and gas and electricity are £45 a month EACH
averaged over the year.


Switch suppliers every year, heat the house to 18 degrees. Insulate -
All decorating jobs start with working out how much insulation you can
stuff in.

And train tje kids to turn things off - SHMBO is impossible to train,
so kids go round after her .........

That reminds me what I've been after for some time - has anybody ever seen a
PIR that comes in a nice round brass package to match 12v halogen bulbs. Or
something else nice looking (i.e. not a rectangular plastic box) ?

I've got a very long corridor using about 400W of the things and what I'd
like to do is put sensors at each end on a couple of minutes timer to save
them being left on all the time.

On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 22:38:19 -0000, "Mike" wrote:


"Rick" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:36:19 GMT, "wounded horse"
wrote:

Wish I knew how to get my gas and electricity down to under £40-00 a
month
combined. 5 of us here and gas and electricity are £45 a month EACH
averaged over the year.


Switch suppliers every year, heat the house to 18 degrees. Insulate -
All decorating jobs start with working out how much insulation you can
stuff in.

And train tje kids to turn things off - SHMBO is impossible to train,
so kids go round after her .........

That reminds me what I've been after for some time - has anybody ever seen a
PIR that comes in a nice round brass package to match 12v halogen bulbs. Or
something else nice looking (i.e. not a rectangular plastic box) ?

I've got a very long corridor using about 400W of the things and what I'd
like to do is put sensors at each end on a couple of minutes timer to save
them being left on all the time.


They have them in offices, or at least they do in a certain high
street bank's offices .........

Rick

"Another Dave" wrote in message
...
Rick wrote:
Knowledgable People

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month, more than my leccie and gas added together.

Is this a normal ammount for 2 adults and 2 kids, or should I get a
meter fitted .........

Thanks
Rick

Unless you have a meter the charges are based on the Council Tax band of
your house. I used to pay about 40 quid a month, after the (free) fitting
of a meter it dropped to 21 quid. There are only two of us though.

Ring the water company - they are obliged by law to fit a free meter if
you ask. Note, however, you can never go back to the un-metered state.



Put your own meter in for a while and analyse the potential savings (if any)
before committing yourself

"Rick" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 Jan 2005 22:38:19 -0000, "Mike" wrote:


"Rick" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:36:19 GMT, "wounded horse"
wrote:

Wish I knew how to get my gas and electricity down to under £40-00 a
month
combined. 5 of us here and gas and electricity are £45 a month EACH
averaged over the year.


Switch suppliers every year, heat the house to 18 degrees. Insulate -
All decorating jobs start with working out how much insulation you can
stuff in.

And train tje kids to turn things off - SHMBO is impossible to train,
so kids go round after her .........

That reminds me what I've been after for some time - has anybody ever
seen a
PIR that comes in a nice round brass package to match 12v halogen bulbs.
Or
something else nice looking (i.e. not a rectangular plastic box) ?

I've got a very long corridor using about 400W of the things and what I'd
like to do is put sensors at each end on a couple of minutes timer to
save
them being left on all the time.


They have them in offices, or at least they do in a certain high
street bank's offices .........

Yes - and in posh showrooms. But I can't seem to find them anywhere to
actually buy.

Mike wrote:

That reminds me what I've been after for some time - has anybody ever seen a
PIR that comes in a nice round brass package to match 12v halogen bulbs. Or
something else nice looking (i.e. not a rectangular plastic box) ?

How about a replacement switch, still a plastic box but at least not as
ugly as a separate one:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...tch/index.html

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

"Mike" wrote in message
...



If you do get a meter fitted (I wouldn't - it puts off future housebuyers)

What's the evidence for this? It wouldn't put me off and houses seem to sell
with and without meters. I honestly don't think it's an issue. If it is
they're daft, we've saved a huge amount on wter bills - and of course water
itself (which was our intention) - since having a meter installed. We
wouldn't go back to unmetered water.

also install a green water system at the same time to use rainwater for
hoses and if possible flushing the loos.

That's an excellent idea. We collect roofwater for the garden, it's cheap
and simple.

I'm still looking for a suitable grey water flushing system. Wanted one
since 1990 when I saw them used in Canada.

We should pay for what we use, water isn't free - unless you collect it for
yourself. But using processed drinking water for anything other than
drinking is mad.

