Students in a pickle over estimated bill

chanz4

king312 wrote: »

First thing, you are students, the Landlord has to legally service your gas boiler with a gas saftey enginner every year.

Now, in regards to your dilemna, tell the landlord and make sure the bill is changed to your landlords name if he is awkward and get him to either
1. Tell you the readings every three months
2. Part pay your gas bills

Is there the possibility you might be able to smell gas and need the gas checked? Particularly to also check if the difficult tenant might have illegal gas siponing equipment attached! Hopfully this is not real but I've seen worse with neighbours siponing gas into their properties.

Also abroad children, stealing gas for cooking with condoms :rotfl:

Chaning the name wont work, as all the l/lord would do is provide a copy of the tennancy.

reads every 3 months is an idea, but your talking l/lords

part pay a bill will end up with disconnection

Involving the emergency service can put lives at risk when false, also if no access they will either walk away or cut off at the road causing big issues

chanz4

Wywth wrote: »

Get access to the meter. You need access for safety reasons. It's where the isolation valve is sited.

If all else fails, a locksmith will get you access ... but try more reasonable means first. But don't delay. Your life, and perhaps the lives of many around you, could depend on it!

Only the Gas transporter eg national grid have rights of entry for safety.

jaybeetoo

JGBourne wrote: »

They had an estimated reading on our tenency agreement so i couldn't say.

A meter reading should have been taken when you moved in otherwise you will never know how much gas you've used.

Fire_Fox

Write a letter to the landlord, all you are doing with e-mailing the agent alone is time wasting. As I have already stated, use the address at which to serve notices on your tenancy agreement. If there is no such address write to the letting agent requesting it and referring to the relevant legislation. If you don't get it, you are actually within your rights to not pay any rent (but save don't spend it!). An address is extremely useful in any case of problems or disputes at the end of the tenancy. http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/landlord's_address.htm

You have no contract with the agent, the agent doesn't own the meter and has even less right over it than you do. Letting agents only do what they are paid to do often less, they have no way of accessing the meters, many have no qualifications and plenty know only a limited amount about the relevant legislation. You've already been fobbed off, get the hint.

If you are going to start breaking and entering your neighbours property without a court order be prepared to pay two lots of locksmith's fees and explain your actions to the police. No professional locksmith would let you into a property you don't own or rent anyway. You do not need access in an emergency since you are not qualified to muck about with gas meters, a professional might but they would be appointed by either the supplier, the landlord or the freeholder and they would make their own decision to break and enter. As tenants you have no liability for health and safety other than prompt reporting of any concerns (acting in a tenant like manner).

Official readings must be taken by the supplier at least every two years. What do you mean you had an estimated reading on your tenancy agreement?? How do you know you are paying for what you used even if you get an accurate reading now? Tell your landlord this, the agents should have brought it to his attention.

undaunted

I agree you should write to your landlord (and if necessary via letting agent) outlining the problem and ask him to either resolve access to read the meters each quarter or alternatively have your meter moved into your property at his own expense. I'd also CC the supplier with that as a point of information, also writing to them directly stating that you consider their estimate highly unrealstic and therefore asking them to arrange to read their meter, if necessary via warrant of entry.