Challenging a utility bill

[drummindefender]

I thought this might be the place to ask

we got our latest bill today - it is triple what it was for the last quarter - mainly because they have done a meter reading. I have been livig here since April 2013 and they have never done one before with all previous bills being estimates

Is there anyway this can be challenged ? God knows when they last read the meter but we clearly haven't used that much in 3 months (the bill for both is 450!!!)

 

[Jeff]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

Have you checked what the actual meter reading is, and compared it to the bill?
They've misread ours before and they adjusted the bill when we told them what the meter actually said.

 

[drummindefender]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

I don't think they have misread the meter it is more because they have never done a reading before - clearly all the previous estimates were wrong

 

[drummindefender]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

I'm surprised no one has challenged my English in the title yet

 

[fitz]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

Are you renting or do you own the property? If renting then the agency/landlord should have had a final bill done based on readings on inventory.

 

[Matt_B]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

Bare with me as I explain this. I recently had a missed call from EDF and upon phoning was told it was probably a sales call but...
"Whilst I have you on the phone, you are slightly in debt sir..."
"By how much?"
"£1500"

Not a small amount, I choked. Anyway it turns out the following had happened. When we first switched to them, 3 years ago, they had set our monthly DD to £65 a month combined G+E. Turns out, like you, when they finally did a meter reading (we had provided a few that they neglected to use) this wasn't enough. At the end of Year 1 we owed around £400. They didn't tell us this. Our statement came through and just said wording to the effect of "don't worry about your payments as you are on DD and these will change to cover any extra usage." As the bills had gone up to £70 a month, we assumed all was well. Turns out, that due to a "human error" this £70 included £63 a month to repay the outstanding amount and just £7 a month for new usage (we use around £90 a month). So, for the last 18 months, we were underpaying by roughly £80 a month.

We kicked off big time and they knocked of 50% without quibble, so easily in fact we think we could have got more off.

The long and short of it is, if they are at fault, you are likely to get something back.

 

[drummindefender]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

I don't actually know if it is something I can challenge or not - the landlord is useless made a point of saying all utilities have to be sorted by tenants so he will be no help

 

[Nottingham Fox]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

If the initial meter reading was correct, then I'm afraid there's not much you can do. You've used the electric/gas so you need to pay for it. It's a shitter I know but you'd have still paid the same if you'd been on top of the bill over the previous months. If the initial reading was wrong, then you need to take it up with your landlord.

 

[drummindefender]

the problem is I don't know when the initial reading was done !

 

[drummindefender]

I know for a fact there hasn't been one in 14 months

 

[Macky]

the problem is I don't know when the initial reading was done !

The first thing that you should've done when you moved in there was to take all of the meter readings. They should never have allowed you to create an account without providing them an accurate meter reading.

 

[bocadillo]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

The long and short of it is, if they are at fault, you are likely to get something back.

This very much depends which company you are with. The more established companies, who tend to charge the most, seem to be more generous when it comes to making gestures of this sort - and so they should be, the profit they are making! I don't think the same can be expected of the 'cheaper' companies. I do think though that all companies are likely to offer to spread the cost over a (possibly quite lengthy) period of time. There is certainly no harm in telling them that the bill was totally unexpected and that you can not afford to pay it all at once.

What you need to avoid at all costs is being forced by the company onto a prepayment meter, through which both gas and electricity is charged at a much higher price.

 

[fitz]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

I don't actually know if it is something I can challenge or not - the landlord is useless made a point of saying all utilities have to be sorted by tenants so he will be no help

Is it rented direct through landlord and not an agent?

 

[fitz]

The first thing that you should've done when you moved in there was to take all of the meter readings. They should never have allowed you to create an account without providing them an accurate meter reading.

They can set you up with one if you've signed the tenancy and the landlord can provide a reading. I'd assume the landlord had to provide a reading to close the old account too. Whether or not the landlord gave the correct reading is another thing, but people should take their own reading once they start living in a property and take readings as time goes by. Given the obscene cos of gas and electric I'm amazed people don't do readings these days.

 

[fitz]

Re: Challenging an utility bill

This very much depends which company you are with. The more established companies, who tend to charge the most, seem to be more generous when it comes to making gestures of this sort - and so they should be, the profit they are making! I don't think the same can be expected of the 'cheaper' companies. I do think though that all companies are likely to offer to spread the cost over a (possibly quite lengthy) period of time. There is certainly no harm in telling them that the bill was totally unexpected and that you can not afford to pay it all at once.

What you need to avoid at all costs is being forced by the company onto a prepayment meter, through which both gas and electricity is charged at a much higher price.

incredibly there's many many commercial properties where no debt exists because providers don't know who is responsible for paying as they can't use google for some reason, once the tenant alerts them to it it's easy enough to wipe out thousands of pounds worth of debt....nice to know isn't it?

 

[drummindefender]

I deal with a letting agent

 

[fitz]

I deal with a letting agent

Speak to them, it's likely they've paid the final bill on the old account and recharged the landlord. They should have taken readings to settle the old bill and inform the provider that it's you who is responsible from then on.

 

[bocadillo]

Something which you should almost certainly be considering is whether you should go onto monthly direct debit payments. This will usually attract a discount and evens out payments throughout the year, avoiding the shock of a sudden huge bill. It can have the disadvantage that you are often 'in credit' - paying in advance at times, whereas with quarterly payments you are always paying in arrears. There are pros and cons and everybody will have their own opinion on the subject.

 

[Nottingham Fox]

The key though DD is to find out what the meter reading was when you moved in. This should be written down as part of the tenancy agreement, along with any other readings (Water meter if fitted etc). I doubt you would have changed supplier, so maybe call them and ask if they were supplied a reading about the date you moved in. If not, then you're probably being invoiced for what the previous tenant used. If this is the case you may find it difficult proving what part of the bill is yours. Maybe the property was vacant for a long time before you moved in?

 

[Matt_B]

The key though DD is to find out what the meter reading was when you moved in. This should be written down as part of the tenancy agreement, along with any other readings (Water meter if fitted etc). I doubt you would have changed supplier, so maybe call them and ask if they were supplied a reading about the date you moved in. If not, then you're probably being invoiced for what the previous tenant used. If this is the case you may find it difficult proving what part of the bill is yours. Maybe the property was vacant for a long time before you moved in?

But wouldn't that have all been on a previous quarter? This isn't the first bill he's had there.