Is my landlord allowed to do this?

1316Baggies

I do hope someone on here can help me with some practical advice

I rented a property through an estate agency/management company from 1st Nov 12-1st Nov 14. When I left they asked for my forwarding address and I gave it to them.

I've got home to my new house today to a bill from EDF for over £2,500 which apparently relates to the previous address!!

Whilst at that address I paid Gas & Electric through British Gas and was told in my tenancy agreement that I was not able to switch.

Now a new girl at the estate agency has emailed to say that this bill to EDF for Electric has been billed to them and she says I am liable to pay it.

I do not understand. I think there was a mix up with the meters for my basement flat and the top floor flat which their tenant told me about as I was leaving as she was too, but I thought that they were being switched back for the new tenants.

My questions are..

1) Are the Estate Agencies able to give out your personal details like this? Do they not have a duty of care to tenants in this case? I feel like they've just thrown me under the bus by saying bills are my responsibility!!!

2) How on earth can EDF say that one single person can spend £2.5k on Electricity in two years and then pay it in one go? I've just moved and post xmas am so broke

3) I've made payments to British Gas. I've stupidly only kept one quarterly bill from this time period but it 100% says Electric & Gas on it. How can they make me now pay electric to EDF too?
EDF have given me until 25 Feb to pay this. What happens if I can't? Will this go to arrears and affect my credit rating?

4) Who is at fault here? Is it me?

I really hope someone can help! I am literally so stressed and it's the weekend so I cannot ring any of these people for help.

Many thanks in advance for anyone who can help me here.

Pixie5740

When you moved into the property did you take meter readings and give them to the utility company(s) and did you do the same when you moved out?

The letting agency has no contract with you and never did. Your contract was with the landlord.

Yes the utility company can be given your forwarding address.

kinger101

First, contact British Gas and get them to confirm that both your gas and electric supply was with them for the entire period, and that there is no debt outstanding.

Then contact EDF and ask why they have sent a bill (assuming British Gas confirm what you thought).

Ordinarily, when you move into a property, you should take meter readings. And you should do the same when you move out. For future reference, you are allowed to change the supplier. Did you take any meter readings?

If it turns out the bill is yours, you might need to come to some arrangement to pay EDF. But I'd also challenge the basis for the £2,500. Unless you have electric heating in a very poorly insulated house, is sounds like a silly amount of money for a two year period. It could be that some of this debt is not yours.

1316Baggies

Thank you for all the advice

The metre readings were taken by the Inventory Company - a gentleman was waiting on my move in arrival to do check in. He supplied me with a copy of these readings and they were given (eith by the management company or the inventory co, I'm not sure) to the energy companies on my behalf to start my tenancy.

I only ever had bills arrive from British Gas - for Electric and Gas which I paid when they arrived quarterly.

My contact states I wasn't allowed to change energy supplier. I just double checked this.

Surely the landlord/his management company have a duty of care to help figure out what has happened here rather than just completely throw me under the bus as soon as EDF come forward?

G_M

Have you got start readings and end readngs from your start/end dates of your tenancy?

You are responsible for utility usage from/to that.

Nothing else.

1316Baggies

Yes I do. And I realise I am responsible. But I paid in good faith to British Gas. Now EDF are billing me for readings from this time. And £2.5k is just crazy for this time period.
My worry is that I was through not fault of my own paying for the upstairs flat because I was being billed incorrectly.

kinger101

Although the meter readings were taken by an inventory company, you really should take your own. I've moved into properties before where the meter readings have been incorrect.

It might say your not allowed to change supplier in your contract, but this is not an enforceable term.

The agent is the agent of the landlord. They do not act on your behalf. What they are doing sounds appalling, but you really need to deal with this yourself, with the energy companies. You need to tell your version of events to EDF, as something odd is clearly going on, and I would not trust the landlord or agent.

If they agents have made a mistake, I'd write to their head office, and then any ombudsman scheme of which they are a member.

BobQ

I cannot see how any one supply can be provided by two companies simultaneously.

Is it possible that EDF supplied one fuel and BG the other?

The cost itself might be explained by an administrative error on the meter readings. (eg reversing figures). Do you have a copy of the readings at the start and finish from BG bills? If so how do these compare with what the inventory takers recorded?

BobQ

1316Baggies wrote: »

Yes I do. And I realise I am responsible. But I paid in good faith to British Gas. Now EDF are billing me for readings from this time. And £2.5k is just crazy for this time period.
My worry is that I was through not fault of my own paying for the upstairs flat because I was being billed incorrectly.

Can we be clear. Your tenancy ran from Date A to Date B. Does the EDF bill relate to the same period or is it from Date B to Date C after you left the home?

45002

1316Baggies wrote: »

I do hope someone on here can help me with some practical advice

I rented a property through an estate agency/management company from 1st Nov 12-1st Nov 14. When I left they asked for my forwarding address and I gave it to them.

I've got home to my new house today to a bill from EDF for over £2,500 which apparently relates to the previous address!!

Whilst at that address I paid Gas & Electric through British Gas and was told in my tenancy agreement that I was not able to switch.

Now a new girl at the estate agency has emailed to say that this bill to EDF for Electric has been billed to them and she says I am liable to pay it.

I do not understand. I think there was a mix up with the meters for my basement flat and the top floor flat which their tenant told me about as I was leaving as she was too, but I thought that they were being switched back for the new tenants.

My questions are..

1) Are the Estate Agencies able to give out your personal details like this? Do they not have a duty of care to tenants in this case? I feel like they've just thrown me under the bus by saying bills are my responsibility!!!

2) How on earth can EDF say that one single person can spend £2.5k on Electricity in two years and then pay it in one go? I've just moved and post xmas am so broke

3) I've made payments to British Gas. I've stupidly only kept one quarterly bill from this time period but it 100% says Electric & Gas on it. How can they make me now pay electric to EDF too?
EDF have given me until 25 Feb to pay this. What happens if I can't? Will this go to arrears and affect my credit rating?

4) Who is at fault here? Is it me?

I really hope someone can help! I am literally so stressed and it's the weekend so I cannot ring any of these people for help.

Many thanks in advance for anyone who can help me here.

1316Baggies

When Gas and Electric where privatizes all them years ago

It was guaranteed by law that a tenant just like a home owner can choose there only Utilities supplier.

1316Baggies

I have never been an EDF customer or had any correspondence from EDF until today.

I received quarterly bills to my name to my address from British Gas which stated Electric & Gas readings.

My worry is that the electricity metres were switched by mistake before I even moved in and I was unwittingly paying the bills of the flat upstairs, and them mine. When this was discovered by the landlord of the flat above something underhand has happened and now I am landed with a £2.5k bill Electricity bill!

I will ring EDF on Monday but I am scared that they will make me pay for this when 1) I don't have the funds to do so & 2) I don't believe I have done anything wrong here. Apart from checking opening metre readings myself, have I?