Being billed for the wrong electric meter

SimonG78

I moved into a new flat (rented) about 2 months ago at which point the agent (on behalf of the landlord) read the electric meter and showed us which one it was in a communal area (the serial number on the meter the agent showed us is the one on our bill)

Having suspected we were using a lot more electric than we should have been we turned every single socket, appliance and light off and checked the meters.

A different one to the one we are being billed for stopped when I did this and when we added a load (fridge/freezer back on and kettle boiling) it restarted up.

Now I know I am being billed for the wrong meter so intend to contact the agent and EDF although not sure where I stand or if I'm missing something.

I assume that EDF will come out and verify my findings and if so adjust the bills, however there is no way of knowing what the correct reading was at the time of my taking on the lease.

Where do I stand on all these and is there something else I should do?

Many thanks in advance.

Cardew

Happens quite a bit particularly with new build properties and there have been several threads on the same theme.

It is not the fault of the Electricity company because they can only go on the information given to them by the developer. i.e. meter s/n 123456 is for flat 2 etc

The difficulty is that it normally develops into a dispute where the other occupant objects to any reading, and often there are multiple mix-ups - not a straight swop of meters between two flats.

As you have only been there for a couple of months, EDF might even write off your consumption or charge you a nominal amount.

t0rt0ise

Make sure you read the meter now and keep a note of it with the date of the reading. Keep it for a loooong time too as these things have a habit of coming back some time later.

DVardysShadow

Basically, you are doing this correctly, and with the advice from the other posters you should get it sorted. Well done for getting the readings at the outset of your tenancy - these are worth keeping. And you should get an MSE medal for identifying the problem and identifying the correct meter so quickly.

Obviously you don't have the correct initial reading, so I would suggest you take weekly readings for about as long as you have already been in the place. With Christmas etc, your readings could be higher or lower than normal and you might want to take that into account as to when to start taking readings which you can use as the basis for an estimate.

As t0rt0ise says, keep these readings safe. From now on, you will know to keep entry and exit readings on a property and to confirm that it is your meter for everything metered.

Just to complete things, you are now contacting EdF and the LA. Do this in writing and keep copies. This and the readings is the kind of stuff you need to keep hold of for 6 years.

DVardysShadow

Cardew wrote: »

The difficulty is that it normally develops into a dispute where the other occupant objects to any reading, and often there are multiple mix-ups - not a straight swop of meters between two flats.

Worth a thought. Is it like musical chairs, where everyone has to sit on a meter before it is agreed? Because that will mean that the OP could be long gone as a tenant before it is resolved - and EdF may be chasing with debt collectors for months.

In OP's position I would do 2 things

1. Record evidence with serial numbers etc to identify the meter and save it to defend legal action later
2. If the billing does not change quickly, then every time a bill arrives for the wrong meter, write a letter refusing to pay this but giving the correct readings and asking for the correct bill.

Cardew

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Worth a thought. Is it like musical chairs, where everyone has to sit on a meter before it is agreed? Because that will mean that the OP could be long gone as a tenant before it is resolved - and EdF may be chasing with debt collectors for months.

In OP's position I would do 2 things

1. Record evidence with serial numbers etc to identify the meter and save it to defend legal action later
2. If the billing does not change quickly, then every time a bill arrives for the wrong meter, write a letter refusing to pay this but giving the correct readings and asking for the correct bill.

As the OP believes he is paying too much, it follows that the flat connected to the meter for which the OP is being billed is paying too little.

If the occupant accepts the situation, there is no problem. However they usually object!!!!

Of course unless they are new build flats, the previous occupant of the OP's flat was paying the wrong bill for their period of occupation(that could have been paying too little or too much)

For just a couple of months I suspect that EDF will write off some money as it is not worth the fuss.