forced economy 7

molefin

Hi.
I live in a social housing flat which is due to be re-furbished, i.e. central heating etc.
My problem is they are telling me that I HAVE to have storage heaters installed, NO options (my present heating is overcharged communal oil).
I do not want the overnight heating that storage heating entails plus the expensive daytime charge of economy 7.
The social landlord is also saying that they may intend to put a meter in my flat and charge me for the electricity, (in other words becoming my electric supplier).
My questions are: do I have to accept the storage heating system and can they demand I pay them for the electric I use which means they take away my right to change supplier.

Wywth

molefin wrote: »

Hi.
I live in a social housing flat which is due to be re-furbished, i.e. central heating etc.
My problem is they are telling me that I HAVE to have storage heaters installed, NO options (my present heating is overcharged communal oil).
I do not want the overnight heating that storage heating entails plus the expensive daytime charge of economy 7.
The social landlord is also saying that they may intend to put a meter in my flat and charge me for the electricity, (in other words becoming my electric supplier).
My questions are: do I have to accept the storage heating system and can they demand I pay them for the electric I use which means they take away my right to change supplier.

The get some electrical heaters and use then at 3x the cost of the cheap rate.

Are you sure you've joined the correct site? This is all about money saving, not money wasting.

HappyMJ

molefin wrote: »

Hi.
I live in a social housing flat which is due to be re-furbished, i.e. central heating etc.
My problem is they are telling me that I HAVE to have storage heaters installed, NO options (my present heating is overcharged communal oil).
I do not want the overnight heating that storage heating entails plus the expensive daytime charge of economy 7.
The social landlord is also saying that they may intend to put a meter in my flat and charge me for the electricity, (in other words becoming my electric supplier).
My questions are: do I have to accept the storage heating system and can they demand I pay them for the electric I use which means they take away my right to change supplier.

You can always move out into private rented accommodation that has gas central heating.

Electric storage heating is cheaper than "overcharged communal oil".....that of course depends exactly on what you pay.

They can only charge you exactly what they pay for the electricity units plus a percentage of the standing charges. They cannot make a profit.

molefin

"The get some electrical heaters and use then at 3x the cost of the cheap rate.

Are you sure you've joined the correct site? This is all about money saving, not money wasting."

Sorry I do not understand your reply.
I have posted here because I thought that this was the right site, pure and simple.
this is a money saving question,
Do I have to agree with the landlord telling me I have to have expensive economy 7 or can I have the money saving cheaper day time rate.

macman

Why do you think E7 is 'expensive'? It's about a third of the cost of single rate electric heating.
Your LL presumably has the right to install the heating of their choice in their property, but what does your STA say?

molefin

Economy 7 is cheaper than oil heating, I agree BUT storage heating means I have to heat them during the night (when I do not want heating on), I then have to pay a third more for my day-time usage.
It may be good for those that live in a house where they can become nocturnal but as we live in a high rise building doing the washing at 2 a.m is out of the question.
The advice to move to private accom. is not what I want to hear.
I do not want economy 7 period, ( I have had past experience of it, it does not suit my needs).
I may need to re-phrase my question.
Can the landlord demand they become my supplier?.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

I wouldn't think that your landlord will become your supplier.

Once the rewire and installation of heaters has been done, your supplier will be whoever supplies your electricity now.

HappyMJ

molefin wrote: »

Economy 7 is cheaper than oil heating, I agree BUT storage heating means I have to heat them during the night (when I do not want heating on), I then have to pay a third more for my day-time usage.
It may be good for those that live in a house where they can become nocturnal but as we live in a high rise building doing the washing at 2 a.m is out of the question.
The advice to move to private accom. is not what I want to hear.
I do not want economy 7 period, ( I have had past experience of it, it does not suit my needs).
I may need to re-phrase my question.
Can the landlord demand they become my supplier?.

Storage heating has a control called an output. Put that on minimum turns the heat output right down to very low. If that knob is turned all the way down then the house will be cool in the morning and when you get home in the evening you manually turn the knob all the way up and the heat will be released. Depending on how long you want heat for you should have enough heat to keep you reasonably warm until you go to bed.

They are the landlord they can do what they want. Live with it or move. Who is your "communal" oil supplier currently? Do you pay the social housing provider in arrears and the social housing provider pays the oil supplier in advance? Or do you pay upfront for the oil?

Hominu

Your landlord owns the property (or has the rights to the property) and as such can install the heating system they desire. If you want to choose what heating system you want, then you need to purchase your own property or find a rental property which has the heating system you like.

I'm confused by "they may intend to put a meter in my flat" - surely they already have a meter in your flat, else how do they know how much electricity you use?

molefin

Look, sarcasm is not what I have asked for.
Some of us cannot afford to "purchase your own property".
I thought this site was for advice for people having problems and things forced upon them..
They do not have a meter in my flat , my supplier is EON, they say they
intend to re-place my meter with one of their own and charge me for electricity, that is my question can they do it? can they become my supplier?.

Peter999_2

I don't think you're understanding at all how the heaters work.

When I lived in a flat back in '93 I had storage heaters. The switch I used for them only worked between 12am and 7am and didn't work for the rest of the day. I would leave them on at the minimum in the morning.

I would work all day and get home about 6pm and turn them up - they would still be red hot and heated the whole flat for the rest of the night. My flat was so cheap to heat because of them and I saved a fortune.

The only problem was that if I turned off the switch (if I was away for a few days etc) and forgot to switch it back on I would have no hot water or heat for the rest of that day - used to have to wash with water out of the kettle.