Studio with coin operated electrycity meter ?

mess0804

It is a struggle to find anything affordable and ok-ish to rent in London, I have been looking for the past 2 months and now I really need to move .. gaian (I had so many problems with dodgy agencies and dodgy landlords in the last year) ....
Now I found a studio that it's ok, the only problem that I can see it's that it has a coin electric meter. It has central heating included, so the electric will be just for cooking and the fridge, Tv and laptop.
I have read that the landlord can set up the meter for whatever price he likes ... isn't there a limit? how much can he overcharge? Why else in this day and time would he have a coin meter in a studio except to overcharge people, I asked the agency if I can have the rate in the contract but they said they don't know, that it depends ... so the answer was no ...
The studio was quite ok, the market is very bad so it's a lot for my salary, I am stressed that I won't find anything else ...
How bad can it be? A normal consumption would be about £20 a month , if he charges me £30 I can live with this ... but £150 would make it a big mistake... Is there anyway of knowing if there's a maximum that he can charge per unit?

BitterAndTwisted

No, I don't think there is a limit on how much you can be overcharged by the landlord. I wonder what the reason for the meter is when the heating is included? Perhaps it's an unauthorised conversion of some sort.

molerat

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Consumers/Documents1/11782-resaleupdateoct05.pdf

SailorSam

I've never heard of coin operated meters for a long time, the power companies have them with cards now so i don;t suppose it's anything to do with them, they want have collectors.
If your landlord is acting as a sort of middleman and selling the electricity after it's come through the main meter i don't suppose there's a limit to what he can charge.
A bit like your average corner shop charges more for a bag of sugar than Tesco, but people still pay, it's a free market to charge what you want.

mess0804

Probably it's not a legal conversion. it's a big house separeted into studios. They don't have door numbers and all other bills are included (so he is paying just one council tax bill per house)

I am just worried that he may charge £1 per unit and I end up paying £700 rent + another £200 for his covered up electricity

China2

Did you read the link molerat provided? It states

From 1 January 2003 the maximum price at which gas or electricity may be resold is the same price as that paid by the person who is reselling it ("the reseller"), including any standing charge.

BitterAndTwisted

I'd be more worried about being landed with a huge bill for Council Tax once the Local Authority find out about the conversion.

Mallotum_X

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I'd be more worried about being landed with a huge bill for Council Tax once the Local Authority find out about the conversion.

Might be worth attempting to register just to ensure that there will be no suprises. Or get the landlord to confirm that rent includes Council Tax

mess0804

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I'd be more worried about being landed with a huge bill for Council Tax once the Local Authority find out about the conversion.

as I stated I had a very bad year ... that has happened to me this year and because I had in the countract the wording "council tax of £90 included" the council canceled my bill and issued a new one in the landlord's name.

where can I find a clean legal conversion without a dodgy landlord with a lower rent than my salary ? :mad:

CIS

"council tax of £90 included" the council cancelled my bill and issued a new one in the landlord's name.

They must have been happy it was an HMO for council tax purposes. It not so much the council that will be a problem it's the Valuation Office. If they decide the property should be separate assessments then you will become liable for any council tax due on your property.

Out of curiosity has he clarified how much of the rent is 'council tax'/