Landlord/agent won't let me change energy tariff

oconnell87

I just need to know where I stand.

I'm still paying off my winter bill from Eon....I'm on the heatwise meter and have storage heating...I ended up wearing two layers of clothing and 3 blankets at night because the heat provided by the heaters was so useless I turned them off and still my bill was around £300 for the quarter for a tiny tiny studio flat.

I went online to eon to search for a better tariff and found I would benefit from changing however when I went to the next step I was told I couldn't. Following a called to eon they told me it was because to change I would have to have the meter changed.

First of all I went through my contract with the landlord/agent and no where does it mention that I have a heatwise meter or if I would want to change then the meter would have to be changed.

So to me I've been trapped into overpaying for my electricity.

I contacted my landlord/agent and they said they spoke to eon and it would mean all the meters in the block would need to be changed and everyone else they spoke to (which I doubt they did) said they were fine with their meter readings. The problem I have will this is there is one other flat like mine and the other 3 are 2 bedroom flats so it would seem then I'm paying the same as someone in a 2 bedroom flat, the particular renter they mentioned was a family of 4.

So basically they've said no

I read on the office of fair trading that a landlord cannot dictate which utility supplier a tenant chooses and they haven't put anything in the contract so where do I stand.?

Andy_WSM

Heatwise tariffs require different internal wiring to standard or eco7 supplies, so while you could change provider or tariff (limited as it's heatwise), changing away from heatwise would require some rewiring at your expense - this is why the landlord doesn't want you changing things. The wiring is his, not yours to change.

HappyMJ

oconnell87 wrote: »

I just need to know where I stand.

I'm still paying off my winter bill from Eon....I'm on the heatwise meter and have storage heating...I ended up wearing two layers of clothing and 3 blankets at night because the heat provided by the heaters was so useless I turned them off and still my bill was around £300 for the quarter for a tiny tiny studio flat.

I went online to eon to search for a better tariff and found I would benefit from changing however when I went to the next step I was told I couldn't. Following a called to eon they told me it was because to change I would have to have the meter changed.

First of all I went through my contract with the landlord/agent and no where does it mention that I have a heatwise meter or if I would want to change then the meter would have to be changed.

So to me I've been trapped into overpaying for my electricity.

I contacted my landlord/agent and they said they spoke to eon and it would mean all the meters in the block would need to be changed and everyone else they spoke to (which I doubt they did) said they were fine with their meter readings. The problem I have will this is there is one other flat like mine and the other 3 are 2 bedroom flats so it would seem then I'm paying the same as someone in a 2 bedroom flat, the particular renter they mentioned was a family of 4.

So basically they've said no

I read on the office of fair trading that a landlord cannot dictate which utility supplier a tenant chooses and they haven't put anything in the contract so where do I stand.?

Hand in your notice and move somewhere cheaper. You can change the meter it's not the landlord's...it's owned by the utility company but your landlord will not be impressed and will probably terminate your tenancy and charge you to change it back. It's up to you what risk you are willing to take.

oconnell87

there is no where cheaper for me to live plus I can't afford deposit for a new place anyway. From reading other sources the landlord has acted illegally regarding of the wiring issues, they can't prevent me from changing and it should be them paying for the changes since they didn't let me know at the start of my tenancy that I wouldn't be able to change

Cardew

oconnell87 wrote: »

there is no where cheaper for me to live plus I can't afford deposit for a new place anyway. From reading other sources the landlord has acted illegally regarding of the wiring issues, they can't prevent me from changing and it should be them paying for the changes since they didn't let me know at the start of my tenancy that I wouldn't be able to change

Did you ask them at the start of the tenancy about changing? What else didn't they tell you?

The flat is wired for Heatwise and you can change to any utility company that will cater for that system.

Most people will be better off with storage heaters(and hot water?) on heatwise - probably including yourself.

Of course you can't insist that the landlord makes expensive changes to the flat wiring. You might as well insist that they get gas piped to the building and install gas CH.

I suspect that you might be able to pay for the wiring/meter changes yourself, as long as you put it back to the original configuration at the end of your tenancy - at your expense.

amiehall

You have misunderstood your rights. While you do have the right to switch supplier, you don't have the right to damage your landlord's property by having the wiring changed. If you do this, your landlord will charge you to set things back to their original state when you leave the property.

The property comes together with the heating system. The expensive set-up is probably the reason this flat is cheaper than other similar flats with other heating arrangements. You should add the heating bill to the rent and compare that to the estimated total cost of other flats with their cheaper heating.

Why you would think that the landlord should specifically mention at the start of the tenancy that you shouldn't rip all the wiring out of his house is a little bit beyond me though.

Richie-from-the-Boro

oconnell87 wrote: »

there is no where cheaper for me to live plus I can't afford deposit for a new place anyway. From reading other sources the landlord has acted illegally regarding of the wiring issues, they can't prevent me from changing and it should be them paying for the changes since they didn't let me know at the start of my tenancy that I wouldn't be able to change

- did you pay a deposit ?, change just one thing and he can and will legally keep it
- if it costs your landlord more than your deposit value he can sue you for the difference

the landlord has acted illegally regarding of the wiring issues

- is cobblers my friend

they can't prevent me from changing and it

- is true, but they can and will charge you for returning it to the way you found it
- the costs you will incur changing the meter and particularly the wiring will have to be paid by you
- those costs will be in advance to an electrician because the meter will not be changed till the wiring and CU's are done
- the biggest cost could be instant homelessness and .. .. losing your deposit, you just can not mess with someone else's property

oconnell87

The point I'm making the landlord didn't mention that I was on a heatwise tariff or that I couldn't change so I can't be expected to pay for the change....I'm not doing it because I fancy doing it....I'm being over charged. If it was in the contract that I was on a heatwise and if I wanted to change it would incurr a cost fair enough, but they haven't and to tell me I can't change is illegal it's on the office of fair trading website

HappyMJ

oconnell87 wrote: »

The point I'm making the landlord didn't mention that I was on a heatwise tariff or that I couldn't change so I can't be expected to pay for the change....I'm not doing it because I fancy doing it....I'm being over charged. If it was in the contract that I was on a heatwise and if I wanted to change it would incurr a cost fair enough, but they haven't and to tell me I can't change is illegal it's on the office of fair trading website

They don't have to tell you...and by the sounds of it they'd rather stay on heatwise so aren't going to mention anything to encourage you to change it...you would be expected to pay for a meter change from E7 to standard or the other way around if that's what you wanted to do. There is never any mention of that in any tenancy agreement.

If you feel you are being overcharged then change the meter yourself...paying for the meter exchange...and be prepared to pay at the end of the tenancy to put it back how it was. There is nothing stopping you. It's not illegal for them to tell you not to change it...take it as a warning they will charge you to put it back at a later date.

dude89

oconnell87 wrote: »

The point I'm making the landlord didn't mention that I was on a heatwise tariff or that I couldn't change so I can't be expected to pay for the change....I'm not doing it because I fancy doing it....I'm being over charged. If it was in the contract that I was on a heatwise and if I wanted to change it would incurr a cost fair enough, but they haven't and to tell me I can't change is illegal it's on the office of fair trading website

Can you provide a link to the section on the OFT website? I know they can't stop you changing supplier as that would be an unfair contract term. But to change the wiring setup of Their property is completely different. Did you ask what the heating arrangements were before you signed the tenancy agreement?

Also what makes you think you are being overcharged? You are being charged the correct amount for the metering setup you have in place. You should of checked this during your inspection beforehand.

oconnell87

ok....never mind you don't seem to understand