Huge Water Bill - Water Stolen or Meter Tampered With?

We have bought a property in April this year Villamartin El Galan and have just had 3 large bills getting bigger each time. We are not living here and have only been over a handful of times when we recently got the last two bills.

1st bill for only 4 units of water was 64 euros! (1.5 months). The bulk of this bill is for drainage charge even though only 4 units consumed?

2nd bill 44 units of water was 167 euros! (2 months).

3rd bill was a massive 250 units of water 1024 euros!! (2 months).

Our neighbor showed us his last 2 bills and was only19 units at 85 euros for each bi monthly bill.

We are with Gestagua. We have had a plumber round who says there is no leak and the meter readings last week seem fine, used only 0.5 unit in one week.
Does anybody know of water theft in the Villamartin area or could the water board fiddle the meter as we are new homeowners?

Any advice would be greatfull.

That's obviously too much. You will pay around €50 for each quarterly bill (water bills are quarterly, electric is either monthly or two monthly) in charges which include sewerage, rubbish collection, taxes and so on with the water charge on top. However, an average bill (without pool) should only be around 70 euro a quarter (maybe a bit more with irrigation system but not much more.)
Do you leave your water on when you are not there? Someone could be using your outside tap but, even then, that last bill is very excessive.
Turn your water off and then look at the meter, if it is still turning then there is obviously a leak.
No, aguagest wouldn't be fiddling the bill but you need to go and see them (office in Orihuela Town Hall) and find out why they are so high.

Thanks for your comment marcliff.

The water was left on when we was not there. We paid a plumber to check for leaks and there is no leak? We took readings when we was last there each day and everything seems normal. We checked ourselves turned everything of for a few hours the meter did not move no spinning and the reading was identical?

There is an outside tap with hose connected to fill the pool but the property has 6 foot walls its not easy to get into and how long would it take to fill a water truck, all day? Our neighbours next door and at the back have told us they have noticed nothing unusual?

We have complained at the water office about the last bill but they just say the reading is correct? We have paid all the bills as we don't want to be cut off, but how do we prevent it when we don't live there?

Its either water theft or they have fiddled the meter?

We had similar problems a few years back with one bill being just under 2,000 euros and with not being there but back in the UK our minds were working overtime with possible scenarios of people stealing the water to the water company ripping us off, just like yourselves.

Our problems turned out to be on one occasion a split pipe in the garden and on another I had stupidly back washed the pool minutes before leaving for the airport and subsequently leaving the valves open, so when the timer kicked in the pool backwashed and the pool has auto fill system.

I would suggest either the tap to the pool hose was left open slightly or the toilet cistern was cocked over and leaking into the toilet (these are common water issues).

One thing we have learned whenever returning home is to shut off the water before the meter and remove the valve handle, it is cheaper than replacing any pool pump parts that suffer from lack of water.

Your middle bill seems to fit with a partial pool fill, depending on the pool size.

Good luck finding what has caused your issue.

I bought my Holiday home (Toretta Florida) in Jan 2016 and every Water bill I've received from Aquas del Arco Mediterraneo has been astronomical -I've only been in Torrevieja for 18 days (4 x trips) this year and yet each Bill is anything between 60-90euros - I suspect new owners are signed up to a Tourist Tariff as my next door neighbours who are residents tell me their bills are circa 100Euros a year! What can be done? - I have written to Customer Counsel Office, Water Management and asked them to investigate why my Bills are so big

Interesting Article Costa Blanca People "Water Company Scam" worth a read.