Metered electricity at a ridiculously expensive rate... HELP !!

michaela555

Hi,

I have just moved into a new flat to find that the electricity (through EDF which we are not allowed to change) is charged through a meter - we put £1 coins in and watch the money go down.

The money is decreasing at a ridiculously high rate - we use as little electricity and lights as possible and turn everything off at the wall, no washing machine or dishwasher, and take light showers. We have been here for almost one week and have spent £18 - the rate is 20p per kWh which seems excessively expensive! We have spoken to the estate agents who said that nothing can be changed as it's the system in place, and EDF also said they could do nothing as the landlord controls the meter and pays bills using money from the meter for the whole house, which is made up of 6 flats.

From what I can estimate from the internet, no EDF energy rate is this high, the first amount of electricity (about 900 kWh) in the year (I'm unsure of this is a year from January or from our tenancy - I assume from January as the bill is always in the landlord's name) is charged at about 15p and any additional is at about 9p which means we would be paying almost double!!

Does this sound illegal or am I missing something? Does anyone know of anything we can do to try and sort this out?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Michaela

Cardew

It is illegal for a landlord to re-sell electricity at more than he pays.

Speak firstly to the letting agent. Then the local trading Standards office or Council might be a good place to start.

liquidity_2

An old link but see http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Media/PressRel/Archive/1359-r0503_13jan.pdf

and

http://www.letlink.co.uk/letting-factsheets/factsheets/factsheet-5-maximum-resale-price-of-gas-and-electricity.html

dori2o

Can I ask a quick question. Would this apply for commercial properties also.

A friend of ours was running a cafe, paying the landlord a set fee for rent plus whatever he said was needed each month to cover gas and electric. Somehow our friend got hold of the gas and electric bill for the cafe (I think the LL was on holiday and she opened it) it turns out that our friend in the 8 months she had rented the property had given the landlord over £600 more than the energy actually cost.

Needless to say she approached the LL who terminated the tennancy when she refused to pay the latest monthly payment for the utilities.

Premier_2

Yes, it applies to all cases of reselling energy.
(To sell at a profit, you need an appropriate supply licence. i.e. be a registered supplier)

Of course, LL's can exercise their legal rights to terminate a tenancy. These rights differ depending on the type of tenancy involved.

dogshome

Hi michaela555 - As other posters have advised, the L/lord cannot charge more for Elec/Gas than he his paying, and you are entitled to see the original invoices from the Utility Co.

However there are two sorts of Agents where lettings are concerned:
A 'Letting Agent' simply finds a tenant for the property, and once it's let the L/L deals directly with the tenant so far as Rental Payments and repairs are concerned - If you are paying rent directly to the L/L then you should contact him for sight of the original bills

A 'Managing Agent' not only finds the tenant, but also collects the rent, pays bills the L/Lord is responsible for and see's to repairs - so if you pay your rent to the Agent, it is to them that you should direct your demand to see the Utility Bills

In either case, print out a copies of the Ofgem and Letlink documents that Liquidity has kindly posted links for, and enclose them with your written request