Moving to a house but the electricity meter has been removed

Ashley996

Hi,

We are due to complete on a property on 25/09/17 and we have just found out that the electricity meter has been removed by utilities warehouse due to non payment of bills by the previous owner. I have spoken with the supplier and they informed me that they are unable to reinstate the meter until I can email them a completion statement on Monday, whilst this is fair enough they also stated that it can take up to 5 working days for an engineer to call. Do they not have an obligation to have it reinstated as soon as we move in? We will have no heating, lights, not be able to cook and I dread to think what is going to happen to all the food on our feeezer.

Thanks

Ashley

System

Ashley996 wrote: »

Hi,

We are due to complete on a property on 25/09/17 and we have just found out that the electricity meter has been removed by utilities warehouse due to non payment of bills by the previous owner. I have spoken with the supplier and they informed me that they are unable to reinstate the meter until I can email them a completion statement on Monday, whilst this is fair enough they also stated that it can take up to 5 working days for an engineer to call. Do they not have an obligation to have it reinstated as soon as we move in? We will have no heating, lights, not be able to cook and I dread to think what is going to happen to all the food on our feeezer.

Thanks

Ashley

An 'obligation' - I would have thought not as your case is extremely unusual. That said, I am sure that most suppliers would be sympathetic to your situation. They may be covering themselves with the 'up to 5 days' caveat.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

so you've 'just found out that the electricity meter has been removed by utilities warehouse',

not noticed nor mentioned when viewing?

'Do they not have an obligation to have it reinstated as soon as we move in?'

So you expect someone to be standing on the doorstep waiting for you to arrive in your removals van?

'I dread to think what is going to happen to all the food on our feeezer.'

If the food is on your feeezer, then no problem, dump what you can't use, but if the food is in your freezer, you might have to store it into some of your old neighbour's freezers until you are up and working.

dogshome

You have my sympathy, not only for the lack of an Elec meter, but also the fact that Utility Warehouse are the dwellings present supplier.

UW are a package deal supplier - Gas & Elec, Telephone, Credit card and more - There is a long thread on this site about them which adds up to that if you are a large family and take every service offered, you might save money,
but Elec/Gas on it's own is EXPENSIVE.

Ask UW to send you details of the 'Full Monty' and remember that as soon as the new meter is in you can Switch supplier

House_Martin

Its very rare for an electric meter to be removed for non payment. I have only seen this a few times in 20 years.Normally they replace the credit meter with a prepayment meter and add debts to that , but if the prepay meter continues to be fiddled then after three warnings if they continue they have no option but to completely remove it only if there are no "vulnerable " people living there.
Utility Warehouse are well known by tamperers as an "easy touch " so I m doubly surprised that they have removed the meter and cut the supply.
I say "cut the supply " but that may not be the case as one of the big fiddles is to remove the meter anyway altogether for free electric so I m not not sure that U.W. would have been responsible for the meter removal in the first place.

footyguy

Ashley996 wrote: »

Hi,

We are due to complete on a property on 25/09/17 and we have just found out that the electricity meter has been removed by utilities warehouse due to non payment of bills by the previous owner. I have spoken with the supplier and they informed me that they are unable to reinstate the meter until I can email them a completion statement on Monday, whilst this is fair enough they also stated that it can take up to 5 working days for an engineer to call. Do they not have an obligation to have it reinstated as soon as we move in? We will have no heating, lights, not be able to cook and I dread to think what is going to happen to all the food on our feeezer.

Thanks

Ashley

Speak to your solicitor if the property no longer conforms to contract

It would be most unusual for a domestic property to have their electricity disconnected and the meter removed due to non-payment of bills. At worst, the installation pf a PPM is the typical remedy.

If the property has been repossessed, and you are buying from the lender, then I'm afraid it's usually bought as seen and the contract constructed as such ... and you hopefully allowed for that in the price you agreed to pay. But it would be very unusal for the meter of such a property to have been officially removed as it would significantly reduce the value of the property. It would almost certainly not have happened after repossession, and hence you would be buying 'as seen'

Good luck!