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

j_m_2

danielanthony wrote: »

Your dad wasn't really the Landlord though was he, he was basically acting as your agent. I'm presuming you didn't have a written contract with him so he wont be liable for any mis-handling of your property.

No, he wasn't acting as my agent - he found the tenants and kept all the money. His namer on the tenancy agreement. I saw no benefit, and received a lot of hassle, and I wish he never did it, but that's another story...

macman

So, if he was the landlord according to the STA's, he is liable for all the billing in between tenants. He will also need to prove tenancy dates by supplying copies of the tenancy agreements, and names/ addresses so that the utilility co. can chase the tenants. This assumes that the STA clearly states that the tenants are responsible for paying their own electricity bills.
You may be the legal owner of the property but (on the face of it) you are not liable for any bills before your name went on the account.
This dispute is between him and the utility co-don't get involved, just pay what you owe since you took over.the account.

paulwellerfan

surely somebody has to for the leccy and gas.
Theres no such thing as free gas and leccy is there?
if there is let us all know

JimmyTheWig

j_m wrote: »

His namer on the tenancy agreement.

Have you got copies of these?

JimmyTheWig

Ask the electricity company when this bill is for that they say you owe.
If it pre-dates when you think you should be paying, ask why they think you should be paying for that time.

jalexa

j_m wrote: »

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

I'm not commenting on the tenancy issues which are complicated.

Regarding "running backwards" I take it it ran backwards through zero? IMO it is "negligent" of the billing system to have validated the read.

"Adjusting for the meter fault" is key. You say the house was vacant, they say the (adjusted) consumption for the period is £9000, but if in 6 years the supplier has failed to obtain a single reading and cannot demonstrate raising a concern about access, then I agree with suggestions that back-billing relief to 12 months might apply, either by application of the Billing Code or under supply regulations. "Set a trap" for the supplier by asking for back-billing relief to be applied. Make what you can of the response.

Terrylw1

Something that been missed here is the value of this bill.

Some posters believe this to be payable for energy they have purchased, but the issue is...they haven't purchased it. They themselves have only paid estimates or zero throughout this period.

The supplier is now charging a pure estimate based on some form of calculation. Its key that you obtain this calculation and scrutinise its validity.

One question I would always ask is "prove to me that you have purchased this energy". If the supplier has only done this "in-house" and not updated industry settlements for any difference between their purchase and your bill, they are making a 100% profit on those kwhs.

In terms of liability, what do the legal documents state? This is all the supplier will care about. If your dad was the tenant, he is liable but did he have tenancy agreements in place for his tenants?

You are in a Deemed contract from the date you bought the property and only those tenancy agreements will protect you from this providing they state there is a tenant responsible for utilities.

If it works out this way, you are right in stating you shouldn't be expected to pay the full cost. For a start, they can work out each persons share of the bill and write off anything they don't want to chase old tenants for.

Ask what tests they did on the meter. If they didn't, they can't prove anything other than the fact it was running backwards from the date of the visit or any readings you provided with dates that prove it.

They are obligated to perform a safety check every 2 years starting from their switch date. They've admitted to failing that. So, unless thy have evidence your tenants blocked it (but they should still have pursues a warrant anyway) they have failed their obligation under Ofgem's Standard Licence Condition (SLC) 12.14.

Given the large value here, I suspect we have a case of a sneaky senior manager trying to breach the ERA billing code hoping you will fall for it. Raise a complaint and I suspect it will swiftly change.

Even if they reduce it, you still need to review their calculations as it could be too high.