Hotel disputes £15k water bill due to faulty meter

A hotel in Torbay is withholding £15,000 from a water company in a dispute over estimated bills.

The Livermead Cliff Hotel said it had been overcharged by thousands of pounds in estimated charges as its water meter was not connected.

The bills go back to between 2012 and 2014 - when it is claimed the meter was known to be faulty but was not replaced by the hotel's supplier.

Pennon Water Services said it always worked with customers to investigate any consumption concerns.

Anthony Rew, the hotel's director, said they first identified the meter was faulty in 2014.

"We went out to the meter, went to read it, couldn't read it," he said.

"[We] put our hand inside where the meter was and pulled the meter out.

"It wasn't even attached."

Mr Rew said during a three-and-a-half-year period they were overcharged 7.5 cubic meters of water daily, when they would normally use 5.5 cubic meters.

He said bills had returned to normal since the meter was replaced.

The hotel boss said the business had been overcharged by £15,000 and he called on the water company to compromise.

"Basically, we just want to sit down, talk with them and say: 'Look, we've been overcharged for this period of three-and-a-half years,'" he said.

The hotel has been threatened with disconnection in the six-year dispute.

Pennon Water Services said in a statement: "We will always work with our customers to investigate the cause of any consumption concerns.

"We have different allowances depending on different scenarios to help bring in line a customer's bill with their own average usage."