Gas and Electricity bills...Confused?

stfrank

Hi everyone,

hope somebody can give me some advice.

I moved into a 2 bed flat july 2011 with my girlfriend.

The landlord and her did a metre reading on electric, gas and water as I was away for the summer so wasnt there, we still have the original readings, but she cant remember where the electricity reading is.

My water bill is fine, a guy comes out reads it we get a bill every 6 months from united utilities, no problem.

The problem here is it was my first house and im clueless on bills and how they work.

we are with EDF for our electricity and they came out 4 times to read our metre but cant find it. we asked the landlord and he said its in a shared accomodation section which we cant get access too without our upstairs neighbour who has been away more than shes ever here.

But I received a bill for 71 pounds for the year july 2011 to july 2012 and since then I check online and we get bills of around 19 pound every few months which we pay off.

But I spoke with my mate and he said hes in a smaller place than ours and is paying around a 1000 pound for the year and he said my bills must be estimated because of the metre reading not being read since we moved in and that I could have a bill well into the 1000's

And with the gas, we received no letters no readings from any company whatsoever in a year and 5 months of living here and havent paid a bill as we dont know who we are with.

Im really worried as its xmas coming up and were both skint, will I really have to pay 1000s?

whats the best thing I can do?

please help.

Cheers

stfrank

anybody help me?

LolStevo

u really need to find the meter! i too have just been stung after estimated readings :-(

i was paying £50 a month for gas and £50 a month for electric and after giving my readings i know owe them £90 for gas and £60 lecky, on top of what i have paid n for just 3 months!!!

tell your landlord u need to get to the meter!

stfrank

Hi Thanks for your advice,

So for a year and 5 months worth I have probably paid around 110 pound for electric and nothing for gas.

What sort of bill am i looking at for electric?

and how can I find out what company of gas I have?

thank you.

macman

It's clearly shown on the bill (against the meter readings) if the reading is customer, agent, or estimated.
It's up to you to register with the gas provider, not for them to contact you, as they have no idea when a tenancy changes.
Google 'how to find my gas supplier' and all will be revealed.
If they can't get access, the supplier will eventually get a warrant for entry to inspect the meters, which must be done every two years.
Since we don't know your usage, we have no idea what your bills might be, that's why you need to find the missing meter, missing supplier, and get some accurate bills.
If you have made no attempt to contact the gas supplier, as it appears, then the back billing code does not apply, and they can back bill you until the start of your tenancy.
But presumably you have put money aside knowing that a bill would eventually be coming?

Wywth

stfrank wrote: »

What sort of bill am i looking at for electric?

That will depend on how much electricity you have consumed over the period.
You meter will indicate that.
Whilst the £110 will be deducted from what you owe, it will probably still be quite a lot if you are on the suppliers stndard(expensive) tariff

stfrank wrote: »

and how can I find out what company of gas I have?

http://cfe.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5534/~/who-are-my-electricity-and-gas-suppliers%3F

Again, will be expensive as you will almost certainly be billed on the suppliers standard (expensive) tariff, so the sooner you act, the quicker you can get yourself a cheaper tariff

Use the MSE guide to find the best deal for you.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity

chris1973

and since then I check online and we get bills of around 19 pound every few months which we pay off.

That sounds stupidly low - £19 for 8 weeks+ worth of usage?.

Even if you aren't using Electric Heating, I suspect that you are going to get a nasty shock when they play catch up, and EDF will be throwing a party in your honour when that is totalled up

Im really worried as its xmas coming up and were both skint, will I really have to pay 1000s?

They'll probably add it to your new Direct Debit payments, so for a period of time you may end up paying £100+ a month whilst any accrued back usage is paid back.

Alternatively if you can't realistically pay it back over a period, then they may want to fit a prepayment meter, which with your meter access situation would be a nightmare. I would also explain the meter location situation to them when discussing any repayment.

Either way, you need to get this sorted ASAP, as any underpayment is just going to grow and grow.