Damp rental flat has led to a very high energy bill - advice needed!

mall83

My boyfriend and I moved into a flat towards the end of last year. We knew the flat had damp before we moved in but had been assured by the landlords that this would be fixed before we moved in. However, after two weeks in the property it became apparent that the landlord had just aired the flat and painted over the damp areas rather than fix the problem. When I told the landlord the damp had come back they very quickly provided a de-humidifer and advised us to use it throughout the night every night. This slowed down the damp but by no means stopped it.

After having to throw out some of our possessions that had gone mouldy we made the decision to move out. On giving EDF my latest meter reading they have told me we owe £623 for the electricity for the period 07/01/13-28/05/13! I expected to owe some money after winter but this just seems like a ridiculous some considering it is a tiny one bedroom flat and we have not been living there for the last three weeks. Our monthly payments based on their estimation are only £29.

I can only assume that having the de-humidifer on all night has led to such a high bill. I am hoping someone can tell me whether it is possible to make a claim to the landlord for a contribution towards the bill? As we would not have had to use a dehumidifier if they had fixed the damp in the first place.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Leanne

dancingfairy

My understanding is that you as tenants are responsible for the electric bill and your usage
Yes, o.k your landlord suggested you use the dehumidifier but in the end it was yourchoice (and dehumidifiers eat electric ).
Morally, of course the landlord should pay something towards it , but given the fact that he knew there was a problems and painted over it suggests he is unlikely to pay up.
You would have been better off contacting Environmental Health at the council and keeping detailed correspndence reagrding the problem with your landlord otherwise he will no doubt pull the same stunt with the next people
You can try and claim off the landlord but Ifear you are onto a loser. Sorry,
df

martinsurrey

dancingfairy wrote: »

My understanding is that you as tenants are responsible for the electric bill and your usage
Yes, o.k your landlord suggested you use the dehumidifier but in the end it was yourchoice (and dehumidifiers eat electric ).
Morally, of course the landlord should pay something towards it , but given the fact that he knew there was a problems and painted over it suggests he is unlikely to pay up.
You would have been better off contacting Environmental Health at the council and keeping detailed correspndence reagrding the problem with your landlord otherwise he will no doubt pull the same stunt with the next people
You can try and claim off the landlord but Ifear you are onto a loser. Sorry,
df

Did you have the windows open all the time?

Most damp is caused by lifestyle; drying clothes indoors with windows closed will put 4 litres of water into the rooms.

I’ve seen landlords deal with complaints of damp by knocking huge air vents into every wall, solved the damp, but then its the tenants problem to heat the place!

And in short, you’ll get nowhere with the landlord, sorry.

mall83

Thanks for your advice.

No we didn't have the windows open all the time as it was a ground floor flat, there had been burglaries on the Close and we worked during the day. However we open the windows when we were in and drying clothes. If we had a large wash to do we would take it to the launderette instead of drying it at the flat.

Apparently the problem was the front of the flat (hallway and bedroom) was very shaded which led to it being cold. That combined with a lack of air vents and a radiator in the hallway made it very damp. We never dried any clothes in the bedroom.

I don't in reality expect to get anywhere with my landlords as they are clearly dishonest people but I was wondering if there was anyone who had had some success with this. I don't expect them to cover the whole bill but a contribution would be the decent thing for them to do.

Werdnal

I use a dehumidifier regularly during the winter months, sometimes 2, and don't find them excessive on power usage. There is no heating element in them, and mine are quite economical to run. I even use one to dry clothes in my utility room in preference to my tumble drier.

redskyatnight_2

Really sorry to hear of your dilemma Leanne, but I fear you aren't going to be onto a winner here, as the others above have stated. You don't have much of a leg to stand on, and I agree that a dehumidifier *may* gobble the energy like a hungry hippo! (Weird analogy sorry, couldn't think of another one!) If it wasn't that as werndal said, then I don't know what it was... Is your heating electric???

That is a HUGE bill. Our gas was £350 for the quarter and leccie was £250. In a large 4 bed semi, so that bill of almost £700 is phenomenal.

I doubt you can get any money back, but I would sure as heck report them to trading standards and the council, and of course the property agent, if you used one, to stop him doing this to anyone else...

If you wanted to claim from the landlord, then you would have to go through the small claims court, and if you lose, you could end up being even MORE out of pocket! Good luck xx

mall83

After having discussions with EDF last night about my bill it has become apparent that my meter is faulty (one of the readings hasn't moved since I moved in) and probably needs replacing. They have admitted that due to the fault they have know way of knowing what I accurately owe them but are still going to charge me £623. I fear this is going to drag on for a while...

Leanne

moneyistooshorttomention

Isnt there some electricity users consumer group or other? I have an idea there might be. In your position I would check and see if there is and get in touch with them.

Its entirely possible a jobsworth in your fuel company just wanted to take the easy way out and tell you to pay up anyway - rather than have to take responsibility for saying "Go on then - just pay the amount we estimated someone would pay for a flat that size".

1. Find out if there is such a users consumer group and contact them.

2. See if you can get any concrete evidence for yourself as to what a household in that size flat would normally be expected to use.

gazter

mall83 wrote: »

After having discussions with EDF last night about my bill it has become apparent that my meter is faulty (one of the readings hasn't moved since I moved in) and probably needs replacing. They have admitted that due to the fault they have know way of knowing what I accurately owe them but are still going to charge me £623. I fear this is going to drag on for a while...

Leanne

You need to get this admission recorded. "We have no way of knowing how much you have used, but are going to charge more than 3x our original estimate"

mall83

I hadn't thought of consumer groups but I'll look into that. I was just planning on writing a letter of complaint to EDF and Ofgem. Their calls are supposed to be recorded but I guess I cannot really trust them now.

I have to ring them again this evening as I am moving out of the property and need to close the account. They said I can only contest the usuage once the account has been closed. Hopefully I will get someone who knows what they are talking about, the girl I got last kept putting me on hold and contradicting herself.

anotheruser

Call their bluff.

If it specifically says "calls may be recorded blah blah blah" then write down the time and date of your call and if they suggest it isn't their fault, then tell them to listen back to the call.