Free Electricity!! - Dilemma!

743347

Hi All,

Ok more details to come if needed but to keep it brief, we never got round to sorting out our electricity supplier (we're in a rental) and now, 2 years later we're planning to move but need final copies of the utilities to get our bond refunded.
Things is, we've never paid a penny for it and never received any bill, but the supply has never been cut off either!

I contacted the company on the meter to see if they could find out who the supplier is but their records show the property as being 'disconnected' and the meter number is not known on their database.

Anyone ever been in this situation?!
I'm awaiting a call back whilst the company investigate why we're not coming up but still have power.

What's likely to happen?

MissG_2

743347 wrote: »

Hi All,

we never got round to sorting out our electricity supplier

How in 2 years didn't you get around to doing it?

You will probably have to pay for what you used which will probably end up being a lot more than your bond.

743347

Well, we did contact a supplier to get set up initially, and we spoke to them a couple of times. We were quite busy around that time (all round the clock) and we just expected a quarterly bill.

When we didn't get that we expected it would be annual instead.

Blissful ignorance you could say...

itsarichmansworld

How much is your deposit?

I was under charged for 3 years by BG I got a bill for £2k might be worth losing your deposit

743347

The bond is £850 so should pay a large chunk of it off.
We thought about doing a runner but we've made a lot of friends in the area and the landlord and neighbours have all been so nice that we just couldn't do it. As we didn't know whether it was all racking up somewhere we thought the next tenants would be landed with a huge bill and might mention it to a neighbour and then we'd lose face.

Thing is, now that I've spoken to the board that supply the meter, and they have no record of the meter and the property being listed as disconnected, I wish I'd have just shut up.

Would I be able to get away with saying we've only been there a month or so? If they have no record of the meter then surely they wont be able to tell the difference in consumption?

charis18uk

I think the answer to your dilemma depends on a number of things

1. Did your landlord take a meter reading when you started the contract (most do).

2. Have you notified the electricity company at any time of the opening meter readings?

If the anser to either of the above is yes, then your ultimately going to pay for what you used in some way.

It also hinges on your honesty too. I'm not judging you on this believe me.

You can just leave without resolving it and forfeit your deposit, but that doesn't stop the electricity company pursuing you at a later date even after you have lost the deposit. You could lose both is what I am saying.

In your circumstances I would contact the electricity supplier in writing, with the meter numbers, your move in date and a believeable opening meter reading. I would ask for a final bill within 28 days stating that you are moving and will not be maintaining contact with the supplier beyond this date. Post the letter by recorded delivery.

I would then do exactly that. Bearing in mind that you couldn't ever at a later date have a new relationship with the electricity supplier with any new address with the same name or the problem might come back and bite you in the !!!.

I would tell your landlord the problem, give him a copy of the letter and request your deposit. If the bill is not in his name he is not ever liable as has no right to withhold your deposit for that reason.

Does this help?

743347

Hi charis18uk,

Thank you for your reply. In response to question 1 yes they did, and we have a written record of this on our copy of the contract too.

For the second I'm really not sure. When I spoke to the board to find out the supplier they said it's listed as 'disconnected' and they also have no record of the meter. Bearing in mind this, and that we have never received a bill technically we don't have a supplier.

We realised that by doing a runner and losing the bond that they could ultimately catch up with us and we'd lose either way which is why I called the board.
I don't really know how it all works but if there's no record of the meter surely there's no record of the readings either?
I know it's not the honest thing to do but they've supplied us this long without going broke and they earn plenty anyway that if we were to register and settle up for a couple of months' worth everyone would win? :j

I should be hearing from the board in the next day or 2 anyway _pale_

newcook

Hi!

I hope this thread helps http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=442123
from what it states on there as it is the companies fault they can only bill you for up to 12 months...

tripled

To my knowledge, if the supply is listed as disconnected a new mpan needs to be created and a supplier nominated. The only time I dealt with a similar case, the customer was only billed from the date they called us and nominated us as their supplier.

However if a supply is down as de-energised it can be reactivated and you would have a registered supplier who would charge you. They can back bill you for up to two years.

NicolaJH_2

Does your landlord not bear any responsibility in ensuring that you have a proper electricity supply at the beginning?

I've had a similar but different problem, in that I tried switching suppliers and then didn't get a bill for over a year. There had been some mix up in the switch and the supply for another flat got changed instead of mine. I'm guessing I'll be getting a large bill soon for that usage, although I'm hoping that somehow I might avoid it.

743347

Thanks everyone for your replies.
The property was listed as disconnected and the meter number not recognised in the system. When we moved in it was up to usa rather than the landlord to ensure we register for a preferred supplier and set up bills.

I was called by the board to say we have been connected now to British Gas and have a connection ref number to give them.

I'm a bit intimidated to call them now though! Do I say I just recently moved in and hope for the best? From what the board told me, the old supplier before it was 'disconnected' was BG so I'm wondering if they'll have records of the meter readings. Aaaagh what to do!