£300 for 2 months electricity??

Kylie

I have been in my one-bed little house for a couple on months now and already have paid out about £250/£300 on a e-energy (or whatever it is) prepaid meter.

I don't have gas so everything is on electricity, and I do understand it is winter, but the heating is only on when I am at home (eg. 4 hours in the night) so I am wondering if this is not at all exorbitant?

What could be the problem if it's a prepaid meter??

irnbru_2

Judging by previous posts ......

Your tariff will be higher than most.

You could be paying back debt on the meter.

Did you take a meter reading when you moved in?

Kylie

The landlord gave us the "key" and said there was £5 left in it. So I don't think it a back debt situation.

How do I go about discussing the Tarriff on this sort of property? Do I have any options since I rent? I don't think they will even discuss the property with me as I am not the owner.

irnbru_2

Kylie wrote:

The landlord gave us the "key" and said there was £5 left in it. So I don't think it a back debt situation.

No offence to your landlord but contact the supply company to confirm.

Kylie wrote:

How do I go about discussing the Tarriff on this sort of property? Do I have any options since I rent? I don't think they will even discuss the property with me as I am not the owner.

Any change in supply will require your landlord's consent. Check your tenancy agreement.

I guess you didn't take the meter reading when you moved in?

Here is a previous thread that might be of interest.

us,thecat&thedebt

hi

you mentioned your lanlord gave you his prepayment key

to my knowledge from previous experience when a property gets new tenants the elec company provide new key this is to prevent you repaying any debt left on the previous owners card

the fact that the card had 5 on it is irelevent as if you are in arrears with gas or electric and are on prepayment they take a precentage of each top up you make

sounds to me like that is what is happening contact your supplier straight away

Kylie

I am feeling very dense....

I don't understand how a debt could have accrued on a pre-paid meter

Ok, called Seeboard Energy and was told that it was because of the tank that heats the water - that it must be on all day and that the heaters in the house must be old and cost a ridiculously huge amount of money...

Call to the landlord is next... should I mention I just got a kitten too?? hehehe

irnbru_2

Kylie wrote:

I don't understand how a debt could have accrued on a pre-paid meter

The previous occupant can run a debt on a normal (credit) meter. If they do not pay the bill, the only way to recoup/guarantee payment is for the supplier to switch to pre-payment meter.

appleblossom

Kylie wrote:

I am feeling very dense....

I don't understand how a debt could have accrued on a pre-paid meter

Ok, called Seeboard Energy and was told that it was because of the tank that heats the water - that it must be on all day and that the heaters in the house must be old and cost a ridiculously huge amount of money...

Call to the landlord is next... should I mention I just got a kitten too?? hehehe

the £5.00 that he was referring to could well have been the emergency credit that all keys have!. regarding the emersion - yes, they do run up a tremendous amount of electric, more noticable if you are on a key-meter. at our old property we removed the emersion and heated the water when heating the house, at this property, we have the heating on all the time as when we bought it, it had been empty for 18months so the house was very cold, so it's just kept on low now. I cook by electric, have 2 pc's running all day, heating on all day (albeit thats gas), lights on in childrens rooms all night and we use approx £12 a week on the meter. Did the company check the tariffs? (ie get you to press the blue button and take the readings?) if not, might be worth getting them to do that as our old property was set wrong and we were over-paying.