Ridiculous electricity overestimate

jzdwidget

Me and a friend moved into a small two bedroom flat in May 2012. The electricity meter was broken when we moved into the flat (the numbers didn't increase). I moved from EDF to NPower straight after we moved and explained the problem to NPower. They said they'd get someone out to fix it and charged us an estimate of £20pcm in the meantime.

A couple of months ago NPower rang me and asked if I could give them a reading, and I explained again it was broken and they again said they'd get someone out. Today I got an estimated bill for September 2012-December 2012 of £750! I've never seen anything so ridiculous! I'd be surprised if we used £150 total in that period (both of us out of the flat at least 7:30-6:30 Monday-Friday, away a lot weekends, don't use living room, kept warm by the flats around us etc).

I was going to ring them tomorrow and try and sort it out, but what should I expect? Is that money a lost cause? And why on earth haven't they sent a bill for the rest of the time we've been in? It doesn't make sense.

Any help greatly, greatly appreciated!

pc1271

It's hard to know what will happen here. You have used electricity and so should pay for it - but no one knows how much you've used. My guess is that you should only pay for what the meter reads - if that is zero, it's up to the utility firm to prove what you did use. If you were intentionally trying to avoid paying for the electricity that would be illegal, but you informed them immediately and asked them to fix it. They haven't.

Nada666

£150 for four months in an electricity-only two person (not even a couple) flat over autumn and winter. £37.50 per month. That is not a normal usage. That would barely cover cooking, showers, white goods and entertainment - even without any heating.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

yes phone them and explain the situation.

Once the meter is changed, they will monitor your usage for a few weeks,
then issue a new bill.

Fire_Fox

jzdwidget wrote: »

Me and a friend moved into a small two bedroom flat in May 2012. The electricity meter was broken when we moved into the flat (the numbers didn't increase). I moved from EDF to NPower straight after we moved and explained the problem to NPower. They said they'd get someone out to fix it and charged us an estimate of £20pcm in the meantime.

A couple of months ago NPower rang me and asked if I could give them a reading, and I explained again it was broken and they again said they'd get someone out. Today I got an estimated bill for September 2012-December 2012 of £750! I've never seen anything so ridiculous! I'd be surprised if we used £150 total in that period (both of us out of the flat at least 7:30-6:30 Monday-Friday, away a lot weekends, don't use living room, kept warm by the flats around us etc).

I was going to ring them tomorrow and try and sort it out, but what should I expect? Is that money a lost cause? And why on earth haven't they sent a bill for the rest of the time we've been in? It doesn't make sense.

Any help greatly, greatly appreciated!

Telephoning clearly is not working, write to them so you have a paper trail. They could equally well ask why you haven't chased them up about fixing the meter, your debt has been building up. They are not suggesting you have used that amount in three months, that is their estimate of the total debt.

And get a better idea of what you are using, electric heating and hot water are VERY expensive even in what you think of as moderation. £20 a month won't touch the sides that is a silly estimate, I was spending more than than in 2006 living alone in a flat using no heating, very little hot water (showered elsewhere, E7 for laundry) and no tumble dryer. The price per unit has increased massively since then.

jzdwidget

Thanks for all the advice so far.

I agree that £20pcm is tiny, but that's the estimate they said they'd charge me when I told them the meter was broken. As someone else pointed out, if they decided on an estimate of £20pcm, how can they then decide on an estimate of £750? I like that it's likely they'll be forced to make us pay based on what we actually use after the meter is fixed. Much better

dogshome

I'm afraid that monthly Direct Debit payments are just payments on account towards an Annual Bill of unknown value - If the customer has been in residence long enough to have a full years consumption/cost history, then D/D's can be fixed at a sensible value, but with new occupiers it can only be guesswork.

It would help if we knew what sort of heating you have, and if it's Elec.is it on an ECO7 meter with Storage radiators & overnight Hot Water ?

rogerblack

jzdwidget wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice so far.

I agree that £20pcm is tiny, but that's the estimate they said they'd charge me when I told them the meter was broken. As someone else pointed out, if they decided on an estimate of £20pcm, how can they then decide on an estimate of £750? I like that it's likely they'll be forced to make us pay based on what we actually use after the meter is fixed. Much better

Did they know you have electric heating?
Having it on at all - even at a low level - will vastly exceed £20.
Electric hot water for example will cost around £3, even if you use none a day, just to keep the tank hot.