Faultly Boiler has cost me huge Electricity Bill in new rented flat!

al1180

Hi there, wonder if anyone has had similar experience or can help!

So, my story in bullet points:-

Moved into a new rented property (landlord/managing agent) in December - the managing agent took all meter readings (we only have electric).

After a few weeks, the electric boiler broke down (no hot water). The landlord sent an engineer round who fixed it (or at least made it able to supply hot water)

First electrical bill in January was enormous! – I had moved from a very similar flat, also with all electric and this bill was getting on for double per month. I always take care to check meters, and after doing so in this place informed my managing agent and NPower of the problem.

Npower confirmed that the meter was working correctly (after a test period of about a week – during which by process of elimination I became suspicious of the boiler..)

Informed the all parties again that I was concerned that there was a problem with the boiler, and sure enough later that week it broke (again).
This time, the engineer came round and discovered the problem with the boiler was also responsible for the large bills (wrong heating element being used? ).

As it stands I was advised to use the “booster” heater to get hot water - even though it would be extremely costly – while they look into getting it replaced/fixed.

Long story, but I guess my issue is it reasonable for the landlord to shoulder some of the electricity cost this faulty boiler has cost me? After all – I moved in good faith, the first engineer didn’t fix it fully and as soon as it became apparent there was an issue I have done everything I can to try and get it fixed, and alerted all parties…
When I suggested that I was re reimbursed some amount of the excess cost in the bill (from when the boiler was first “repaired” till now, an estimate of how much the fault has cost) the landlord said that as she didn’t know about it she shouldn’t pay. Now I’m stuck with a huge bill and the prospect of another one coming as I can only get hot water using the expensive booster heater!

Trying desperately to remain calm! Any ideas?

clutton_2

what sort of heating system is this ?

EliteHeat

If the OP is referring to a genuine electric boiler such as an Aztec, then it will cost an arm and a leg to run - about 3-4 times as much as a normal gas boiler.

If, as is more likely, they are calling their hot water cylinder and immersion heater a boiler, then I have no idea what their problem is as this will not result in enormous power bills, even if the immersion heater has a faulty thermostat.

al1180

Hi there - the boiler system is an electric one - with an economy seven and separate booster heater (forgive me for not being more exact - i'll check!). Its an almost identical system to my previous flat which is why i initially queried the high bills.
The most recent engineer has said that the appropriate replacement parts are now hard to get he personally recommends a new boiler...

Either way - the engineer agrees that the boiler was not functioning correctly due to a fault, which directly resulted in a much higher bill (and will continue to until it is correctly repaired or replaced). So i guess my issue is where i stand with claiming back any proportion of the cost of the bill with the landlord?

many thanks again for any help!

N79

You are not going to want to hear this but you do not have the "right" to get your LL to pay any of the electricity bill. It is your bill. LL has fulfilled their obligations by providing heating / hot water and affecting repairs quickly. The law makes no provision for the efficiency of heating systems.

You can, of course, politely ask them to make a contribution until the boiler is fixed.

jayss

N79 wrote: »

You are not going to want to hear this but you do not have the "right" to get your LL to pay any of the electricity bill. It is your bill. LL has fulfilled their obligations by providing heating / hot water and affecting repairs quickly. The law makes no provision for the efficiency of heating systems.

You can, of course, politely ask them to make a contribution until the boiler is fixed.

But presumably the current method of obtaining hot water is far more costly than the energy rating certificate for the flat would suggest.

Pssst

Bottom line is that using electric to heat anything is going to cost more. Why? Simple,its a secondary fuel, i.e you have to burn a primary fossil fuel in most cases to produce electric.

The era of cheap fuel is over.

al1180

that was my thought... I guess the frustrating thing in my mind is that the landlord sent round someone to fix the boiler in Dec - and it is now apparant that it was not fixed correctly and as a result this has cost me in the form of inflated bills...

al1180

Apololgies - i agree gas would be an improvement , but there is no gas supply to my flat and i dont think the landlord would be keen to put one in.

My main issue is with having to pay the excessive part of the electric bill for the period of time when the boiler has not been functioning correctly. We've had the engineer round to agree that the problem with the boiler has led to excessive electric consumption (and will continue to do so until it is fixed)...

silvercar

jayss wrote: »

But presumably the current method of obtaining hot water is far more costly than the energy rating certificate for the flat would suggest.

The EPC is valid for the day the testing is done. A bit like a car's MOT. It offers no guarantee on future performance and is only a guide.

If the EPC is wrong, based on the heating system ie the assessor has made errors then that is the fault of the assessor not the landlord. The landlord is responsible for obtaining a certificate, not its accuracy.

Either the EPC has made an error, or the rating that come with that system are not accurate; neither of which is the landlords fault.
Also some of the blame may lie with the first engineer.

It could be that you are not using the hot water system in its most efficent way.

IlonaRN

EliteHeat wrote: »

If the OP is referring to a genuine electric boiler such as an Aztec, then it will cost an arm and a leg to run - about 3-4 times as much as a normal gas boiler.

If, as is more likely, they are calling their hot water cylinder and immersion heater a boiler, then I have no idea what their problem is as this will not result in enormous power bills, even if the immersion heater has a faulty thermostat.

I don't agree.

When I moved into my current flat, I had similar problems. I found that my hot water cylinder was literally boiling the water. I could hear it boiling when I got up to go to the looo in the middle of the night, and I wear hearing aids, so it was obviously noisy!

I kept going back to the agent, and it took about 2 or 3 months to get it fixed fully (the first fix didn't fix it). Then I approached the agent to ask for help with the costs, since it was obviously due to a faulty appliance.

I took readings over 2 weeks of my usage on all settings once the system was working properly, and worked out how much that was on average per day. I then worked out how much extra the faulty hot water system had cost.

After seeing it black on white (with meter readings and costings), the letting agent could not dispute it, and the result was that the landlady and the letting agent split the extra cost between them.

I imagine the landlord and letting agency don't HAVE to reimburse you, however if you've continuously tried to get them to fix the problem, and the system is still faulty, then they should be able to see that it's due to a problem of their making and be reasonable about it as my landlord and agent were.

Alternatively, suggest that since the appliances in the flat are faulty, you cannot reasonably be held to your tenancy agreement and start looking for somewhere else?