£774 ELEC BILL FOR 6 MONTHS?!!

ANNALR22

Help,

My partner and I lived in a 2 bedroomed apartment for 6 months during which time npower couldnt make their minds up if we had a prepayment meter or a normal meter. I kept ringing them to sort out a budget plan so I could pay monthly but they never sorted anything out. They did send me a prepayment card (for which there was no meter to put it in!) and as we were one of four apartments in the block we couldnt work out which meter (normal meter) was ours - so we asked them to come out which they never did. They did write to me to say we hadnt made any payments on our prepayment card to which I rang them again and they said theyd sort it out which they never did. We were starting to wonder if our apartment was connected (for electricity) to one of the adjoining buildings (as there are some suspicious looking elec cables going from our aprtment to the next door restaurant!). Anyway - we hve moved and just received a bill for £774 for 6 months electricity which CAN NOT BE RIGHT! - under any circumstances. I have spoke to them twice to dispute it - the first time they said we'd been billed on normal tariff but should have been economy 7?! The second time they said it is correct and I have to pay it!!! The next thing I know I have a letter from solicitors threatening court action as I hadnt been in touch with NPower!

Has anyone else had a similar experience and if so HELP!!!

Robert5988

If you didn't know which meter was yours, you presumably couldn't have checked the reading when you moved in. It is therefore possible that you are paying for some of the the previous occupants bill.

Check your bill and see the date the meter was last read by a meter reader - not a estimated bill or a customer reading - It should have been when you moved in.

As the matter is in the hands of a solicitor presumably you moved out some while ago. As you couldn't have checked the reading when you moved out, you need to confirm that the meter was read when you moved out.

Phone calls are useless when you are in a dispute, put everything in writing/emails.

To be fair to the electricity company they have supplied £774 worth of electricity and someone has used it. They are not aware of what has gone on in the apartment and your actions havn't exactly helped.

ANNALR22

What actions are you talking about? I tried in vain to sort this out while we were there but no one ever rang me back or gave me a straight answer!

We have never had bill - just a solicitors letter or I would have checked the readings I am not stupid.

MarkyMarkD

You have exposed yourself to this predicament by failing to establish which meter was yours during the time you occupied the flat.

It isn't THAT hard to establish which is your meter - turning off all your appliances would have shown which meter was not moving, or turning off the power at the appropriate fuse box and seeing whether your lights stopped working would have been a start.

As it is, you can't challenge any meter readings the supplier claims relate to your supply.

It wasn't the supplier's fault that they couldn't work out which premises you are talking about - it's your responsibility to know your meter reference number - although there are databases of these things.

Robert5988

We have just received a bill for £774

We have never had  a bill - just a solicitors letter  - I am not stupid

I must be stupid then - I believed your first post

What actions are you talking about?

If we are down to semantics I suppose inaction is the correct term.

It seems that you moved in without knowing which was your meter - and thus the reading - or what tariff you were using. You moved out after 6 months still without finding out.

In spite of no response to your phone calls you never followed anything up in writing.

With suspicious cables running to the next door premises, it appears you did nothing about it.

Did you tell the supplier(in writing) at the time you moved in and at the time you moved out? It is standard practice for them to send someone to read the meter; and it is your responsibility to ensure that meters are read. How do they know you were only in the property 6 months?

You firstly need to write and ask them for a full account detailing the dates and consumption.


The statement that you couldn't have used that amount of electricity is probably correct. Therefore you have probably been billed for power consumed before or after your occupancy; or your suspicions about the cables leading next door are correct.

This forum is no friend of Electricity Supply Companies but it is highly unlikely that they have not sent out a bill and several reminders - presumably to your old address. They do not lightly put matters in the hands of solicitors.

King_David_2

I once had a problem with NTL over being sent a 'reminder' to pay when I'd already told them they were billing me wrongly.

I was on the phone every day until I got on their nerves - but it made them do something about it.

As others have said, it is your responsibility to find out what meter is yours. Where I live their are 3 water meters next to each other.

Guess what I did? I ran the water to see which one was mine (as the other two belong to business premises below me) so I knew which one was mine.

I assume you are paying council tax - maybe you don't know which council you should pay that to.

oscarhugo

Wow

I was thrilled to see The Return Of Daveboy after such a long time. But was a bit shocked & disappointed that it seemed to be a new, improved, sympathetic version! Shock, horror! But I needn't have worried - the last, sarky, unsympathethic paragraph has reassured me that all's well & the world isn't coming to an end after all...

Poor old Anna - all she was looking for was some advice and mostly all she gets [from practically all sides, it seems], is mild abuse and "Aren't you stupid?"-type remarks.

Happy New Year to all!!

MarkyMarkD

With respect, Oscar, Anna asked for help/advice, and we gave it.

But her position is a difficult one to be in, as she hasn't really got a leg to stand on regarding challenging any bill she receives.

Buying gas or electricity isn't much different to buying anything else - if you don't have a clue how much you've used, you can't really challenge the supplier if they say that you've used more than you first thought.

Same as going to a petrol station, filling your car with your eyes closed, then going to pay. How would you know if you owe them £20 or £45?

Robert5988

Oscar,
There is something that doesn't seem right about this thread.

My original post suggested that she check the bill to see if the date was from when she moved in and if it was Estimated or Customer reading. Remember that she had rung twice to dispute it! and next thing along came a solicitors letter.

Anna(?) then said she had never received a bill - only a solicitors letter.