Huge problem with electricity bill, need help!

deanmullen1

Hi, heres the story

I moved into a student HMO house in belfast with three friends on sept 1st 2012, upon moving in our estate agent Property people offered to take our meter reading to send to our electricity company (powerNI). The time came for our first bill and we were shocked to find that they wanted over £500 for our first 4 months of usage, all we have in the house are 3 laptops, phone chargers and a dishwasher that gets used twice a week and a fridge. no tv's no electric heaters or anything and during the christmas period no one was in the house.

Thinking this is a bit crazy we phoned them up and they got us to give them an actual meter reading as opposed to what they estimated we used and thats when we were told our bill wasnt £500, it was actually £1250 or 55 kwh per day. Now im pretty sure unless we have a drug farm we cant use over £1250 pounds of electricity in 4 months. So they sent out a man to read the meter for us and i asked him if the bill could be right and he laughed and said it couldnt be anywhere near that. So they send out a rectified bill and this time its over £1350...

They keep telling us that this bill is perfectly feesable and is right and that we should start paying it.

Now the only thing i can think that has happened is that upon the first reading being taken by our estate agents they wrote the wrong number down. it says on our bill that the first customer reading taken by property people is 1950 units and we are currently sitting on over 9500 units. If this is the case who is liable for the bill? would it be property people who took the reading wrong on our behalf or would it be us? and what can be done if this turns out to be the case

any help would be much appriciated

i should point out also that we pay for gas via a pay as you go card so this bill is just solely for the electricity, no heating

jwdale80

Thats strange! If you look at your meter, does the 'disk' in the meter appear to be spinning round very fast? Based on your description you should be around the 10 unit per day mark. I have 2 electric heaters on 6 & 14 hours a day, plasma screen tv, pc and a freezer, cooker, and i'm using around 18 units per day. I hope someone hasn't tapped into your supply somehow and is stealing your electricity. Does your property still have a hot water tank with an emersion heater in it?

Andy_WSM

deanmullen1 wrote: »

Now the only thing i can think that has happened is that upon the first reading being taken by our estate agents they wrote the wrong number down. it says on our bill that the first customer reading taken by property people is 1950 units and we are currently sitting on over 9500 units. If this is the case who is liable for the bill?

You are liable as the customer of the utility company, no one else. It is entirely down to you to keep a track of your meter readings and consumption. Sorry. I'm sure it's not what you want to hear, but that's how it is.

Tip - always read your own meters at least once a month and even better, keep a photographic record using your smart phone camera.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

switch everything off at consumer unit/fuse box and check that meter stops.

Also, take a daily reading at same time each day, for a week or so to see if that shows any difference in usage.

deanmullen1

Ive been taking daily readings over the course of a few days now and its averaging around 6 - 10 units a day. I was afraid it would be us left with this bill, it dosent seem fair that it was our estate agents fault and the electricity company will get away with charging us for imaginary units that we haven't used

mikeandrach_2

i bet the correct original reading was 9150, not 1950

[Deleted User]

Hi,

if there were folks in house before you, then there must've been a final reading from them moving out.

Fire_Fox

Did YOU take the initial meter reading and the current meter reading or are there photographs of it? If so double and triple check that the readings are correct on your bills. Never trust anyone else to take readings for you, you (tenants jointly) are the liable party the buck stops with you.

Secondly what tariff are you on? It is YOUR responsibility to choose the tariff otherwise you will be put on the pricey 'standard' you may even be on an even pricier business tariff. Again never permit agents or landlords to deal with anything to do with your accounts.

Forget what is fair or who is 'getting away', that is an immature way to speak. Adult life is not fair and you should not have relied on someone else to take responsibility for YOUR meter readings. Note that they are not 'your' estate agents they are the landlord's agents, you are legally contracted to the landlord directly. In other words never trust an agent, you don't pay their wages and they don't work in your best interests.

Deal with the facts, what you have used and are using. Write to the supplier telling them you are using six to ten units a day and have no electric heating or hot water (if you don't) so you believe the initial reading to be incorrect. Continue to supply meter readings every two weeks or every month. In the mean time pay what you think you owe each month DO NOT just wait this out.

Do not rely on the final meter reading from past tenants if they were also students, they could not have given it or could have moved out months before you moved in and the agents/ landlord are trying to sting you for the energy used during the vacancy. If the property was not tenanted this energy is the landlord's responsibility to pay for. When you took over the gas did you get a brand new card from the energy supplier? If you are using an old card it's possible you are paying old debt.