Can United Utilities forcibly fit a water meter?

[Morrisman]

We’ve been on a water meter for years. Much cheaper than before and we don’t go out of our way to save water.
Got a 30 year old daughter who lives in the shower and bathroom!

At my last house there was no meter, and water bill was £64 a month. 3 years ago I moved to a bungalow that already had a meter. My current bill is £18 a month.

On BBC news yesterday there was an article about British Gas agents illegally breaking into people homes to fit pay as you go meters.

British Gas admits agents break into struggling customers' homes

Its boss expresses "horror" that agents entered customers' homes to fit prepayment meters.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Shox Dr]

I'm stocking up on baco-foil.

Not as daft as some would make out. Especially if you have a Smart Meter

 

[reb78]

Following the talk of smart meters being used to move peoples tariffs or even put them onto a pre-payment system... i just wondered. What happens if you 'accidently' drop them and then drop a big hammer on them by 'accident'? Or, even more innocent, the batteries run out? Presumably, providing you havent already been moved to pre-payment, the supply just reverts to a hardwired/plumbed meter reading? I dont have one so its just a hypothetical question! For those on a prepayment via their smart meter, what happens to them if the smart meter fails in some way? Are they immediately cut off?

 

[Onoff]

Won't affect us as we are already metered (a farm).

We got a letter a few years back saying they were coming to fit a water meter. Rang and emailed to say we already had one. Before the land was sub divided it was a small holding. Our subsequent plot got to keep the meter.

Cam back one day to find a second meter had been fitted. Fun times ensued, eventually they took one out.

 

[Morrisman]

I'm stocking up on baco-foil.

A mate of mine, uber conspiracy theorist, hates anything that is considered normal or generally accepted, linked me to an article where some women was complaining about splitting headaches and wierd nightmares, all cause by her smart electric meter.

I have NO idea how that could possibly be, as they send their signal back down the power supply, not through the ether.

The woman probably had wifi in her house as well, but that wasn't mentioned....

 

[Stueeee]

If your on a sewer, does the water bill usage get used for billing the sewer rate ?
If so, the rain water system would pay off quicker.
You doo get rain there do you ?

We are in the process of being changed over from flat rate billing to (compulsorily) a water meter. AFAIK, the sewage element of the bill will still be flat rate.

But, by default our supplier, Thames Water has always charged an extra amount on the bill for surface water (i.e. rain water drainage) I got them to delete this from our bill as we have soakaway drainage for all the buildings here. They did huff about their right to inspect/survey the site, but did remove the charge.

 

[Morrisman]

We got a letter a few years back saying they were coming to fit a water meter. Rang and emailed to say we already had one. Before the land was sub divided it was a small holding. Our subsequent plot got to keep the meter.

Cam back one day to find a second meter had been fitted. Fun times ensued, eventually they took one out.

My water meter is actually in the street, on the pavement, down a hole, so effectively not even 'mine' as it were. Severn Trent are metering the water before it gets to my property. Not that it bothers me, but there could be e legal point if ever I wanted to make one.

 

[Morrisman]

We are in the process of being changed over from a flat rate billing (compulsorily) to a water meter. AFAIK, the sewage element of the bill will still be flat rate.

But, by default our supplier, Thames Water has always charged an extra amount on the bill for surface water (i.e. rain water drainage) I got them to delete this from our bill as we have soakaway drainage for all the buildings here. They did huff about their right to inspect/survey the site, but did remove the charge.

I have soakaways, nothing from the sky goes to the drains or leaves the property.

I'm charged for sewage etc as a percentage of the water I use on the meter, but like you, I could argue that I shouldn't be paying for surface water removal. For what it would save I can't be bothered with the hassle.

 

[Erie Fred]

My water meter is actually in the street, on the pavement, down a hole, so effectively not even 'mine' as it were. Severn Trent are metering the water before it gets to my property. Not that it bothers me, but there could be e legal point if ever I wanted to make one.

Yup, mine is in the house, at the basement wall. In your case (seen many instances around here) you are responsible for anything past the meter,(as well as I am) but yours involves monitoring the buried line for leakage, and fixing it on your own dime/time.

