2 properties - one electric meter

london_79

Hi All,
Some help\advise would be appreciated.

We moved into our flat 4 years ago and took on the existing gas\electric bills (or so we thought).

However it turns out we only took over the gas bills, and our electricity was being billed to an adjoining commercial property (warehouse).

It turns out our flat and the warehouse share a meter and the warehouse have been paying the electricity bill for both properties, unknown to both parties.

The reason this has come to light is that British Gas had to replace the meter and noticed that it was feeding both properties.

The warehouse had also previously been paying about £10 a month over the past 3 years (£360)


After changing the meter British Gas have back dated the electricity bill 3 years to a total of £2,500 due to the meter being faulty.

The warehouse has now paid this £2,500

We need to get this resolved.

Firstly we need our own meter installed,

but then we need to do the right thing and split the back dated bill and pay our share, but how to split the bills (£2,500 + £360) is our issue?

Any comment would be appreciated
Thanks
London_79

spiro

You dont just need you own meter, you need your own supply and this is likely to cost several thousand depnding on where they have to run the new service cable from.

A cheaper option would be a submeter (your own meter) then the warehouse pays for all the elec but then charge you for what you have used based on your meter.

How the bill is split will be a difficult matter and would need to consider what each party has been using.

london_79

Thanks for that

Just spoke to British Gas and they confirmed only one account between us.

And that an account was registered with our flat in the past but this has been disconnected for many years.

Would I be right in assuming that a re-connection would not incurr the 1000's of a new supply?

Was on hold for 15mins with new customers dept, will have to call them later

spiro

A new connection is done by the local distribution company (UK Power Networks if your in London) and when a disconnection is undertaken they remove the cable so a new one would need installing hence the possible £000s cost. Once you have a cable you can contact any supplier to install a meter and supply you.

Wywth

london_79 wrote: »

Hi All,
Some help\advise would be appreciated.

We moved into our flat 4 years ago and took on the existing gas\electric bills (or so we thought).

However it turns out we only took over the gas bills, and our electricity was being billed to an adjoining commercial property (warehouse).

It turns out our flat and the warehouse share a meter and the warehouse have been paying the electricity bill for both properties, unknown to both parties.

The reason this has come to light is that British Gas had to replace the meter and noticed that it was feeding both properties.

The warehouse had also previously been paying about £10 a month over the past 3 years (£360)


After changing the meter British Gas have back dated the electricity bill 3 years to a total of £2,500 due to the meter being faulty.

The warehouse has now paid this £2,500

We need to get this resolved.

Firstly we need our own meter installed,

but then we need to do the right thing and split the back dated bill and pay our share, but how to split the bills (£2,500 + £360) is our issue?

Any comment would be appreciated
Thanks
London_79

You say you moved into this flat 4 years ago?

Surely this came to light at the very latest, 4 years ago when you (a) couldn't find your meter to give the supplier a meter reading and (b) tried to contact the supplier to register a new account and (c) have not received any electricity bills of your own for 4 years. :cool:

london_79

thanks for the useful comments,

British Gas referred me to the people who look after the infrastructure\cabling "London Power Network" who suggest we install a "distribution board", which can split the single incoming supply into up to 3 separate meters. This they advised was a better option than a new supply line being installed which can cost between £1200-£5000 depending on layouts

The distribution board allows for each meter to be billed directly, and can also be billed by different companies

This distribution board has to be installed by an electrical contractor (as opposed to a standard engineer)

Terrylw1

As Spiro said, you can either pay for a new supplier or fit a sub meter via a private electrician which will then allow you to have a reading which will be deducted off the main meters advance by you and the warehouse under an agreement for paying.

There are pitfalls with sub metering a business-to-domestic set up though:

- the warehouse may pay higher rate VAT & CCL. You should not pay this.
- they are the ones in contract with the suppliers. They can switch to cheaper rates or through a mistake end up on high Deemed rates. You need an agreement in place to protect you against issues that could mean you lose out.
- be careful of the landlord "administration charges" which start appearing.

A new supply prevents all this and gives you control.

Why was it disconnected? Someone wired the flat into the warehouse in doing that which seems strange.

If the distributors fully disconnected that supply, its for them to determine the work and provide a quote.

As for splitting the bill, bare in mind the above points as you shouldn't pay against higher rates tax. Domestic customers are protected, unlike businesses, so would be back billed by 12 months. So, perhaps that's your compromise but until you resolve the supply, the warehouse are paying your bills.

I would be very wary of suppliers estimating on faulty meters. Its not an exact science and is often open to negotiation.