First time rent - Quick questions

PaleAutumn

Hi all, I will be moving to my own flat for the first time this Friday and been updating address left and right. I've been trying to sign up with a Gas/Electric supplier as well as the water supplier. For some reason, the new address doesn't show and the even the customer support couldn't find the address, so I've contacted the Western Power Dis. to see what's going on.

Now my concern is, because I don't have the meter reading number and I suspect I won't have a supplier by the time I move in, is this a cause of concern or do the suppliers start charging you on the day you sign up and the bill starts when you move in (the back days? I'm not sure if I'm making sense.

Thanks all.

Finchy2018

Your landlord or agent should have taken meter readings and provided them to the current supplier who will be in touch to open your new account. Ask 'LL or agent who current supplier is?

PaleAutumn

Peter Alan, I've sent them an email regarding this since they're closed at the moment.

Sanne

When you move in you’re on a deemed contract with the existing supplier who should be in touch about an account and contract. Deemed rates are often higher so you may want to contact them ASAP (landlord should know supplier). Take the meter reading when you move in as well!

CarrieVS

PaleAutumn wrote: »

For some reason, the new address doesn't show and the even the customer support couldn't find the address, so I've contacted the Western Power Dis. to see what's going on.

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by this but it sounds worryingly like what I went through a few years back. (When I say worrying, it wasn't the end of the world but it was frustrating and cost me a few quid in being unable to switch suppliers.)

I moved into a flat that had previously been part of a single dwelling, and it hadn't been properly registered as separate flats after it was converted*.

The first warning flag was that when calling the appropriate phone lines to find my gas and electric suppliers, they had no record of the address and I had to contact the letting agency and have them contact the landlord urgently to find out who it was. I wasn't as organised or sensible as you and hadn't thought to do it ahead of moving in.

It turned out that the meters I had in my flat, which I'd been assured were not connected to the upstairs energy supplies (I have my doubts but upstairs was empty so I don't think they were using much gas or electric) were still registered to the combined address. The main issue for me was that I couldn't switch suppliers until the meters were registered to my address, and the energy company repeatedly screwed it up so that I had to stay with them, paying a higher rate.

There were other issues but they were either unimportant or easily rectified.

Good luck!

*In fact it was purpose built as a pair of flats, then converted to a single house, then de-converted, but since the first conversion seemed to have been done properly and above board, that's irrelevant.