Water leak..............any ideas ?

[Joe1965]

I arrived in Spain in October to find a water bill for over 900 euros !!!

Shocked wasn't the word.

Checked the meter and it was whizzing round. Went to Santa Pola water office who sent someone to check the meter and contacted insurance who sent a plumber to fix the leak.

No damage as such as the leak was underground near to the pavement close to the meter but inside my "garden".

Insurance paid for the leak but they said i do not have cover for the water bill.

Before i left to come home I took the bill from the plumber to the water company who said they would look into reducing the bill.

They did.


............to 700 euros !


There is most likely another bill of the same amount on the way as the leak cut across two billing periods.

Any ideas and help as to what I can do other than plead with them to reduce it more.

Not a good week.

:-(

Thanks in advance.

Joe

[Keith and Jen]

There are taps either side of our meter.  I turn them both off before leaving for the UK.  If you don't have taps, see whether you can get some fitted.

Keith

[Blue and white stripes]

Same thing happened to me twice, all because of our automatic watering system needing the water left on. Hidragua reduced my bill both times because the water didn't go into the sewers but still ended up with bills of 346 and 358 euros plus the cost of the repairs. I've had new pipe laid from the meter up to the house but have now become paranoid and check the meters every day. On the bright side I know of someone who had a bill for 4000 euros so it could have been worse.
On my other house I had the opposite problem - no water. The pressure reducing valve had seized and that cost me 150 euros. I have decided that water and me don't get on.

[kevinb]

I bought a Hozelock automatic watering system for my house in the UK, whilst in Spain the damn thing leaked into the battery compartment and it stopped working, these things can't cope with high mains pressure, I have found a workaround for this though. I personally wouldn't have automatic watering for my house in GA as I wouldn't sleep knowing I could get a collosal bill when the equipment leaks. I always turn both valves off on my meter, it doesn't bear thinking about if a major leak started while we are absent.

[Stuart159]

Happened to me 3 months after getting the keys. I could here the sound of running water every time I walked past the meter cupboard. Turned out there was a leak under the front garden near the outside tap. Luckily at the time MASA were still covering the water bills so, naturally, repaired it pronto. Now I have a slight leak at the tap on the house side of the meter. Going to visit the office in Santa Pola this week.

[Tony Gillam]

Some years back, I had a leak on the hose from the meter and ended up with a €400 bill. From the figures being bandied about on this thread, I got off lightly.

[Joe1965]

Thanks folks.
I will go to Santa Pola and plead with them.

Who knows.
if you don't try you don't get.

In the meantime ...............anyone want to start up a water company with me ?
Seems like I'm in the wrong job !
Cheers