bills over the summer

mhoc

My daughter lives in a student house and her contract finishes in September. Normally there are 6 of them but everyone else is going home over the summer and there are then just going to be two of them for June, July and August.
The electricity and gas is paid by monthly budget and the ammount is then split between them. The girls were worried that they would be faced with a huge £70 odd bill every month over the summer, bill split into 2 instead of 6. So I rang the utility company for them, explained that the 6 would be just 2 and that the heating would be off and water on only when needed, out most of the day and night etc, and the utility company said there was no problem, they have dropped it down from £154 to £70 a month, still slightly more than what they have been paying each month when split, but manageable - and a saving of £252 for them.
Also because I rang today there was still time to alter the direct debit for June. Its a budget account so these are usually in credit anyway except in the depths of winter.
I just thought that there might be others in the same situation. Its well worth thinking ahead to the summer, no use working the summer for it all to go on bills
m

melancholly

i would really recommend that your daughter checks exactly what the meter reading is when the 4 people move out and compares it to the final reading - if they have extra to pay (unlikely!), then she can show the other 4 whether or not they need to contribute, or if they have overpaid, she can see who should be paid back.

mhoc

Good idea except that the departing ones are not going at the same time, one has gone already, one has a contract finishing in June and the other two it may be when their end of year exams finish because they come from down south, that varies for everyone. Also in the middle of all this my daughter is way for two weeks. I am just hoping that the utility company gave them the reduction because the account was in credit.
It feels like another quartily bill is due as well.
Any surplus at the end of their contract they are supposed to split between them but I had better put a diary note in to make sure they read the metre on the last day and ring the company up for a bill.
m

rubuhoeikanaika

Isn't college supposed to be an education in independent living? Surely we want to be raising a generation who can at least sort out their own utility bills? I see this as dangerously close to micromanagement, would it have been so bad if:

- they called the company themselves, or
- didn't call, it was a mess, they learn their lesson?

Of course how you run your own lives is your own business, but this is my IMHO FWIW.

rubuhoe

melancholly

rubuhoeikanaika wrote: »

Isn't college supposed to be an education in independent living? Surely we want to be raising a generation who can at least sort out their own utility bills? I see this as dangerously close to micromanagement, would it have been so bad if:

- they called the company themselves, or
- didn't call, it was a mess, they learn their lesson?

Of course how you run your own lives is your own business, but this is my IMHO FWIW.

rubuhoe

or you could just let a parent help out their daughter to avoid a potential big mess............ money and shared bills in student houses rarely runs smoothly and this is a really good suggestion for anyone in a student house in a similar situation. i don't think a judgement on poor parenting is at all warrented and is quite rude.

The_doomed

melancholly wrote: »

i don't think a judgement on poor parenting is at all warrented and is quite rude.

....however your idea is a very valid suggestion and one that must be emphasised to all living away students where possible.