Help! Meter running backwards, bill for £9,000!

j_m_2

This is complex: I had to move away for work. I couldn't sell my house. It was vacant for a few years, and then rented out for a few more. A family member handled the letting (found tenants, kept income).

During the vacant and letting periods, it seems that an electricity meter reading was *never* taken.

When I resumed control of the house this summer, I submitted a meter reading -- I was told that this was the first reading in 6 years, and the bill of £13,000 would be payable by me.

I rechecked the meter the following week, and found that the meter was running backwards!

The electricity company came out, confirmed the fault and changed the meter for a new one. They say that adjusting for the meter fault, they estimate that I am liable for a bill of approx £9,000

Here are my issues with this:

- Why should I have to pay any bill for the period when a family member had let out the house to tenants? Should the bill not be sent to the tenants (or the other family member who was acting as a landlord?)

- I did propose that they allocate the bills more fairly, and they told me that if they did so, then the bill would have to be split evenly over the occupied and vacant periods. Can this be right? It should be obvious to anyone that a vacant house consumes less power than an occupied one.

- How can they (or I) know *when* the meter started running backwards, and whether it was running at the same rate for the entire time? Is a meter even capable of giving a consistent/reliable reading when running backwards?

JimmyTheWig

j_m wrote: »

- Why should I have to pay any bill for the period when a family member had let out the house to tenants? Should the bill not be sent to the tenants (or the other family member who was acting as a landlord?)

What did you tell the electricity company at the time?

Wywth

j_m wrote: »

This is complex: I had to move away for work. I couldn't sell my house. It was vacant for a few years, and then rented out for a few more. A family member handled the letting (found tenants, kept income).

During the vacant and letting periods, it seems that an electricity meter reading was *never* taken.

When I resumed control of the house this summer, I submitted a meter reading -- I was told that this was the first reading in 6 years, and the bill of £13,000 would be payable by me.

I rechecked the meter the following week, and found that the meter was running backwards!

The electricity company came out, confirmed the fault and changed the meter for a new one. They say that adjusting for the meter fault, they estimate that I am liable for a bill of approx £9,000

Here are my issues with this:

- Why should I have to pay any bill for the period when a family member had let out the house to tenants? Should the bill not be sent to the tenants (or the other family member who was acting as a landlord?)

- I did propose that they allocate the bills more fairly, and they told me that if they did so, then the bill would have to be split evenly over the occupied and vacant periods. Can this be right? It should be obvious to anyone that a vacant house consumes less power than an occupied one.

- How can they (or I) know *when* the meter started running backwards, and whether it was running at the same rate for the entire time? Is a meter even capable of giving a consistent/reliable reading when running backwards?

Did you ever inform the supplier you had let the property and that they should close your account to the meter reading you supplied?

torbrex

Sounds like your name was never removed from the account so you are liable for the bill, nothing to do with the supplier.

j_m_2

I never lived in the house - it needed a lot of work when I bought it, and I got my new job before the work completed. By the time the work was finished I was far away!

torbrex

Who's name is on the account?

Wywth

j_m wrote: »

I never lived in the house - it needed a lot of work when I bought it, and I got my new job before the work completed. By the time the work was finished I was far away!

Please answer the questions raised, rather than adding irrelevant information. It's the only way we can provide you with good advice.

j_m_2

I am answering the question - my name was not put on the account until I took control of the house this summer.

As I had not lived in the house I never spoke to any electricity or gas companies until this year.

Edit: I rather expected the landlord (family member) would have handled this kind of thing.

torbrex

j_m wrote: »

I am answering the question - my name was not put on the account until I took control of the house this summer.

If that is the case then you are only liable for power used since your name was put against the account and any previous usage will go against the previous account holder, as long as you provided full details of meter readings and the change of account holder was accepted by the supplier.

JimmyTheWig

Ok, OP. Start from the beginning.
You bought the house. Correct?
From someone who was living there. Correct?
Did you take a meter reading at the time?
Do you know if they told the electricity company that they were moving out?
Did you tell the electricity company that you had bought the house?
Presumably the house's electricity was being used while the work was being carried out?
Who was supposed to be paying for that electricity? Who did pay for that electricity? Who took meter readings?
When the house was rented out, who was the landlord? E.g. who's name was the landlord's insurance in, who was responsible for things like boiler checks, who did the estate agents bill, who did the rent get paid to?
Is there gas in the property? Is there the same problem with this?

j_m_2

> Ok, OP. Start from the beginning.

Good idea.

> You bought the house. Correct?
> From someone who was living there. Correct?

Yes to both.

> Did you take a meter reading at the time?

No. First house purchase, didn't realise that I needed to.

> Do you know if they told the electricity company that they were moving out?

No idea.

> Did you tell the electricity company that you had bought the house?

No. Again, didn't know I needed to, and a very chaotic time due to changes at work.

> Presumably the house's electricity was being used while the work was being carried out?

Builders had a generator.

> Who was supposed to be paying for that electricity? Who did pay for that electricity? Who took meter readings?

The electricity company tell me that no meter reading had been taken since the date of purchase.

> When the house was rented out, who was the landlord? E.g. who's name was the landlord's insurance in, who was responsible for things like boiler checks, who did the estate agents bill, who did the rent get paid to?

My dad dealt with everything, and kept all the rent.

> Is there gas in the property? Is there the same problem with this?

There is gas, but the tenants seemed to have paid for this!