Empty flat unpaid electric

ninat

My son moved into his first  flat a couple of days ago and  on recommendation of the agent opted to sign up with Homeshift ( rightly or wrongly) for bills because he felt it would be easier. 

The flat was empty for a couple of months after the previous tenants moved out and the electric wasn’t  put back into the landlords name. He’s just found a letter from the previous supplier, Bulb, addressed to “The occupier” threatening debt collection for a date prior to his tenancy starting. It gives until the July 12 to respond.
What is the quickest way to solve this? 

Will he need to give his details to Bulb even though he’s signed with Homeshift? He’s worries he will be billed for his landlord’s debt. 

Unfortunately the agent didn’t give him a note of the meter reading she took. He took a reading of his own as soon as he was aware of the problem so there’s only a couple of days discrepancy.
He’s super stressed about this as he has exams in 3 weeks and needs it resolved quickly. 

Thanks

frederick1950

The first thing he should have done was to read the meter and then ring Bulb.
He is in a deemed contract with them and after signing up with them he is free to switch to a supplier of his choosing.
The mistake everyone makes is that you cant switch supplier if you dont have someone to switch from.
Ring up and sign up with  Bulb immediately on a contract without exit fees  and give them the readings he took.

Robin9

It's good  that he took his own readings - a photo will also help. Keep up that habit and when the bills come check them.
Homeshift don't do anything that you can't do yourself

Talldave

The Homeshift decision was probably the worst one he's ever made. If he can sit an exam he's more than capable of dealing with bills. Read the paperwork and see if there's a cooling off period to cancel or what the penalty for cancelling is.

frederick1950

I have just checked the Homeshift unit rates and standing charges and they are extortionate.
The electricity is around 50% higher than my Octopus tariff and the gas is nearer double .
Sign up with Bulb for the time being and contact Homeshift to stop them taking over the accounts.
It makes me wonder if the "Agent" in these cases gets commision for steering people towards Homeshirft.

matelodave

As others have said - he must sign up with Bulb in the first instance and give them his opening meter reading. That will reset the clock and make the outstanding arrears someone else's problem. He can then swap energy suppliers.

Unfortunately letting agents and landlords get a backhander from companies like Homeshift and Spark which is usually to the detriment of the tenant so he need to get them out of the loop as soon as possible - certainly within the 14 day cooling off period. The other big mistake is letting the landlord or letting agent read the meter - it's something you have to do yourself to ensure that it hasn't been "adjusted" to suit the landlord. It's a job you have to do yourself, when you move in, once a month and when you move out.
It's also a good idea to make sure that the meter is the one that feeds your flat - lots of instances where meters have been attributed to the wrong flats in multi occupancy dwellings. Also ensure that the meter serial numbers are the same as those on the bill.
Dont forget the water bills as well - make sure that the water meter (if there is one) is read and that the reading is given to the water company when he opens an account with them, otherwise he could end up pay for someone else's water as well

Gerry1

Homeshift saw him coming.

https://www.homeshift.com/estate-agents

Why agents use Homeshift

• Generate a lifetime of commission from everyone that walks through your door

• "we have to use digital services, like Homeshift, in order to monetise our relationship with our client base"

Sadly he fell for it.

ninat

Thanks everyone- he is now signed up with Bulb saving  £20 per month. He’s asked for a block to be put on switching to Homeshift and he’s well within the 14 day period for changing his mind.
Bulb were extremely helpful and will raise an interim bill for the empty period which he has to give to the agents. The reading he took from the meter ties in with the one the agent took 2 days previously.

SnowTiger

Have tissue at hand.  This is going to make your eyes water.

In my area, this is what Homeshift charges for gas: 

Standing charge: 32.15p per day
Unit rate: 4.07p per kWh

And for electricity: 

Standing charge: 28.24p per day
Unit rate: 21.25p per kWh

Their slogan is: 'Our energy is simple, smart, and fair'.

By the way, ninat, I'm surprised your son won't save more than £20 a month.  As he's only just moved in all the usage figures and projections will be guesstimates.  My advice is that he reads his meter(s) regularly, to get a feel for his usage.

matelodave

Thanks for coming back to us and letting us know that's it's got a happy ending

Your son has had a fortunate escape.

I just tried a quote from Homeshift - it came to £1612.18 which doesn't compare very favourably with my present Symbio tariff of £912 (both based on the published tariffs and my actual EAC of 7200 kwh).
That's an extra £700 a year (£58/month)
I noted that the HS quote is based on house size and occupancy which really has no bearing whatsoever on my actual consumption so you have to do your own sums using their actual tariff data rather than their half-baked estimate.

HS tariff for the East of England (leccy only, we don't have gas)
S/c = 28.81p/ day
kwh = 20.93p
My current Symbio tariff
S/c = 15p/day
kwh  = 12p
 
TBH even bulb isn't everso cheap, there are better deals out there
s/c = 20.558p
kwh = 14.255p

Talldave

SnowTiger said:

Have tissue at hand.  This is going to make your eyes water.

In my area, this is what Homeshift charges for gas: 

Standing charge: 32.15p per day
Unit rate: 4.07p per kWh

And for electricity: 

Standing charge: 28.24p per day
Unit rate: 21.25p per kWh

Their slogan is: 'Our energy is simple, smart, and fair'.

That's robbery, not "fair"!

At those rates our annual energy bill would be £3,000 instead of £1,600.

It's sadly the way things are going where letting agents are looking for any opportunity to screw you for every penny they can take from you. Car dealers are the same - the last car I bought I literally had a fight on my hands to pay the screen price and reject all the offers of gap insurance,  wheel insurance,  paint insurance, slipping into a coma whilst buying a car insurance, etc, which when added up almost doubled the price of the car.