Letting Agent gas & elec antics

LooniesMum

I have a rental property which has been empty for a while but now a new tenant is due to move in. The Letting Agent has sent a new contract in which there is a new clause in the terms and conditions stating that the Gas & Elec will be supplied by Spark. I don't want Spark; I don't like what I've heard about Spark on this forum! The current supplier is Scottish Power and apart from writing to me at the rental property address occasionally, have always been easy to get through to, make good attempts to address the issues (when tenants changeover etc) and although it sometimes involves a few phone calls we get there in the end (no thanks to the Letting Agent who are supposed to handle it all.....).

My question is surely the Letting Agent can't dictate which energy supplier I have? I feel like I've only just 'trained' Scottish Power and I don't want to start over, especially with one that doesn't have a good customer service rep. And more than anything I don't want the Letting Agent tying me into an energy co that I haven't approved of!
(Have to say the Letting Agent has been very good - over 7 years - so this has come as something of a shock).

Am I right to object to Spark?

Hammyman

Whose property is it, yours or theirs? If I were you, I'd cross out Spark, put in SP and send it back to them with a nice letter saying that you'll state who can and can't be used seeing as you own the property thankyou very much.

LooniesMum

Yes, quite. I don't want to have to change Letting Agent whilst there's a tenant ready to move in, so I'd like to resolve it without coming to blows, as it were.

I've rung them to say "no thanks" but the office staff weren't sure how to proceed. The clock is ticking because they have a tenant wanting to move in at the weekend.

I could do with knowing if they have any right to insist I agree to their T&Cs, before I argue with them tomorrow!!

skint-student-nurse

I dont think they can tell you who should provide your gas and electric, from my experience, our tenants have had a clause where they have had to agree to stay with our energy supplier (npower) during the AST but ive never heard anything like you say! I agree with hammyman on this one.

Brb

Errr who works for who in this relationship ? Please do be wary in selecting a letting agent. You are responsible legally for their actions. Worth noting that anyone can set up a letting agency, no qualifications, no regulation. Are yours a member of any (voluntary) organisation such as ARLA ?

It's worth considering that it is an unfair term anyway to dictate what supplier any tenant uses unless you plan to pay their bills. A better term would be that tenant must notify in writing when changing utility supplier (don't use those words).

tbs624

LA is trying it on - they will be getting a commission. Don't ever let an LA dictate to you how they will deal with your property.

If the bills are eventually to be in the Ts name then it should be up to *the T* which utility company is used, provided that they notify the LL/LA.

A LL or LA using a tenancy agreement term which effectively restricts a Ts opportunity to reduce their utility bills may find that that term will be viewed as unenforceable. IMO the benefit is entirely to the LL/LA, and has the potential to be to the detriment of the T.

dizziblonde

Oh god are they still trying to pull this crap?! They tried it with us forcing us to change to utility warehouse I think it was (we're the tenants), the second I challenged it and said, "errr no thanks, my husband gets a decent employee discount for the supplier we're with" they backed down. Turned out they'd set themselves up as a UW distributor or whatever it is and were trying to bully their tenants into them getting a nice extra wedge of cash.

Funnily the next time I had cause to speak to them I mentioned all of this - the whole scheme had been quietly dropped.

tbs624

skint-student-nurse wrote: »

/// our tenants have had a clause where they have had to agree to stay with our energy supplier (npower) during the AST but ive never heard anything like you say! I agree with hammyman on this one.

So you don't think an LA should be able to bind you as LL, but you think it's okay to bind your T?

The most you can do is ask the Ts to let you know which of of the utility companies they have chosen to use.

sequence

Assuming the tenants are paying, it's up to them who supplies, not you or the LA.

LooniesMum

Actually, no, I don't think it's fair to bind the tenant either, and I've NEVER tried to. I've occasionally been asked if I mind if they change supplier and I've never objected. What I do object to is the LA telling me which supplier to have - and their T&Cs are worded so that Spark would be the supplier during tenancy and in between tenancies.

I too suspect that they've struck a deal and hope that they can slide it through with new contracts.

And I was careful choosing a letting agent - they're one of the big estate agents actually and this is the first thing in 7 years that I've not been comfortable with.

LooniesMum

TBS624 - I was presuming the LA would get the tenant to sign the same T&Cs. It's not me that's trying to bind the tenant - it's the LA.