Standing Charges For Empty Business Properties

spiritfriend

My company act as agents for an empty shop in West Yorkshire. The outgoing tenant handed in the keys on Monday after trading there for over 20 years. Yesterday we received a letter from Scottish Power welcoming us as business customers.
Today I rang them as I understood that we would be charged a daily standing charge of around 20p and would also be sent estimated bills which if not carefully vetted could be accidently paid by busy office staff. I was told over the phone that my fears were correct.When I told them I did not have a contract with them and would they remove their meter or turn off the supply so this charge would not be payable, they refused saying I could change supplier if I wanted but that in the meantime we would have to pay this cost. I suspect the same terms would apply with other suppliers
Is this correct or is there some way that I can force S P to stop charging a standing charge for a service we do not want? Any help appreciated.

macman

You are now in a deemed contract with them, as they are your supplier once the outgoing tenant has vacated. Assuming that the shop is to be relet as some future date, the cost of reinstating the supply and metering will far outstrip £1.40 per week in standing charges.
Did you ask them if they offer a NSC business tariff?

spiro

If you are only the letting agent and not the property owner get them to pay it. In the bad old days supplies would be turned off until someone else moved in (domestic and non-dom) and then the company would send someone to turn it back on again, those bad old days are long gone. The slight downside is that there is a cost associated with a metering point even it is not using any power (meter rental, annual meter reading - if de-energised) which the supplier has to cover hence them not liking NSC tariffs on empty properties.

undaunted

Surely for there to be a deemed contract there has to be a choice to use electricty.

No electricity used = no deemed contract starting

It is very questionable whether any supplier can force you to have a supply which you don't want just because that is more expedient for them. So far no one has challenged it as far as I'm aware but it will surely come if suppliers continue with such underhand tactics.

macman

But a supply exists whether the switch is turned or not.

undaunted

The meter / supply point may be there but that's irrelevant I'm afraid. The fact is that no gas or electricity has been or will ever be supplied to the letting agent unless they choose to use any.

Ofgems comments on Deemed contracts can be found here

"Schedule 2B paragraph 8(1) of the Gas Act and Schedule 6 paragraph 3(1) of the Electricity Act, respectively, provide that where a supplier supplies gas or electricity to premises or a consumer otherwise than in pursuance of a contract, the supplier shall be deemed to have contracted with the consumer for the supply of gas or electricity from the time when he began to supply that gas or electricity."

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/Compl/SLR/SteerngGrp/Documents1/14319-Deemed%20Contracts.pdf

You cannot generally simply force someone to enter into a contract which they have stated they do not require. Why should the energy market be any different?

Scottish_Power

Hi Spiritfriend,

We do not offer a business tariff without a stadning charge, the standing charge is charged with or without usage as the meter is there and available to be used if required. At your request the meter can be removed however the re-installation of a meter further down the line is likely to be more costly than any standing charges. Also removing the meter would mean that if electricity was needed in the property for any reason, showing round a possible tennnat for example it would not be available.

If you want any further information drop me an e-mail to [EMAIL="onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com"]onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL]

Kind regards

Graeme @ ScottishPower

spiritfriend

Thank you macman

I am not sure what a NSC Business Tariff is, can you explain?

macman wrote: »

You are now in a deemed contract with them, as they are your supplier once the outgoing tenant has vacated. Assuming that the shop is to be relet as some future date, the cost of reinstating the supply and metering will far outstrip £1.40 per week in standing charges.
Did you ask them if they offer a NSC business tariff?

spiritfriend

NSC = no standing charge...just worked it out. Glad it's Friday