Agamed - water leak on their pipe, 270 euro refund offered on 775.40 euro bill

Was the leak underground? In the house? at the meter - which side? Is there a pressure regulator on your side of the meter?

Not had the same as when our house is empty we employ a company - person to check in on the vacant property.

If a minder is not possible, maybe turn off the water after the meter for any time the home will be vacant so it does not happen in the future again or in these every extreme weather patterns, it will not freeze and burst.

Hi, the leak was about 10 feet from the meter under the public pathway outside a neighbour's house and well before our house or garden so there was no damage to our property at all. We do always close the stopcock before we leave, but as the leak was in the path we would never have been aware of it until the meter reading. We were  England from the August so completely unaware of problem. 

So if I’m reading this correctly, the leak had to be from your side of the meter, for it to be registering on your meter.

It’s quite common for a meter reader to switch off the supply when they think there’s been a high reading, but it’s just a case of reopening the valve once you’ve had the leak repaired. 

If the meter is not situated on your property you are still responsible for for the supply from the meter onwards, even if it is underground and not on your property. . This is why it’s always recommended that you turn your water off from the meter if you are leaving the property empty for any period of time.

Normally in these situations you would contact your insurance company, who had presumably advised you to have cover for water leaks  and they would then deal with the water company on your behalf, without the need for you employing a solicitor. 

 Was the repair on the ground maintained by the community, was that the reason why the community insurance company was involved?  When you had your meeting with the water company,  (did your insurance company not go with you) did they not explain there and then  how they arrived at that figure as that’s when the reduction is negotiated . 

Lynn

You say you turn the stopcock off, but is that after the meter(like in Uk in the house) or at the meter as you have to turn the tap off at the meter otherwise it still reads incoming water. If the leak was before the meter in the path how did your meter record that, surely it would not have affected the meter. Something fishy about their so called reading. I had similar leak, on pipe before the meter but thankfully we turn the on/off tap off at the meter(in the campo) and the water Company came and replaced pipe same day. 

All you can do is argue with them their pipe, their cost, and dont pay it. If necessary take translator to their local office and fight it. 

Regards 

Pauline 

Hi, yes it's a lesson learned to turn off water at the meter. The Community accepted responsibility to locate and mend the leak but said they couldn't help with the bill because they couldn't get involved with Agamed on behalf of individual cases. 

Once the Community had accepted responsibility for the leak, our home insurance washed their hands, I didn't know they would accompany us to offices Agamed. 

My Spanish is quite good and Agamed said  we had to wait to hear about a refund. We had to go home couple of days later. The revised bill came about 2 weeks after y email. 

Thank you all for your helpful replies. I'm going to go back to basics and contact our home insurers and see what they say. Maybe we can claim the 500 euros through them. A a point of principle I'd also like claim the estimated bill for the whole quarter when we had no water supply from December to when the leak was fixed at end of February. 

Still don’t understand why your own insurance hasn’t helped you  are you not covered for water leaks under your policy? 

Most dedicated water leak repair companies will visit within 24 hours, so you should have been able to get  the leak repaired as soon as you returned to your property. 

Switching your water off from the meter is just a safeguard against huge bills from water leaks - it doesn’t mean you are “without water”  -  you are still liable for the basic charges.But if the water was switched off when the meter was read in December, then the next bill you received in March should have the correct water usage.

Yes , go back to your insurers and get them to explain  what you are covered for and they’ll usually give you housekeeping advice on securing your property when vacant  not just water , but electricity and squatters etc. you should also have a contact number from them in case you need advice on emergencies. 

Your insurance policy may only cover you for one claim per year for water leaks, so if the leaks occurred over a couple of bills then make sure both bills are included in the one claim - your insurer will confirm if that’s the case.

Lynn