Land lord used our electric supply

Valerie_bruce

we have recently move house and received our final electric bill. it was £900 more than the previous year. this had us totally baffled and concerned. it finally came to our attention that our landlord had been using an external socket which was connected to our supply. He was in the process of building 2 new builds next to us, and used our supply to power cement mixer and other power tools. when we informed our electric supplier of our findings they said that without proof, there is nothing we can do. does any one have any suggestion as to who we could turn to for help in this matter. Thanks

kinger101

Confront your landlord. Ask them to repay. Either they agree. Or you escalate.

hb2

As above. Have you spoken to the landlord and, if so, what was his reaction?

theartfullodger

Disconnect socket. Don't tell him. Wait & see what he does.

Change locks also.

gomer

Final bill suggests they no longer live there

moneyistooshorttomention

What way did it "come to your attention"? Is that a way you can use to prove that the landlord stole electric from you?

I'm guessing that you know about this because a neighbour told you? If so - I don't suppose they took photos of the theft happening (ie machines plugged into your socket)?

What way do you know that this external socket was connected to your supply - ie have you got some proof of something like an electrician having told you "There's something odd here - this external socket seems to be connected to your supply"?

Hopefully you have proof ok - and, if you do, it sounds as if there might be some possibility of the utility company billing the landlord instead and, if they can't/won't then you taking him to the small claims court for the money he owes you.

I'd certainly tell the next occupant of the place and warn them the landlord might try and steal electric off them as well.

anselld

There is no way a cement mixer and a few power tools accounts for £900 usage. No excuse for the Landlord, but it is going to be difficult to separate his usage from other factors even if he admits it.

AdrianC

Valerie_bruce wrote: »

it finally came to our attention that our landlord had been using an external socket which was connected to our supply. He was in the process of building 2 new builds next to us, and used our supply to power cement mixer and other power tools.

And in the time it took to build these properties, you never once noticed that your external socket had a site transformer plugged into it?

Rosemary7391

anselld wrote: »

There is no way a cement mixer and a few power tools accounts for £900 usage. No excuse for the Landlord, but it is going to be difficult to separate his usage from other factors even if he admits it.

This is my concern. OP, how regularly did you take meter readings? Can you show that it was X amount higher for the period he was building compared to the same time the previous year?

Davesnave

Valerie_bruce wrote: »

......when we informed our electric supplier of our findings they said that without proof, there is nothing we can do. does any one have any suggestion as to who we could turn to for help in this matter. Thanks

Sometimes there is no one to turn to, mainly because the responsibility for providing the proof does not lie elsewhere.

Anyone is bound to ask why this came to your attention only recently, when the house build would have taken months.

Maybe, like others here, you didn't believe a few tools and a mixer would make a large difference to your bill. It certainly didn't when I engaged in 3 years of renovation. That's also a problem, because most people will conclude that the bulk of the usage was still down to you.

I think this is a 'chalk it up to experience' situation. You can only ask for a goodwill payment from the landlord. The time of year's favourable... perhaps!

AdrianC

Let's look at the maths and see what that says about the likelihood, shall we?

It's safe to say that the OP is not on a pre-pay meter... So let's assume a fairly typical unspectacular 15p/kWh.

£900 is 6,000kWh.
Assuming 1 x 13A socket absolutely flat out, that's 2,000 hours.
Assuming 8hr x 5 day weeks, that's 50 weeks.
Turn that into the maximum recommended continuous 10A draw for a 13A three-pin plug, and it's up to 2,600 hours, or 65 working weeks.

If it's a double socket, then halve that, for just 25 or 32.5 weeks...

Of CONSTANT FLAT-OUT use for 40hrs/week...