Settling an 8 year electricity bill

paul_101

It appears that there has been a secondary electricity supply to my property that I have not been paying since 2005.:eek:

It was left under the name of the property building company, and the energy company was billing their head office until this summer when they started to communicate at the supply address (my home). Obviously this is the first time I became aware of it.

There is no doubt I used the energy, which amounts to £3700, but I was unaware there was a second supply and the energy company just sat back for 8 years and let the bill roll up and up, and made no attempt to make contact at the supply address or do some basic investigative work to see what had happened.:mad:

Now i'm in the complaints procedure to resolve it. Of course I want to pay as little as possible. I've been told there is a 7 year cap, which is something at least but only a year written off.

On the remaining balance - what sort of reduced settlement should I expect or try to negotiate? :money:

thanks
paul

alun4

Where was the other meter sited?

wakeupalarm

Other customers some of which will be less able to pay will have to pick-up the tab if you don't pay it. You used the energy so offer to pay for your share of the usage.

paul_101

The meters are in communal cupboards and residents dont have access to them. They are read remotely.

paul_101

wakeupalarm wrote: »

Other customers some of which will be less able to pay will have to pick-up the tab if you don't pay it. You used the energy so offer to pay for your share of the usage.

So you're saying energy companies can run their affairs in a shoddy way, and consumers have no recourse because "other people" ultimately have to pay?

Where does the money come from to pay the massive fines Ofcom imposes then? Are "other people" paying that?

alun4

It should come down to what is reasonable. You seem happy that you have used the electricity so that is not a problem. Where you paying for the primary supply and was this anywhere near a realistic figure for your home? In other words, should you have wondered? Also, what is the position with the development company? Were you the first purchaser and they did/didn't tell the electricity supplier when they sold it to you?

Nada666

paul_101 wrote: »

Where does the money come from to pay the massive fines Ofcom imposes then? Are "other people" paying that?

So? And?

You state that the bill was being sent to another party - I doubt you were unaware of the meter. It strikes me you were deliberately choosing to avoid bringing the usage to their attention.

System

Nada666 wrote: »

I doubt you were unaware of the meter.

This from the original post tends to contradict your assumption

It was left under the name of the property building company, and the energy company was billing their head office until this summer when they started to communicate at the supply address (my home). Obviously this is the first time I became aware of it....


.....but I was unaware there was a second supply

plus

The meters are in communal cupboards and residents dont have access to them. They are read remotely.

alun4

Nada666 wrote: »

So? And?

I doubt you were unaware of the meter.

I would think it quite possible to be unaware of which meter relates to which property in many communal supply situations.

paul_101

Nada666 wrote: »

So? And?

So there are ways that the energy company can reduce my liability without it being thought of as having a direct impact on other peoples bills.

Nada666 wrote: »

You state that the bill was being sent to another party - I doubt you were unaware of the meter. It strikes me you were deliberately choosing to avoid bringing the usage to their attention.

I cant imagine why you think I was aware of a meter in communal cupboards I am not allowed access to (unless I specifically request so from the leaseholder), but I think we would all prefer the discussion continued on the basis that I am telling the truth.

paul_101

alun4 wrote: »

It should come down to what is reasonable. You seem happy that you have used the electricity so that is not a problem. Where you paying for the primary supply and was this anywhere near a realistic figure for your home? In other words, should you have wondered?

The primary supply accounts for more than enough of what I would expect to pay for electricity, in the region of £300 a QTR for a small flat. The secondary supply amounts to £100 per QTR. But the building has very high energy efficiency and I really did not know what bill to expect having previously being in a victorian property with single glazed windows the size of the Queen Mary, and other changes such as bath to shower and all electric cooking.

alun4 wrote: »

Also, what is the position with the development company? Were you the first purchaser and they did/didn't tell the electricity supplier when they sold it to you?

Yes, I was the first purchaser. The developer obviously didn't tell the energy company. They can't be put in the line for any liability as they went bankrupt which is probably why they chose to ignore the bills they were being sent for my property - they were ignoring all their bills.