News
£8k Water Bill For Bookshop After Water Leak
If you were wondering just how important water leak detection actually is and how badly leaks can affect businesses of all shapes and sizes, take the story of a bookshop that found itself hit with bills totalling almost £8,000 as a serious cautionary tale.
According to Kent Online, the Weigh Inn Christian bookshop and cafe in Dover suffered a huge underfloor leak that saw 2,000 litres an hour of water wasted – and the owners say the resulting bills could see them forced to shut up shop for good.
Co-owner Ann Walton, 78, explained that they had no idea how the leak happened nor how long it had been going on for, since water readings are only taken every six months. She went on to say that if the whole sum is paid, then the business would have to close.
“There is no way we can pay. We rang Affinity for Business, who sent the first bill, and they said we should know we had a leak. How should we know?” she was quoted by the news source as saying.
A 2” split in lead piping was discovered below the shop floor back in November after a routine reading, with a follow-up visit a few days later revealing the full extent of the damage.
Not only is the bookshop faced with these hefty water bills, it’s also sustained serious water damage, with ruined plaster and rotted wood thanks to the water soaking its way through.
Charlie Elphicke, Dover MP, made further comments, saying: “The leak has been a nightmare for the Weigh Inn bookshop, which is a fantastic local business. But they are a small independent business and cannot afford this bill incurred through no fault of their own.”
As you can see, it’s vital that you do all you can as a business to make sure you know whether or not you have a leak, as costs can quickly spiral if you do and it goes unnoticed for some time.
The problem is that the majority of leaks are so small that they’re incredibly difficult to identify or they’re tucked away underground, out of sight and out of mind… so they’re again very hard to spot!
Water leaks are in fact a leading cause of unnecessary costs on water bills, whether the cause is general wear and tear, faulty pipes, bad plumbing or accidental damage.
That’s why you need a company like H2O Building Services on your side, perfectly placed with all the necessary skills and experience to help you find water leaks quickly and effectively, so the problem can be resolved before any serious damage is sustained.
If you’d like to find out more about what we can do to help you and your business, get in touch with us today.