The OneEyedMan

A word of warning on DEWA bills. These are sent out by email on about the 20th of the month. You also get an SMS notification.

I don't know if anyone else had the same problem, but I did not receive the statements and SMS for August and September. Murphy's Law kicked in of course, and that was the month that I had an underground water leak in my villa.

Not receiving the bill, I didn't notice it was abnormally high (11 times the same month last year). It was only on the next month's reading that the meter reader rang the bell and told us that the meter was racing around like a hamster in a wheel.

At that point I knew I had a problem and managed to fix it. But only after incurring an absurd water bill for the next month of 37 times the normal consumption. And of course the sewerage bill rose in proportion. Ouch.

I contacted DEWA and they said I should have checked my bill online. Typical. No option but to grin and bear it, and thank God for good health and a rainy day fund.

So I have set a monthly reminder in my calendar to check that I have received the bill. Another option is to set up automatic repayment so that you receive an SMS from the bank.

Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

scrubbedexpat141

37 times my Dewa bill would make me cry.

jam25mack

We had this years ago. We noticed that the bill was getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Contacted Dewa and they sent technician's out who changed the meter etc but all stayed the same. They said our 4 bed villa was using the same as a small hotel. In the end we ended up attaching a hose to just after the meter and shut off the feed the villa. The hose went straight to the tank on the roof and every few days we turned it on for 20 mins or so. The bills dropped like a stone. Water must have been pissing out somewhere and I wouldn't be surprised to see serious structural damage to the villa if it wasn't fixed quick smart. We left the villa a month later and informed the landlord but I bet he did nothing. As such, look out for a villa in Mirdif falling subsiding sometime soon.

mission

so how much was your actual bill?


I assume these kind of issues are prone to happen if you live in a villa, as apposed to a high rise apartment?

Millhouse

you tend to notice a massive water leak in an apartment.

I had the opposite "problem" when I lived in the ranches. One day, the water meter just stopped counting. My water consumption then went to something similar to the local golf course and my garden was like a rain forest.

The OneEyedMan

The water bill was dh3,568 in September, and a whopping 8,921.42 in October. In the same months last year, with 2 more people living in the house, it was dh318 and dh240 respectively.

That's not all. The sewerage bill is linked, so that was dh705 and dh1,734 for Sep & Oct. It's usually about 50 chips a month.

I live in a 3 bedroom villa with a small garden.

I asked around and hidden water leaks are a common occurrence in villas.

mission

holy crapola!

The OneEyedMan

As a postscript, while I was at the DEWA office on 13-Nov trying and failing dismally to get a discount on the bill issued on 18-Oct, they cut off the water and electricity to my villa. I paid immediately, and they charged me dh100 reconnection fee.

There is no messing with these guys!

Irishbeekeeper

fixed that for ya!

Millhouse

"For water, expatriates living in apartments will pay Dh7.84 per 1,000 litres in the green band (up to 700 litres per day) and Dh10.41 per 1,000 litres in the red band.

The water tariff for expatriates living in villas will be Dh7.84 per 1,000 litres in green band (up to 5,000 litres a day) and Dh10.41 per 1,000 litres in red band.

The electricity tariff for Emiratis living in villas will be 6.7 fils per kWh in the lower green band (up to 400 kWh per day) and 7.5 fils per kWh in red band.

For water, emirates living in apartments will pay Dh2.09 per 1,000 litres in the green band (up to 700 litres per day) and Dh2.60 per 1,000 litres in the red band."

Mogs

This happened to me years ago. Also, to give more closure to the option of claiming the DEWA money back - neither the landlords insurance nor my contents insurance covered the excess water usage - the landlords insurance covered the repair required to fix the leak to the tank (about a 20 Dhs stopcock floaty thing that had broken, hence the water kept spewing out underground without showing any signs on the surface of the garden).

My bill was about 12,000 one month (noticed around 10 days into month 2, and month 2 bill was another 8,000). Bastar*s - DEWA and Insurance Companies

The OneEyedMan

Yes, it puts a bit of a dampener on your day, paying 3 years' worth of bill in 1 month.

I find it helps to declaim passionately for a Bar Steward, and to receive therefrom several receptacles of grain-based beverage.