Mary

Mary Fisher wrote:

If you do get a meter fitted (I wouldn't - it puts off future housebuyers)


What's the evidence for this? It wouldn't put me off and houses seem to sell
with and without meters. I honestly don't think it's an issue. If it is

It is a bit of a non issue round here now, when you change the billing
details on a property at sale time, they come and fit a meter
automatically so you don't get the choice.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 18:43:46 GMT, Rick wrote:

Knowledgable People

I am wondering if I am getting ripped off for my water bills, I am
paying 40 quid a month, more than my leccie and gas added together.

Is this a normal ammount for 2 adults and 2 kids, or should I get a
meter fitted .........

Thanks
Rick

OK I've had LOADS of probs with my bill since we moved. one bill was
for 666£ - about 3 years bills. Then they charged me for the time my
old rented place was empty. They've took too much by DD and I will be
ringing them up again soon.

--
http://searchfreebies.co.uk/freebies/index.php
freebies blog

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

If you do get a meter fitted (I wouldn't - it puts off future
housebuyers)

What's the evidence for this?

I think it was that guy on Channel 4's Selling Houses who said it. I know
he can be a bit overbearing sometimes but he does seem to understand the
issues. Of course it depends on the people buying but I would imagine for
large families it is most likely to be an issue, less so with couples who
only shower.



I'm still looking for a suitable grey water flushing system. Wanted one
since 1990 when I saw them used in Canada.

Do you mean the ones with the handbasin in the top of the cistern ? Some
Italian companies have these though they aren't in their UK catalogues as we
are perceived to have more than enough water in the UK


We should pay for what we use, water isn't free

Quite agree.


unless you collect it for yourself.

We have a spring and after filtering, storage, pumping and UV cleansing it
certainly isn't free :-)

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

If you do get a meter fitted (I wouldn't - it puts off future
housebuyers)

What's the evidence for this?

I think it was that guy on Channel 4's Selling Houses who said it.

That's not evidence though ...

I know
he can be a bit overbearing sometimes but he does seem to understand the
issues. Of course it depends on the people buying but I would imagine for
large families it is most likely to be an issue, less so with couples who
only shower.

When we were a large family (seven) we didn't have a water meter but did
have a gas and electricity meter so we bathed in the same water. We didn't
have a shower.


I'm still looking for a suitable grey water flushing system. Wanted one
since 1990 when I saw them used in Canada.

Do you mean the ones with the handbasin in the top of the cistern ?

No, they just didn't use ultra-purified water. I didn't think to ask where
it came from :-(


We should pay for what we use, water isn't free

Quite agree.


unless you collect it for yourself.

We have a spring and after filtering, storage, pumping and UV cleansing it
certainly isn't free :-)

Quite. But even if you live in a big city, like us, and use mains water, it
has to go through those systems. And, sadly, much of it is wasted.

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

If you do get a meter fitted (I wouldn't - it puts off future
housebuyers)

What's the evidence for this?

I think it was that guy on Channel 4's Selling Houses who said it.

That's not evidence though ...

I think it's advice you ignore at your own peril

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

If you do get a meter fitted (I wouldn't - it puts off future
housebuyers)

What's the evidence for this?

I think it was that guy on Channel 4's Selling Houses who said it.

That's not evidence though ...

I think it's advice you ignore at your own peril

I'd need more than that and haven't seen anything except opinion.

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

If you do get a meter fitted (I wouldn't - it puts off future
housebuyers)

What's the evidence for this?

I think it was that guy on Channel 4's Selling Houses who said it.

That's not evidence though ...

I think it's advice you ignore at your own peril

I'd need more than that and haven't seen anything except opinion.

Mary

AFAIK you're not thinking of fitting a meter so why would you need anything
? Methinks you are playing devil's advocate a bit too much.

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

If you do get a meter fitted (I wouldn't - it puts off future
housebuyers)

What's the evidence for this?

I think it was that guy on Channel 4's Selling Houses who said it.

That's not evidence though ...

I think it's advice you ignore at your own peril

I'd need more than that and haven't seen anything except opinion.

Mary

AFAIK you're not thinking of fitting a meter so why would you need
anything

Ours was fitted about two years ago. We made our own decision based on the
evidence of our own experiences and that of published figures. I wanted to
do it many years ago, Spouse was more cautious but he certainly wouldn't
return to a non-metered supply. Metering water makes sense.


? Methinks you are playing devil's advocate a bit too much.

You're entitled to think what you like - but you have no evidence for that
:-)

By the way, we don't have a television so aren't influenced by those who
appear on it.

Mary