# Excessive Water Bills



## Huggy823 (Dec 18, 2015)

Hi, guys, I'm new to the forum and have searched for an answer but none really help. We purchased a 2 bed townhouse last year near Villamartin and have now summarised the utility bills. Over the last 7 months our water bill is 450 euros and we have only stayed in the villa for 7 weeks the remaining time the water is turned off. Are we paying to much? We have never had a paper water bill as far as I can see from the supplier company F.Agua.
Any advice would be appreciated here.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Huggy823 said:


> Hi, guys, I'm new to the forum and have searched for an answer but none really help. We purchased a 2 bed townhouse last year near Villamartin and have now summarised the utility bills. Over the last 7 months our water bill is 450 euros and we have only stayed in the villa for 7 weeks the remaining time the water is turned off. Are we paying to much? We have never had a paper water bill as far as I can see from the supplier company F.Agua.
> Any advice would be appreciated here.


Yes .
Turn off everything in house & if meter is rotating then there is a leak somewhere. which being your side ofmeter would be down to you. Have you an outside tap ? If so It wouldn't surprise me to find that someone is using it when you aren't there.


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## Huggy823 (Dec 18, 2015)

Thanks Gus-Lopez, we will check to see if the meter is still turning as the water is all switched off at the moment. Re the tap, this is already secured but a leak could account for the excess. .....I Hope not!


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## raynard (Nov 26, 2014)

We had the same problem a few years ago,close by ,All the meters were in a box,the meter that we had to pay for was numbered wrong ,and we were paying for a villa that was used all the time ,and ours was only used for holidays.It took a while for the water Co to put right.


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## Huggy823 (Dec 18, 2015)

Thanks Raynard, we are back in the UK at the moment but will ask a friend to check if the meter is moving at all and if it is we know something is wrong!!! 65 euros per month for the last 7 months is steep! especially when we don't live there. I will update the results.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

We are a family of 5 living here all year 'round. We top the pool up, water the plants etc.etc. Our bill is rarely more than 65€ PER QUARTER!!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Sounds like a lot to me too. I'm single in a one-bedroom apartment and pay about 5 euros a month!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Ours is between 6 and 12 euros _a quarter_, but we pay the ayuntamiento direct (there is no third party supplier).


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

My bill arrived this morning, €31.14 for two months (2 of us in a 3 bed house), no pool or garden to water.


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## margott (Dec 11, 2015)

AllHeart said:


> Sounds like a lot to me too. I'm single in a one-bedroom apartment and pay about 5 euros a month!


Hi I will be looking to rent a 2 bed apartment long term in 2016, can you advise me of rental costs, and other utility prices. My Uk pension is approx £800 per month. I won't be running a car, don't smoke, like to drink socially. In your opinion would I be able to manage on my pension.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

margott said:


> Hi I will be looking to rent a 2 bed apartment long term in 2016, can you advise me of rental costs, and other utility prices. My Uk pension is approx £800 per month. I won't be running a car, don't smoke, like to drink socially. In your opinion would I be able to manage on my pension.


Currently £800 a month will give you around 1080 euros. If the exchange rate drops you will get less, if it rises you will get more. When we arrived here in December 2008 that £800 would have given you barely 800 euros.
Some will tell you that yes, you'll manage. My opinion is that £800 leaves you very little wiggle room for those emergencies that crop up. Dental treatment isn't cheap, to give one example. 
It really all depends on where you choose to live. Where I live you'd have to pay at least 500 euros a month for a two bedroomed apartment, plus utilities. The Costas Blanca and Brava will have cheaper accommodation for rent.
If you're not driving a car you'll need to be in an area with good public transport. If you speak no Spanish you'll need to be in an area with lots of British immigrants.
If you are renting and it doesn't work out will you have the option of returning to the UK?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Our water bills for 2014 have averaged at 140 euros a month, including sewerage.. We have a pool and large garden which we irrigate in summer. I thought this was a reasonable amount, all things considered...
However....we have just discovered a leak in a garden irrigation pipe, a leak from which we were losing a lot of water and which may have been ongoing for a year or more.
The plumber assures us our bills will now be halved....
Vamos a ver.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

snikpoh said:


> We are a family of 5 living here all year 'round. We top the pool up, water the plants etc.etc. Our bill is rarely more than 65€ PER QUARTER!!


Do you have a septic tank or mains drainage?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Personally, I would say that £800 is too low - but then that's just my opinion.

Around here rent for a two bed can be as low as 250€ per month. Add on electric at 50€ and water at 20€, basura, taxes etc. plus you would need a car and it all soon mounts up.

Prescriptions aren't always free (although for the over 65 it looks like they are in this area now).


I would say, could you live on that amount in UK? If so, then you might be OK here.


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