Goodman-Troll Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 We have just received a water bill for the last 6 months that is 40 (yes, 40) times greater than normal (we have owned the property since 2004). Unfortunately, I can't get a lot of sense out of Lyonnaise-des-Eaux on the telephone - they keep suggesting that I get a plumber to investigate a leak. We occupy the property for around 7 to 10 weeks a year and the water is turned off at the mains when we are not there. Clearly something is wrong. I wanted to check - LdesE say that the meter was last read in 2006 but from what I understand, it is read annually in the summer and estimated in the winter (sadly, I can't find previous bills to verify this) - the meter is in a public access place. Has anyone else had a similar problem and has anyone got any advice on where to go from here? We have checked the meter reading via a friend out there and it matches their reading, sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony F Dordogne Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Don't you check your bills as you go? If the estimate/correction bill was too low when you went to the house between 2006 and now, it may have been a better idea to speak to somebody at your water supplier before now.If the water is off at the mains when you're absent, I'm assuming that the water won't be reaching your home, therefore any leak may be the suppliers side of the stopcock unless of course the stopcock is inside the house and then the leak could be between the metre and the stopcock in which case it's liklely to be down to you.I think calling in a plumber is a good idea and if you have no leak and the meter reading is good, it seems that you've been underpaying for the past few years and they've finally got the bill right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Turn off your water at the stopcock and see if the truc in the meter rotates, if it does you have a leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Take their advice and get a plumber, if you have a leak get a written report and together with the bill from the plumber go along to your water company. Friends of ours had a leak and lost over 3000m3 of water, their bill would have come to €4.673 but thet got a substantial reduction and when the bill arrived it had been reduced to just over €1.300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodman-Troll Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 Thanks for all your advice. We're going to start by checking whether the meter still rotates when our stopcock is turned off. Looks like it's going to be an opportunity to learn some new French vocabulary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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