Help please regarding an electricity bill

DerekSterr

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ORIGINALLY POSTED IN: The House Buying, Renting & Selling Board
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I could use some help please.

I rent a 2 bed flat above a restaurant, of which my landlord is the manager. Our electricity comes from a company owned by the landlord.

I recently received a bill for the electricity which is WAY higher than any bill I've previously had. The bill came with a covering letter stating that the sub-meters have until now been calibrated incorrectly against the main meter, and that this means my current bill must be multiplied by 3 in order to achieve an accurate reading.

The cover letter also states that the landlord has managed to negotiate a better price per unit, and that he's not looking to recover any money he may have lost by 'undercharging' me on the previous bills.

Does this sound dodgy to anyone here? Alarm bells are ringing for me because the bill states we have used around 700 units, which has then been multiplied by 3, and then again by the price per unit. This I think means I supposedly used around 2100 units over the last three months. When I checked this against a friend's bill (750 quarterly in a two bed terraced house) I should be using 1350 units more than him. Which doesn't sound right. At all.

Has anyone ever heard of/been in a similar situation?

DVardysShadow

Original thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3654289

And what I said:

Sub meters are not calibrated against main meters. Sub meters are calibrated in their own right. So either they don't understand in the first place or they are trying to deceive. If they don't understand, then maybe they have a 3 phase supply and don't really understand the relationship between single phase and 3 phase metering.

Whatever. Stand your ground and go by what the meter says. Let them change the meter [with you witnessing final and starting readings] if they are still in doubt. But if they try to insist that your readings should be multiplied by 3, insist that they give a full technical explanation in writing. Post it on these boards for it to be picked over.

DerekSterr

Cheers DVS. I couldn't link with this being my first day on here.

spiro

Check your sub meter is marked as recording kwh. If it is then that is what you should pay for nothing more nothing less. Also remember he can not make a profit from selling the electricity on to you and you are entitle to proof (copy of bill) of what he is paying, remember he cant pass on things like higher rate of VAT and climate charge.

I doubt the resturant owner, owns an electriciy supply company. What is the supplier called?