 

[Nomad]

A mate of mine, uber conspiracy theorist, hates anything that is considered normal or generally accepted, linked me to an article where some women was complaining about splitting headaches and wierd nightmares, all cause by her smart electric meter.

I have NO idea how that could possibly be, as they send their signal back down the power supply, not through the ether.

The woman probably had wifi in her house as well, but that wasn't mentioned....

I met 2 people last year (unrelated meetings) who refused to have electric blankets on the bed or have bedside lights next to the bed - due to the electrical energies given off by the electrical circuits.

They seemed fairly normal apart from that (not sure what that says about them - or about my idea of normal !)

 

[ajlelectronics]

I have NO idea how that could possibly be, as they send their signal back down the power supply, not through the ether.

Not actually! They use cellular networks, like your 'phone does.

 

[Morrisman]

I met 2 people last year (unrelated meetings) who refused to have electric blankets on the bed or have bedside lights next to the bed - due to the electrical energies given off by the electrical circuits.

They seemed fairly normal apart from that (not sure what that says about them - or about my idea of normal !)

Have you see the 'earthing beds' you can buy, that connect you to ground, so you can sleep?

Of course, numerous 5* reviews stating how brilliant they are and how they have changed peoples lives......

 

[Morrisman]

Not actually! They use cellular networks, like your 'phone does.

So they have a SIM in etc, like them tracker buttons you stick on bikes and dogs?

 

[ajlelectronics]

So they have a SIM in etc, like them tracker buttons you stick on bikes and dogs?

That's right and they typically use the 2G networks, which is going to cause more grief when the 2G services are turned off in the near future.

 

[MetalMonkey]

I have NO idea how that could possibly be, as they send their signal back down the power supply, not through the ether.

Actually it depends where you are in the country.

Those in the South use 2G/3G cell networks, those in the North use Long Range Radio.
In some places there are certain exclusion zones because of the interference they can cause.

 

[reb78]

That's right and they typically use the 2G networks, which is going to cause more grief when the 2G services are turned off in the near future.

So linked to my question above, if it no longer transmits will people be cut off?

 

[Onoff]

My water meter is actually in the street, on the pavement, down a hole, so effectively not even 'mine' as it were. Severn Trent are metering the water before it gets to my property. Not that it bothers me, but there could be e legal point if ever I wanted to make one.

Ours got complicated. Originally there was no front fence. Stopcock at the road boundary then the meter a few metres into the garden. I put a fence up with the meter inside the fence. They put the new meter next to the stopcock outside the fence.

The neighbours meter went in on our fence boundary. One time we got their massive bill!

When I had to replace the old iron main, the water co tried saying the pipe from the road stopcock / new meter was my responsibility. I pointed out the original meter position. In the end I just dug the trench and made the connection to the new meter with MDPE.

 

[ajlelectronics]

So linked to my question above, if it no longer transmits will people be cut off?

It is my opinion that...

The top up is done online, so the power company's server is updated. That then signals the meter to allow X units to be taken. If the communication is disabled, the top up cannot be allocated, but then nor can the power off signals be actioned.

 

[MetalMonkey]

Following the talk of smart meters being used to move peoples tariffs or even put them onto a pre-payment system... i just wondered. What happens if you 'accidently' drop them and then drop a big hammer on them by 'accident'? Or, even more innocent, the batteries run out? Presumably, providing you havent already been moved to pre-payment, the supply just reverts to a hardwired/plumbed meter reading? I dont have one so its just a hypothetical question! For those on a prepayment via their smart meter, what happens to them if the smart meter fails in some way? Are they immediately cut off?

If you "accidentally" drop a hammer on an electricity meter or a gas meter, I suspect how it communicates is going to be the very least of your problems.....

If the meter stops communicating then usually the energy supplier will either contact you or send you an estimated bill.
AFAIK if the meter goes faulty, it is typically the electronics that pack in so the display won't work and/or it won't communicate/record.

If you have intentionally tampered with the meter, then it would be classed as theft.

 

[PhillipM]

Have you see the 'earthing beds' you can buy, that connect you to ground, so you can sleep?

Of course, numerous 5* reviews stating how brilliant they are and how they have changed peoples lives......

Same people that claim they feel so much better after fitting 'earthing strips' to their cars I bet.