£4300 Electricity Bill!

gt_junkie · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:13

TheDean said:
We've always been on estimates and they tend to estimate about £50 lower than our usage so I can't complain

TheDean said:
Nope, as I always compare my meter reading to their estimate one. Can never lose

This makes no sense!

It will always come back to the ultimate 'real world' meter reading no matter what. Estimates are just that - a pure guestimate of your usage based on previous actual readings. The company will want money for all the electricity you've used.

How long have you been saving these £50 chunks? If it's been a few quarters then you might owe them a couple of hundred pounds.

gt

yak.h'cir said:
Until you move and they send you a bill for £4300

Abraham · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:14

Ekim said:
The account name is in the name of the letting agent so we have just carried on the account from the previous tenants.

In that case the responsibility for having accurate readings lies with them, you need to check with the electric company when they last received a customer reading or read it themselves, if it was a substantial amount of time before you moved in then your letting agent should be footing the bill (i'm expecting it to be quite some time to have got that high)

Glaucus · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:14

You didn't take a reading when you moved in, how stupid can you get.

Oh and you should check usage vs estimates. I've had to phone them up before and get them to lower one and raise the other.

TheDean · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:17

Over Clocker said:
To be honest, this is possible what I would do, especially if the account is in letting agent's name.

If they have been stupid enough to leave it in their name, it's kinda their problem!

If it's not in you're name, leave. Legally there is no recourse that can be taken

Over Clocker · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:17

Ekim said:
Its all well and good saying to run, but I would quite like to get some of my deposit back.

What is the billing period on the bill they have sent you?

TheDean · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:18

gt_junkie said:
This makes no sense!

It will always come back to the ultimate 'real world' meter reading no matter what. Estimates are just that - a pure guestimate of your usage based on previous actual readings. The company will want money for all the electricity you've used.

How long have you been saving these £50 chunks? If it's been a few quarters then you might owe them a couple of hundred pounds.

gt

Yes, sorry...I was going mental. Not had enough caffine this morning

Ekim · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:19

It was pretty stupid not getting a reading as soon as we could when we moved in but it took us a while to locate the actual meter as it is hidden in the deepest depths of the shop and they aren't particularly keen with us poking around in there.

Abraham · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:20

Ekim said:
Its all well and good saying to run, but I would quite like to get some of my deposit back.

is your deposit protected?
I think in this case which sounds very murky they'd be hard pushed to argue that you owed the money, although presumably you do owe some

Ekim · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:20

Over Clocker said:
What is the billing period on the bill they have sent you?

This will be our 4th bill this year so I think its from February to May.

Ekim · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:22

Abraham said:
is your deposit protected?
I think in this case which sounds very murky they'd be hard pushed to argue that you owed the money, although presumably you do owe some

Yeah its with the DPS. £450 each for the three of us.

Bug One · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:22

Ekim said:
Its all well and good saying to run, but I would quite like to get some of my deposit back.

You have a bill for £4300 and you're worried about your deposit.

It is not your bill, its the letting agent. If they're incompetent enough not to of made a meter reading, and have left the bills in their name, then I'd be dissapearing pretty sharpish.

AtreuS · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:22

Is the landlord/letting agent fully aware of the situation? if not then just leave normally and see if u can get your deposit back then just go.

If its not in your name its not your debt... its really that simple. Its the fault of the letting agency for not doing things properly by the sounds of it, which seems to be all too common lately.

Glaucus · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:23

Ekim said:
It was pretty stupid not getting a reading as soon as we could when we moved in but it took us a while to locate the actual meter as it is hidden in the deepest depths of the shop and they aren't particularly keen with us poking around in there.

What type of an excuse is that. Taking the reading and checking and photographing the damage list. Are the single two most important things you can do.

Or well I suppose you'll learn from your mistake.

But still UNBELIEVABLE..

Abraham · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:23

Ekim said:
Yeah its with the DPS. £450 each for the three of us.

you need to get a realistic figure of how much of this bill is actually your usage and i'd offer the letting agents that, as it appears they are at fault, but obviously you've not used no electricity, that's about the only way i can see you getting your deposit back without paying the full amount

Over Clocker · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:24

£4300 for 3 months?

To be honest, this is your letting agent's problem.

They've not provided you with an innitial reading.
They've not closed the account when the previous person moved out
You say it is difficult to get the actual reading due to access problems.
The bill is in their name - legally you shouldn't even be able to deal with the account then.

Have you found out when the last reading was taken?

Abraham · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:25

AtreuS said:
Is the landlord/letting agent fully aware of the situation? if not then just leave normally and see if u can get your deposit back then just go.

If its not in your name its not your debt... its really that simple. Its the fault of the letting agency for not doing things properly by the sounds of it, which seems to be all too common lately.

I do actually agree with this, but it depends if they know about it already or are going to find out before you get your deposit back

Over Clocker · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:26

Pay what you feel is correct. Leave the rest. Not your problem.

The bill is not in your name, they cannot hold your deposit. You've even made a goodwill payment!

yak.h'cir · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:26

It would be a bit out of order to run, besides they've obviously got all your personal details so with an amount so huge they're bound to chase you. If it was your responsibilty to pay the bills (I.e. energy bills aren't included with rent) then it was your responsibility to insure that they were taken care of properly.

That being said I'm sure if you make a few nice calls to the electrical people they'll help you out, they tend to be pretty generous when stuff like this happens.

Another thing you can do is look at how much energy you use in a day/week (via calculating it yourselves roughly and taking metre readings). Turn the boiler on for a bit and see how much that increases your usage. From this you should be able to estimate what you'd likely have used over your lease.

Ekim · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:27

They don't know about it yet, one of the other guys was going to be popping in to see them today to let them know the situation.

Over Clocker · 24 Jun 2008 at 11:28

yak.h'cir said:
It would be a bit out of order to run, besides they've obviously got all your personal details so with an amount so huge they're bound to chase you. If it was your responsibilty to pay the bills (I.e. energy bills aren't included with rent) then it was your responsibility to insure that they were taken care of properly.

That being said I'm sure if you make a few nice calls to the electrical people they'll help you out, they tend to be pretty generous when stuff like this happens.

Another thing you can do is look at how much energy you use in a day/week (via calculating it yourselves roughly and taking metre readings). Turn the boiler on for a bit and see how much that increases your usage. From this you should be able to estimate what you'd likely have used over your lease.

No, it is the letting agent's responsibility to ensure the account is fully paid and closed when the old people moved out, and new account opened with 0 balance when new people move in!