landlord wont allow switch from Current Electric / Gas company.....

samsong_1234

Hi fellow students

My landlord wont allow us to switch from our current suppliers of gas and electric to someone else.

There is a saving to be had if we can switch, however he said its in the T&C's we cant do this.

It seems rather silly to be paying over the odds for something that can be found cheaper, is there anything we can do?

Deficient

If it's in your lease that you agree not to change suppliers, then in theory the answer is no. I think the only reason they put this term in the lease is to make their lives easier when it comes to getting new tenant accounts set up with the utilities companies - which I suppose could be a potential pain in the gonads if a previous tenant has changed the suppliers about and also failed to inform them.

However, in practice and if you're willing to go through a lot of nonsense, you could change suppliers and then change back towards the end of the lease, and the landlord probably wouldn't even know. However, you'd have to be careful about your final billing period as normally you have to show your final bills to a landlord and I'm sure they'd be expecting to see an appropriate bill (in terms of the billing period) from the right supplier.

Ytaya

I am in a similar situation - it states in my lease that I cannot change utility supplier without the landlord's permission. I wrote to the landlord, explained that I was able to secure a good fixed-rate deal with an alternative supplier and with rising energy costs, this was a big priority for me. I told him I'd gladly give him the account information for the new supplier. He agreed that I could change.

Failing that, your only option is to switch to the cheapest tariff you can with your current supplier, and do all you reasonably can to reduce your energy usage.

samsong_1234

I already spoke with them and they said no it was in the terms. I think i will make one final case face to face and show the saving that can be gained to see if we have any movement.

If not, i think i will do it anyway.

[Deleted User]

The Office of Fair trading have ruled this an unfair term in a tenancy agreement.

Here's the OFT guidance (it's on page 64) http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft356.pdf

You should point out to the landlord that this is an unfair term and you will of course inform them of which supplier you move to.

samsong_1234

Thats an absolute gem of a find.

[Deleted User]

Glad to help, the whole document is GOLD, especially when faced with landlords who say "you signed it, you agreed to it".