New electricity meter excessive use / neighbours connected

Jmoo

macman wrote: »

So your 'high usage' is purely based on a DD estimate? So that is meaningless.
120kWh a week is not at all high, that's 6,257 kWh a year, which would be incredibly low for an all-electric property. Please forget about mobile and laptop chargers, it's trivial. What matters is heating and hot water-and you've forgotten about hot water in your list-this is the second biggest usage.
Even if the bill was £80 over 40 days, that would be entirely reasonable in a winter quarter, so I think the problem here is that your perception of typical fuel costs is way under.
Next time you go away for the weekend, read the meter at start and end and see exactly what is being used.

It's not based purely on the Direct Debit estimate. It's also based on the fact between Saturday at 8.30am and Sunday at 4.30pm without being in the house I used 36kWh of energy without even being there!

As I said the heating has been off in the last week but still I perceive it to be too high. The towel rail has been off, the washing machine hasn't been touched. I dread to think what it would be with it all on.

The usage each night varies too. Between 5pm and 8am I'm using 9kWh one night, 30kWh for the next two nights, 10kWh the next, 31kWh the next, 28kWh the next. The only change I make is the oven coming on some nights - but actually when I used the oven it was less than the night before!

The neighbour turning up to complain about his electricity being off and not owning a meter has made me think all sorts of things too.

£22 a week most people agree for a studio flat with one person living there is too high even if it is an all-electricity property.

macman

How do you heat your water-have you got an immersion heater left on boost by any chance?
What is your kWh usage on each register during the night? E7 night only applies between midnight and 7am or 1am and 8am, depending on region and the method of switching-is your meter clockwork or teleswitched?
The average dual fuel spend is around £1250pa, all -electric is higher.
You can't pro-rata up from one or two nights, what you need to do is give figures over a year if you've been there that long, or since your tenancy commenced, if less. It's annual usage that matters.
Do a shorter term 'CU off test': your fridge/freezer will be perfectly OK if off for 4 hours or so if not opened.
if your neighbour is fiddling his leccy then why would he tell you? More likely he's just not bothered to locate his own meter.

Jmoo

All the electricity meters are in the same cupboard. His is the only one where the wires are cut and there's nothing there. I agree I don't hold him culpable - he only moved in October and I moved in November - I doubt he's even questioned the set up. The fact he rushed up the stairs to the place where his meter no longer appears made me question that though, why would he if his meter was elsewhere?

As I've only been in since November 24th and the meter changed it's difficult to provide proper data. I will only have Economy 7 data for one week, the other amount of time it was a standard plan and old meter. I haven't even had an official bill yet, just a one-off payment for the high amount I had reported in January.

The water heater under the sink heats up as and when I use the hot water. I don't think that can be stopped, but from what I can figure out it's not on for long lengths.

Jmoo

So finally I'm getting somewhere, but only slowly.

The letting agent confirmed 87 doesn't seem to have a meter, even though it's not next door or above/below me which SSE confirms is a bit odd. SSE says they didn't even know the block had an 87 - the grid doesn't think it's ever had a meter. Now they want to come out and do further tests.

They think it might mean the landlord has to pay for a meter, or some sort of agreement. SSE says I might not even be compensated as I can't prove I didn't use all that electricity.

misterbarlow

If the other flat is connected to you then its the landlords problem.. SSE simply supply the meter and energy, whats actually connected to it is not their problem or concern!!!

[Deleted User]

misterbarlow wrote: »

If the other flat is connected to you then its the landlords problem.. SSE simply supply the meter and energy, whats actually connected to it is not their problem or concern!!!

Yes,also as the BBC s "Housing Enforcers "prog mentioned last week, the local council official inspecting a flat rental made clear,renting out properties with dangerous wiring and gas, is illegal and they at least will prosecute landlords who don t comply ( they were referring to bypassed meters in this case ) and other faults.
Next time I find a meter all wired up or a gas meter wrecked for free gas I will report it to the supplier AND the local council housing dept. Lets hope they dont just do nothing like some suppliers do.

Jmoo

Thanks, letting agent seem to be trying to keep their heads out of it at the moment, seems to be a bit of a trend. I do wonder how much they knew in the first place.

In terms of trying to get a refund SSE seemed to be unhelpful - saying I would have to prove I didn't use £85 worth in a month.

Rubidium

Jmoo wrote: »

Thanks, letting agent seem to be trying to keep their heads out of it at the moment, seems to be a bit of a trend. I do wonder how much they knew in the first place.

In terms of trying to get a refund SSE seemed to be unhelpful - saying I would have to prove I didn't use £85 worth in a month.

You stated previously that your landlord was going to get the wiring checked out by an electrician. What was the outcome of this?

Only you know the layout of this building e.g. where the meters are in relation to your flat and the flat with no meter. What reason has the landlord given for this other flat having no meter?

If another flat complained when your power was off while your meter was changed, then that suggests that other is connected to your wiring between your meter and your flat which should be easy enough for any competent electrician to establish very quickly.

Can you trust the landlords electrician? His electrician maybe in his pocket and fully aware of this rogue wiring, he may have done it!

I can understand why SSE have adopted that attitude because SSE are not interested in wiring after your meter.

Jmoo

SSE came out earlier this week and ran some simple tests to conclude that the neighbour is connected to my meter. I've also just received my bill for the time I've been in the flat so far - £179. I can't even imagine I've used £100 yet. It's frustrating as when we went over there he has his storage heaters up high, while I've not even turned mine on through fear of the bill. I don't even touch my washing machine while this is all going on.

The landlord has now agreed to put in a meter for the neighbour, but I still feel I'll get a raw deal out of what I've paid so far for this person, who clearly hasn't been concerned about his costs so far!

lstar337

Jmoo wrote: »

SSE came out earlier this week and ran some simple tests to conclude that the neighbour is connected to my meter. I've also just received my bill for the time I've been in the flat so far - £179. I can't even imagine I've used £100 yet. It's frustrating as when we went over there he has his storage heaters up high, while I've not even turned mine on through fear of the bill. I don't even touch my washing machine while this is all going on.

The landlord has now agreed to put in a meter for the neighbour, but I still feel I'll get a raw deal out of what I've paid so far for this person, who clearly hasn't been concerned about his costs so far!

You shouldn't be responsible for that whole bill.

I'm not sure how you should proceed (maybe small claims court), or just asking the neighbour to pay their fair share. Somebody here will probably advise you better.

I'm not sure if it is classed as theft if the neighbour had no idea, though I find it hard to believe they thought they were just getting free electric.

I would say the landlord is most to blame, but how you could use that to compensate you I have no idea. If nobody here can help then I suggest you talk to the CAB and they may be able to advise you better. I wouldn't just accept the whole bill as yours though, you have done everything possible to resolve the situation.