Landlord ran up huge energy bill and wants tenant to pay

elsien

The electricity company shouldn't be talking to the landlord if the bill's not in his name. Either he's telling porkies or they're breaching data protection rules. Personally I wouldn't believe a word the landlord says, at this point.

LandlordProb

She says supplier is SSE.

FBaby

£60 for 5 months use, most of it when she would herself have used the heating? Did she really think that was the correct amount? Of course these were wrong and the £775 would include an underpayment.

I think at best, what she could do is work out the actual amount paid each month, and ask the LL if they would pay for the difference between what she'd paid in November/December and what is due for the two months she wasn't there, assuming it is more (which is most unlikely).

ciderboy2009

September to Jan is clearly not correct - it's far too low even if her flat is a single, tiny room.

It's currently averaging at just under £100 per month over the coldest months of the year which, depending on the size, age and heating method of her flat may be about right.

However, working from price isn't a good way to do it - can you get hold of all of the meter readings from the bills (including whether or not they were estimates) - this will hopefully show exactly when it was used (although possibly not if the later ones are all estimates).

LandlordProb

She is a student from overseas studying at university,so I think she wasn't aware of what a 'normal' price should be per month and took things at face value. She has asked the land lord for the email address/details of the person at SSE who told him that she had been under paying but he will not give them to her.

Red-Squirrel_2

If the insurance company have paid for the hotel, they should also cover the excess energy used above and beyond the norm for the repairs etc.

This is what happened when someone I know flooded and had to have dehumidifiers running and then lots of work to repair the damage. If the landlord hasn!!!8217;t already claimed for this he should.

lookstraightahead

I would pay as in my name and then get my money back. The inconvenience of having to move out because the property was not fit for purpose is a b****dy nightmare. But pay to start with as the bill is in the tenants name.

lookstraightahead

Kynthia wrote: »

They would have had to pay for gas and electric if they hadn't had to move out, so if they weren't paying for the hotel it is expected they continue paying rent and utility bills.

How much greater is the bill than it would have been if they had lived there the whole time? If not much then they should pay it.

Why? The property is not fit for purpose. I would pay initially as I would not want it on my credit file, but then claim back. The inconvenience of staying in a hotel I wound also want compensation to be honest. Remember this us supposed to be someones home. Paying for an inconvenience? Seriously!

steampowered

Is your friend sure that the massive bill accrued during those 2 months?

Is it possible that your friend had been underpaying (energy bills are done on estimates) and that this was updated when the meters were read?

LandlordProb

I'll have to ask her.She just feels that there is something not quite right in so much she returns back to the flat,after 2 months in a hotel, to be met with a huge bill, a land lord who will not tell her who he has been dealing with at SSE and a suspicion that it somehow involves the work carried out on the damp room. It was obviously a major job on the flat if she had to leave for 2 months.