Huge Npower Electricity bill mess up - advice needed!

SideB

Hi there,

My first private tenancy contract after leaving student halls just ended, and there has been some kind of huge mess-up, which has left me and my flatmate with a bill of over £1,500 to pay, and I am really hoping for some advice on what to do about this!

We lived in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom flat in London, which was probably around 750sqft max. Our electricity usage, was probably no more than an average household, we weren't using anything that might have consumed an unusual or excessive amount of electricity at all.

When we moved in, our initial meter reading was 85, however when we moved out, exactly one year later, it was 14,496.

We were paying around £45/month to Npower, but made the mistake of not sending any meter readings to them between the start and end of the tenancy. In hindsight, this was a huge mistake on our part, and was just because it was not something we had thought to do, or considered that anything could have gone wrong.

I did take one meter reading which wasn't submitted to Npower, one month in, which was 462, which seems a normal amount of usage!

I don't understand how our final reading is so high, but I believe that something must have gone wrong, because it seems (from my research) impossible that we would have used so much electricity between two of us, in a relatively small flat!

Can anyone offer any advice on anything we can do to potentially figure this out? We have moved out of the flat, and aren't able to go back in again because there are new tenants, so testing the usage is not an option unfortunately.

Just to add - there is a pub underneath us, and I don't know if it is a possibility that they have stolen our electricity? I don't want to make any accusations, I just am trying to figure out what could have happened!

Thank you in advance!

Update: I just spoke to Npower's "energy efficiency" team who said that they cannot do anything because I do not live at the property any more, and weren't able to offer any more help.

molerat

Advice ? Pay the bill, there is not a lot else you can do now you have moved out and you agree the meter reading is correct.

14000 kWh in a year is very high but not impossible. How did you heat the flat ?

Reading and submitting monthly readings is the only way to keep track of your energy usage and spot anomalies.

Was the pub using your electric - maybe but how are you going to prove it - that would be a dispute between you and the pub / your landlord, nothing to do with NPower.

Are you able to speak to the new tenants, they are the only ones who are in a position to allow you access to the meter and compare their usage and if necessary get the meter and / or wiring checked.

undaunted

I don't see any reason why the meter couldn't still be tested even if you aren't living there anymore - you would have to pay for that too if it was found correct though. Should you dispute the bill and meters accuracy in a court case I would expect that it will have to be proven accurate before they can obtain judgement.

I suggest you therefore write to the energy supplier complaints team and also the owner / landlord and current tenant expressing your concerns that there may be a problem with the meter (current tenant is likely to want it checked or at least start making their own regular checks for a period if they think they may end up with a huge and unjustified bill too)

Should the reality be however that you know that you left electric heating, immersion or some such higher consumption device on for prolonged periods and just didn't realise how expensive this would be then your only option will be to make some sensible and affordable offer of a payment plan I'm afraid. Ignorance of cost would offer no legal defence to the debt

macman

As above, it's crucial to know how the flat was heated and hot watered. If all electric, that usage is perfectly feasible-student houses are not known for being economic with power. How you could think that £45pm was adequate (if all electric) escapes me. Your first month's usage (377kwh) was relatively low presumably because that was in September and then heating was not on yet. Once it was, your consumption would soar-to use 75% of your annual total in the coldest 3 months is quite possible.
Please also state the tariff you were on, and whether E7 or single rate, as I'm guessing Standard (the most expensive). You took readings a month in, so how come you didn't continue to do so, or to verify your bills against the actual readings (all your bills would clearly state that readings were estimated)?
Unless you have evidence that the meter is faulty, you really have no evidence to support a lower bill.