Water Meter Query

[joannewatson]

My dad had a water meter installed last May, he lived on his own and died at the end of May. The property has been vacant ever since. My sister is now in the process of buying it and wants it taken out as she is a familty of 5 and its going to be extremely expensive. However, they will not take it out as she was not living there at the time. She is thinking about telling them she was living there so they will take it out but I'm concerned about that as there has been no council tax to pay as it has been vacant and I'm not sure if they would find out. I dont want to do anything dodgy, any advice will be welcomed, thanks.

[gingejbee]

Not a good idea . Water companies have contacts at local councils - The councils used to collect water rates before "direct billing" and would soon find out that the property was vacant.

[gingejbee]

...and also , no water will have been used since May - how will she explain that?

[its_me_baby]

http://www.thisismone...496229&in_page_id=513

[tamborine]

While the property is empty there's no council tax costs; if sis claims otherwise the council will bill her for the vacant period.

Sis could claim to renew plumbing, as an excuse to have the meter removed.

[gingejbee]

But, by law, the property now has no right to an unmetered supply.

[mccfluff]

i'm sure if you put a meter in, you can;t then go back to unmetered. even if you didn;t put it in.

[brenda]

If you have a water meter fitted to youfr property. you have 12 months to change your mind--- after that it stays. If you die the new owners of the property are committed to the water meter it will not be removed.

[pink-kittens]

why would you want it removed? Meters are a cheaper option more than likely, our WR went down bu half after having a meter fro a year to get the average
It also makes you conscious of the amount of water you are using which can only ever be a good thing

[notlynx]

I think we all have to be very aware of how precious our water is and use it wisely. It may be worrying to think you'll have big water bills, but there are lots of ways to economise on your family's usage. Invest in water butts (if possible), and a really good shower will pay dividends,(sorry,that means cutting back on the lovely deep, hot baths!)There are all sorts of other ways to save, including pumps to harvest "grey water" I use "grey" water for all outside cleaning, not purified tap water, and always water plants from the water butts. It's better for the garden anyway, of course. Hope this helps!

[boxtops]

She can't take it out - in fact there is a move afoot that everyone will have a meter fitted before too long. She will just have to start to implement "use less water" with her family. It's true that if a householder has one fitted, you can havea grace period, but not if you buy a house with one already there - once it's in, it's in. It's only fair that people who use more water, pay more than people who don't - we saved a fortune on water bills for the two of us when we had a meter fitted. As suggested, start using a water butt, put a brick in the toilet cistern, don't leave the tap running - there are all sorts of small ways not to waste daily fresh water.

[joannewatson]

Thanks everyone, and yes Ginge thats what I thought and was concerned about so iv said no. The website stated it could cost her at least £1500 per annum but she has since found out she should be able to get it capped.