Application Form
If you think you would like to have a meter fitted, print our, complete and return the application form or go to the online meter option application form here. If you would prefer to have a meter option leaflet sent to you please call: 0845 601 5983
Please read the declaration carefully.
Tenants
Under the terms of the 1999 Water Industry Act, tenants with a fixed term tenancy of six months or less are not allowed to request to have a water meter fitted without their landlord giving approval. Tenants with other types of tenancy do not require their landlord's approval. We recommend that any tenants who request a water meter should contact their landlord to inform them of their intentions before they apply.
If we are unable to contact you on the numbers provided within 3 months we may have to cancel the application and you will need to reapply.
Are you already metered?
If you have a shared supply, which is already metered at the point of connection, it will not be possible to fit a meter on your leg of the pipe.
Interruption to your water supply
During the course of the meter application process, there will be occasions when we need to turn off your water supply to carry out the survey and install your meter. This booklet gives warning of this fact. If you are present when we come to turn off your supply, we will confirm with you that you are happy for us to continue with the interruption at that time, or we will re-arrange to call back if it is not convenient. You should be aware that this may happen at any time during our 45 or 60 working day period.
Meter Survey
Once your application has been returned, you will be provided with details of who to contact to deal with any issues associated with the meter installation process.
Our surveyor will visit your property and check your water supply pipe, make sure that it is possible to fit a meter and identify where it should be located. It is not always necessary for you to be present and WHEREVER POSSIBLE, THE METER WILL BE FITTED AT THIS FIRST VISIT. If it is necessary for the surveyor to discuss your application with you, a mutually convenient appointment will be made in advance of a visit.
If you fail to respond to our contacts within 3 months, your application will be cancelled and you will need to reapply.
Survey and fitting charges for non-domestic customers
There are charges associated with surveying and fitting a meter for non-domestic/business customers. The initial survey costs £51 for the first hour and £27 for each subsequent hour taken to complete it. A specification for any necessary works to internal pipework will be provided. We can carry out this work for you and it will be charged in advance or alternatively you can carry it out yourself . Any necessary changes to the company's supply infrastructure
e.g. stop tap/meter box will be quoted by the surveyor and would be charged to you in advance. Where you undertake the work, an £11 charge will be made to fit the meter, provided the work is done to specification. Any revisit will be charged at £38.
Fitting the Meter
We aim to fit a meter within 45 working days of receipt of the completed application form. This period is extended to 60 working days for applications received during March, April, May and June due to seasonal demand or during promotional periods. If, due to circumstances within our control, we fail to meet these timescales and a meter is eventually fitted, we will end the Rateable Value charge from the first working day after the meter should have been fitted i.e. 45 or 60 working days after the signed application form is received.
If we fail to keep an appointment, we will pay you compensation.
Our surveyor will decide the best location for your new meter with our preferred location being inside the front garden within one metre of your property boundary.
On some occasions we may need to fit the meter inside your property. As standard we now offer a radio read meter for internal installations. This enables us to read the meter from outside the property without disturbing you. If the meter has been fitted internally you will be deemed to have agreed to provide access if the meter needs to be maintained or replaced as necessary by our contractor or us.
You can sometimes choose a different location but this may involve additional costs for which you will be responsible. The surveyor will let you know what these will be and they must be paid before the meter is fitted.
Reading your meter
Your meter will normally be read every six months as long as we can gain access to it. However, we advise you to keep a check on the water you are using by taking regular readings (once per month for domestic customers and weekly for non-domestic customers) as long as it is practical and safe to do so. Reading the meter is quite easy. On the face of the meter you will normally see black and red dials. The black figures show cubic metres (m3) of water used and the red ones show litres, tenths and hundredths of a cubic metre. The red figures are ignored for billing purposes as we only charge on the full cubic metres used. The red ones can be used to check use or leakage.
Non-domestic customers are advised to take weekly meter readings as evidence will be required if applying for a leakage allowance.
Your metered bill
Your first bill will normally arrive within six months of your meter being fitted. Your water and sewerage charges will be based on the reading taken plus a standing charge for each service. The sewerage charge is based on 95% of the water used (the remaining 5% allows for such things as evaporation, garden watering and car washing). Standing charges cover the cost of maintaining the meter, reading it, the cost of surface water and highway drainage and producing your bill.
Will my payment method change?
All payment arrangements remain the same unless you instruct us otherwise.
If you have an existing direct debit we will adjust your amount after taking the first reading. If you pay by instalment book, the instalment value will change and you will be notified once the meter details are entered onto your account. A new book of instalment slips will be sent to you.
Reversion
You may choose to revert to paying on an unmetered basis but this option lapses after you have been billed for a whole year on the metered charge. You will however, have to pay for the water and sewerage service used to-date. Where we have sustained difficulty in accessing and reading the meter of an internally metered customer, we reserve the right to charge on an assessed basis (subject to OFWAT approval). If you sell the property, the new owner will not be able to change back to unmetered charges.
You may not revert back to unmetered charges if any of the following apply:
- you are a non-domestic customer
- you have purchased a property fitted with a meter
- water is used in a power or multiple jet shower
- the principal use of the property is no longer a home
- there is garden watering other than by a handheld device e.g. if a sprinkler is used
- water is used to automatically replenish a swimming pool, pond or lake with a capacity of over 10,000 litres
- water is used in a bath with capacity of over 230 litres
- water is used in a unit incorporating reverse osmosis or in conjunction with a water treatment unit which produces a waste water discharge or which requires the use of water for regeneration or cleaning
- where the property is in an area of water scarcity, as determined by the Secretary of State
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