Electricity bill...Landlord making money out of us???

Prinky

Hello,

We are a young couple and have just moved in a 1 bed flat in the Bayswater area.
All the bills are included in the rent, except the electricity bill.
We've been told by the landlord that we would have to pay the electricity bill directly to him every month by reading him the meter.
He told us the price per unit is £0.20KW.

We ended up paying for one month about £90 which we think is a lot as we have been very careful!(turning the heaters off as much as possible, taking off some light bulbs, amking sure to swich off the boiler for the water - works with a switch, no timer) etc

Our problem is that we do not see the bill. Therefore the landlord could make profit on our back. (maybe he pays only £0.07/Unit and charge us more?)
Do you think £90 is an average bill knowing we have been extremely careful?!
Is £0.20/Unit KW a normal price? Can we ask him who is his electricity provider and ask to see the bill?

Many thanks in advance for your answers as it is our first accommodation and do not know about the regulations.

1carminestocky

Even after the recent price increases it's still entirely possible to pay just 10-12p per kwh for leccy. Either he's stupid (not likely) or, as an MP once famously said, he's being economical with the truth...

Magentasue

Not sure, but did I read on here that landlords are not allowed to profit from charging for electricity?

Worth a search.

poolepirate

Hi
I've had a look on the OFGEM website and found this link. It looks like he can't charge any more than he is paying for it. If he is paying 20p per unit then he is being overcharged and you should request that he changes supplier. I am sure you have the right to request copies of the bills he recieves. I would think that 10-11p per unit would be more realistic in your area.
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Consumers/Documents1/1970-mrp.pdf

Premier_2

As the previous two posters have correctly said, the LL is not allowed to charge you more for the electricity that what he himself pays for it.

As poolpirate also suggests, just ask for a copy of the bill showing what rate the LL is paying.

However, be aware that E-on tried to charge me over 30p per unit tier 1 and over 15p tier 2 rate (based on E7 tariff)
On a non-E7 tariff, the price would be over 26p and almost 11p per unit

I think the days of 7p per unit are long gone - I'm currently paying almost that for cheap night rate electricity.

These are both non-standing charge tariffs. Yes you could pay just the tier 2 rates but then you'd also have to pay the standing daily charge.

Unfortunately, you can't force the LL to change supplier ... but you could suggest a cheaper one to him if you were aware of one.

dollarjon

If your on E7 then 20p a unit on average seems right BUT i would ask for a copy of the bill.

Cardew

The problem is that your landlord is almost certainly paying 2 rates.

The tier 1 rate might well be 20p for a unit(kWh) but he will only pay that for a maximum of 225 units a quarter(approx 2.5 units per day) BG charge 125 a quarter)

The rest should be no more than 12p a unit.

So if you paid £90 at 20p a unit in a month, that is 450 units.

In round figures you should pay 75 x 20p + 375 x 12p = £60

(obviously assuming 20p/12p is the correct figure - could be less)

I would challenge him and ask to see a bill, and don't be fooled by the Tier 1 rate,(sometimes called primary units)

olly300

If the landlord starts being difficult I suggest you find out whether he has a mortgage (land registry) and contact the mortgage company to see if he is allowed to rent the place out.

basmic

I'd be half tempted to phone the electricity board (sorry, forgotten who actually finds out) and ask them to tell you who is currently supplying the property with electricity.

Phone the said company up, and ask for the tariff details for the property - if they won't tell you, then ask the landlord directly.

Prinky

Hi all,

Many thanks for you answers. We have some news.

We have spoken to our neighbour yesterday, and it seems they are also paying 20p per unit. They already asked once to see the electricity bill but the Landlord said that he did not have it yet and he didn't came back.

We also tried to phone some suppliers yesterday to ask some questions (EDF and another one) and they both said that it was quite expensive.
Then the girl at EDF ask us to give her our Meter number (which should be written on it) BUT we couldn't find it.
She then explained us that it must be a meter installed by the Landlord himself. Is it allowed? If so, do he has the right to charge us the price he wants?

We had a closer look at our contract and the electricity price, neither that the "Landlord meter" is mentioned in it. It looks really strange. It is not that we don't want to pay 20p, we just don't want to be used by our Landlord if he pays less.

Cardew

Prinky wrote: »

We had a closer look at our contract and the electricity price, neither that the "Landlord meter" is mentioned in it. It looks really strange. It is not that we don't want to pay 20p, we just don't want to be used by our Landlord if he pays less.

There is absolutely no question that your landlord will not be paying 20p/kWh for the majority of his electricity(e.g. Tier 2 or secondary units)

He must know what he is doing is illegal.

You will be able to report him, but I suspect that you will be looking for another flat soon.