Is this right or legal

Freecall

helloeeveryone123 wrote: »

Engineers agreed it was the cost of a light bulb as asked them as well .

Maybe that's where the problem lies.

helloeeveryone123

Right perleandra Have turned everything apart from Biomass, turned heating on only and the red light flashed on the meter only once. Everything else seems fine,
Don't keep the statements. But had a who ha with Scottish power as we kept on getting bills through (forgot this) told them on pay as you go , long story short sent me a letter saying they were getting it sorted and no more bills.
I think I may ring Scottish Power tomorrow and tell them the situation to see if they have changed tariff etc.
OH thinks its because LL keeps letting system go out and it uses more power to relight twice a day.
But next door neighbour avoids the meter reader like the plague , he did catch her early this year and read the meter . Will let you know what they say
P.s Old lady next door hates anyone who isn't in her class (us) she thinks we are common because we don't dress posh lol lol and I have a Cockney accent, even though she comes from Croydon !

AdrianC

helloeeveryone123 wrote: »

OH thinks its because LL keeps letting system go out and it uses more power to relight twice a day.

That certainly won't help one tiny bit.

NewShadow

Right, Okay - As per my usual, I'm going to try and sum up my understanding of the situation before commenting - I would appreciate anyone correcting any misapprehensions if possible.

Key points of relevance

1. The OP rents a house from a landlord that also owns the house next door.
b. Moving is possible, but not easy/likely, so the OP is looking for an in situ solution

2. The house next door is rented by an elderly lady who:
a. owns a shipping container which is situated in her garden
b. feels the cold
c. does not have a good relationship with the landlord
d. is not sympathetic to the plight of the OP

3. The landlord installed a biomass system which replaced an oil system for heating the two properties with the consent of both tenants.

4. The agreement for said system was:
a. the shared system would be installed in the shipping container owned by the elderly lady
b. the electricity being used to start and run the system would be paid for by the OP
c. the solid fuel (wood) would be provided by the landlord
d. the landlord would be responsible for maintaining the system

5. Here's where I get shaky. Either:

a. as the elderly lady and the landlord do not have a good relationship, the elderly lady has been running the system on maximum to increase the landlord's fuel costs and increase the amount of maintenance he's required to do

Or

b. The landlord has asked the tenants to run the system as hot/often as possible because he (in some way) makes money out of it.

Questions

If the landlord is making money by feeding back into the grid, wouldn't this go through the OP's meter - and thus wouldn't the OP see the saving first?

If the landlord is losing money on the fuel, would the best approach be to point this out to him and offer to take over management of the system (so he doesn't have to deal with the elderly lady directly)?

AdrianC

NewShadow wrote: »

5. Here's where I get shaky. Either:

a. as the elderly lady and the landlord do not have a good relationship, the elderly lady has been running the system on maximum to increase the landlord's fuel costs and increase the amount of maintenance he's required to do

Or

b. The landlord has asked the tenants to run the system as hot/often as possible because he (in some way) makes money out of it.

B. Definitely. He's getting a payment under a renewables scheme.

If the landlord is making money by feeding back into the grid, wouldn't this go through the OP's meter - and thus wouldn't the OP see the saving first?

You're getting confused with solar electric.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/domestic-renewable-heat-incentive/about-domestic-rhi/tariffs-and-payments-domestic-rhi

NewShadow

AdrianC wrote: »

B. Definitely. He's getting a payment under a renewables scheme...You're getting confused with solar electric.

I get the difference, but what I don't get is why the landlord cares about the level of usage.

If it's not feed in - if it's a flat rate subsidy for installing/using the alternative - then he wouldn't receive extra to make up for the increased fuel cost from running it hot.

Or am I missing something?

kinger101

NewShadow wrote: »

If it's not feed in - if it's a flat rate subsidy for installing/using the alternative - then he wouldn't receive extra to make up for the increased fuel cost from running it hot.

Or am I missing something?

The biomass boilers can be metered to measure the amount of heat output they generate. No need to generate electricity to get a tariff.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-heat-is-on-for-householders.

NewShadow

kinger101 wrote: »

The biomass boilers can be metered to measure the amount of heat output they generate. No need to generate electricity to get a tariff.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-heat-is-on-for-householders.

Okay, Thanks - From what I've read in the interim (not that extensively) it would seem meters only tend to be installed where there's a backup system or where the biomass doesn't heat the whole property (https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/domestic-renewable-heat-incentive-domestic-rhi/about-domestic-rhi/metering-domestic-renewable-heat-incentive)

So it could be the figures are metered or self reported.

An option for the OP would be to contact the regulators for their area (I'd start phoning ofgem) and report concerns the system is being abused.

She could do it anonymously as a neighbour who saw the system bring installed and has noted the excess heat/windows open.

This should result in an audit or site visit and a warning for the landlord that his readings are unusually high.

Just a possibility.

helloeeveryone123

NewShadow , you are bang on about the understanding of the post bit.


TBH its all a farce, LL telling lies. Installers lying , all to make a quick buck.


Would not take over loading up system for LL , he would expect us to chop logs, cut down trees etc etc
all for free, whilst he is busy doing nothing,


Its going to go bang soon as the boiler is ment to be serviced every 6 months by installer, but as he owes them money for extras , they are refusing to return and he reckons he is going to do this himself lol


The government is pushing energy saving across the board, but are making the rich richer, by putting these Biomass systems in drafty houses , paying LL money to have these systems .

moneyistooshorttomention

Is it actually legal for someone to service their own boiler - unless they are suitably officially qualified to do things like that?

When it comes to getting my gas boiler serviced I get a Corgi-registered firm to come in and do it. My understanding is that, if I didnt get my boiler serviced, then the guarantee on it wouldnt be valid and my insurance company might not be happy about it.

I would imagine the same sort of thing applies to other types of boiler.

So - surely he will have problems with the insurance on the boiler and/or with his insurer too if he tries to do it himself?