Business Tariffs for Communal areas rip-off!

AdKM

Surely there's a campaign here Martin Lewis?!

Like many people up and down the land I'm sure, I live in flat within a converted house. There are 4 flats in total. All four 'domestic' flats share a communal hallway for which we are told it is standard practice that a business tariff will be charged for the 'Landlords' electricity usage (there is no landlord as such).

We are tiny users. Just 206K/w units per annum. Our bills a couple of years ago were negligible. But the price is rocketing up due to increases in the standing charge. 2 or 3 years ago it was 7p per day. Yesterday it was 24p. Today EDF put it up to 35p. We have tried switching but have been told that EDF are the cheapest and that the other big 5 don't deal with such small 'business users'.

This is a complete rip off! Why must domestic users be forced onto business tariffs in this way? We are just tenants and not a business. The price increase is not even due to the cost of units going up. This is not fair and anti-competitive!

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

AdKM wrote: »

Surely there's a campaign here Martin Lewis?!

Like many people up and down the land I'm sure, I live in flat within a converted house. There are 4 flats in total. All four 'domestic' flats share a communal hallway for which we are told it is standard practice that a business tariff will be charged for the 'Landlords' electricity usage (there is no landlord as such).

We are tiny users. Just 206K/w units per annum. Our bills a couple of years ago were negligible. But the price is rocketing up due to increases in the standing charge. 2 or 3 years ago it was 7p per day. Yesterday it was 24p. Today EDF put it up to 35p. We have tried switching but have been told that EDF are the cheapest and that the other big 5 don't deal with such small 'business users'.

This is a complete rip off! Why must domestic users be forced onto business tariffs in this way? We are just tenants and not a business. The price increase is not even due to the cost of units going up. This is not fair and anti-competitive!

Who told you this?

mberridge

yes, we have exactly the same problem. we are a block of 4 flats and edf have put us on a 'landlords supply commercial', in spite of the fact the common ways use 2 low energy lightbulbs and use only 268 units a year. we also are paying 35p per day standing charge and the unit rate is 14.05. I've tried to no avail to argue the toss with EDF who say it is not them but Ofcom??!! and we cannot change the meter. this is a complete rip off - does anyone else have this problem i'm sure they do, EDF told me they are arguing with people all the time about this!

AdKM

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

Who told you this?

A representative calling back from Makeitcheaper.com. I should add that she didn't mean the other Big 5 couldn't take us, she just said that EDF can't be beaten as the other 5 are not competitive for such small users.
I have since found out from Money Supermarket that this is not true. SSE can beat the EDF prices we currently have.

Up until yesterday EDF costs were:
14.1p per Kw/h + 24p per day standing charge.

Today EDF have changed it to 14.57p per Kw/h + 35p per day standing charge.

SSE quote is 10.48p per kw/h + 17.47p per day standing charge (1 year fix) and 11.312p per Kw/h with a 4 year fix (Same standing Charge).

The bug bear still stands that we are not a business. Just social tenants sharing a communal space.

AdKM

I tried to ring Ofgem to complain but got directed to Citizens Advice Consumer Service, who suggested writing a letter of complaint to the energy supplier asking them to prove that we are a business.

AdKM

Money Supermarket switching person did say that our meter serial number indicated that it was a business metre and whoever installed it must have known (Housing Association is the freeholder) even though they have nothing to do with the bill.

JPD23

Fit 4x low energy lights in the hallway and feed one from each flat, then cease the additional meter?!