Mum slapped with £63k water invoice after home leak

One mum is sharing how she was hit with a staggering water bill of £63,000 which has pushed her into debt.

Chantelle Osman, 26, from Exeter raked up this lump sum as a consequence of a leak at her house which she described as a “nightmare”.

While she has been informed she is not going to must pay the invoice, the entire ordeal took months to type out.

When Ms Osman moved into the property in March 2022, she instantly observed leaking issues at her property.

By March 2023, the stay-at-home mum was slapped together with her first big water invoice of over £22,000.

In response to this, Ms Osman reached out for monetary recommendation by way of the Citizens Advice Bureau which contacted South West Water on her behalf.

The organisation confirmed that she wouldn’t must pay however mentioned her housing firm must restore the injury from the leak.

According to Ms Osman, it took South West Water till Tuesday, September 12 to repair the issue.

By that point, the younger mom had already been handed a “shocking” water bill value £63,500.

She defined: “I practically fainted once I noticed that quantity. They mentioned from the start I did not must pay, however it’s taken such a very long time to get it mounted.

“I’ve been worrying all the time about my credit rating, and about my flat and my neighbour below me. I didn’t know where the leak was. It’s been an absolute nightmare.”

“I simply do not perceive the place £63k value of water has gone. But they mentioned it had been absorbed. I actually practically had a coronary heart assault once I obtained the primary invoice.

“It’s just gone up and up since then and I don’t feel like they’ve treated it as an emergency. The leak could have been anywhere. This hasn’t been my lucky home so far. I hope that changes soon.”

A Stonewater spokesperson mentioned: “We are sorry it has taken so lengthy to get this downside mounted and for the stress and inconvenience this has induced our buyer.

“Since the leak was reported to us in June, our contractor has been working at the property to identify the cause of the leak and, after extensive investigation, the leak was fixed on 12 September.

“Stonewater is now working with the water firm to resolve the excellent invoice that was brought on by the leak. We can affirm that our buyer is not going to be charged for this invoice.

“At present, we do not believe there is any structural damage to the property, as the water from the leak appears to have drained into a neighbouring field.

“To affirm this, we’re arranging for an engineer to hold out a structural evaluation of the property. We will preserve our buyer up to date as we all know extra.”