Decision Report 201609351

Summary

Mr C complained that Clear Business Water overcharged him for water usage. He said that the meter reading showed a higher consumption of water usage than his previous readings. Mr C also complained that he was unfairly charged for a replacement water meter. Clear Business Water investigated this complaint but found no failings in terms of the charges applied.

Clear Business Water advised Mr C that higher water usage can indicate a leak. Mr C had his property checked but found no leaks and believed that his water meter was faulty. He agreed for his water meter to be removed for testing and was advised that he would have to pay for the new meter installation, if his old one was found to be in working order. An accuracy test was carried out and the results showed that there was no fault with the recording of water usage.

We found that whilst Clear Business Water had acknowledged that the increase in usage may suggest a fault, at no stage was it confirmed that the meter was faulty or that it was being replaced because of a fault. In addition, although a marked increase in water usage had been noted, this in itself was not evidence of a fault with the water meter.

In terms of the charge applied for the replacement water meter, we found that Clear Business Water had provided clear advice in that Mr C would need to pay a charge if the original water meter was tested and found to be recording accurately. We found that they acted reasonably and, therefore, we did not uphold Mr C's complaints.