I have vacated after tenancy ended, huge outstanding energy utility bill requested from ex-flatmate

Conquest19

Thanks everyone, I have decided to contribute but definitely not the half amount.
Just spent hours doing a excel calculations.
I'm back to living with my parents and using good old pre-payment.
Think I definitely learnt a very good lesson about meters when I buy/rent a property in the future.

deannagone

I am afraid a similar thing happened to me in my first flat.  I lived on my own though, but very much hand to mouth existence.  I paid a set DD.., no meter readings taken for a long time, the meter was read but somehow they didnt' get added to the bill.  I was gormless (no insult intended, I just was lol) and didn't realise my useage was higher than I realised.  But like you, I just didn't realise how it all worked.

So after about three years I was sent a bill for the outstanding £1000, an enormous sum then.., particularly as I was a student on £52 a week (this was some years ago).  There was no protection against bills accrued over some years then so it had to be paid and I paid small amounts monthly.  Took me a years to pay it off (I pointed out that some of the accumulated balance was down to their bad practice too, taking meter readings but not adding it to the balance).  But I did realise that the meter reading on the bill wasn't what was showing on my meter.. finally, and I had to be more active about checking my bills.  I just didn't realise at the time this could happen.

But I was converted.., I started taking weekly meter reading so I knew exactly what I was using so I could budget.  Never left it to anyone else (the company) to tell me what to pay.  Its never happened again lol.  I learned the hard way.  Unfortunately, so have you.  But agree with others, pay what was outstanding for the period you actually lived there, not any longer outstanding balance.  You have absolutely no responsibility for that.  Your flatmate has to learn the hard way too, unfortunately.  Yes its a most unpleasant process. I can still remember my panic when I received that bill lol.

I also agree that the amounts used were probably a bit on the high side.  I 'control' what I use.., temperature in whatever property I live in is not high., I use warm clothing at all times rather than energy I have to pay for (I'm stingy and I don't care lol).  The timer only brings on hot water etc once or twice a day for short periods, depending on how cold it is.  I actively manage my useage.  Not nagging, its just what I learned the hard way.  My bill for a three bed property is less than yours was.  I'm just as hard nosed with water useage (cut my useage to less than half of what unmetered useage was).  

I understand why you now prefer pay as you go arrangments.  But I have always found pay as you go much more expensive than an actively managed credit meter, whatever the utility provider says about it being capped and not more expensive to use than  credit meter charges (and I had a prepaid meter when I first moved in here 2 half years ago so it was capped, but what I was paying was double what I am paying now). So whatever the government / utility companies say about prepaid meters not being 'overly expensive' compared to credit meters is mistruths I'm afraid.  You just have to mange a credit meter more actively.

I hope this helps.  I am sure you and your family could save a fortune if you compare tarrifs and standing charges  and pay by direct debit every month.

MaryNB

Conquest19 said:

Thanks everyone, I have decided to contribute but definitely not the half amount.
Just spent hours doing a excel calculations.
I'm back to living with my parents and using good old pre-payment.
Think I definitely learnt a very good lesson about meters when I buy/rent a property in the future.

Don't forget, you need to keep an eye on energy companies as well as tenants. Some companies are good at adjusting direct debits when the credit/debit balance becomes significant. Other are less proactive and can let a £1055 balance build up. That company definitely should have done something in July. You shouldn't have a significant negative balance in the middle of summer. 

Also, just some other info for the future (and another reason for keeping an eye on bills) if you're on a fixed term and it comes to an end make sure to review your tariff. Otherwise you'll end up on the standard tariff which would be much more expensive. Generally it's very good practice to keep an eye on comparison websites, people who just set up an account and never review it are cash cows for energy companies.

davilown

Poster_586329 said:

£75 per month for gas and electric for a two-bed flat does sound like a low estimated price.   I can see how the reality will have been higher, especially in a year when you'd both have been home more than usual.  I live in a 2-bed flat, and during the winter months a bill of £100 a month is quite common.

Still, it would be very hard work  for you to have used up another thousand pounds worth, unless you've been running a clandestine lockdown sauna!!!

And whether you have any liability is another matter....

That’s not low - I have a 4 bed bungalow and pay £89pm

Mnoee

davilown said:

Poster_586329 said:

£75 per month for gas and electric for a two-bed flat does sound like a low estimated price.   I can see how the reality will have been higher, especially in a year when you'd both have been home more than usual.  I live in a 2-bed flat, and during the winter months a bill of £100 a month is quite common.

Still, it would be very hard work  for you to have used up another thousand pounds worth, unless you've been running a clandestine lockdown sauna!!!

And whether you have any liability is another matter....

That’s not low - I have a 4 bed bungalow and pay £89pm

I've had a one bed flat with insanely high energy bills as it was the top floor of an old house, on the coast in Cumbria with huge high ceilings all the way up to the roof instead of an attic and insulation. I've had a one bed flat with crazy low bills as it was in a new purpose built block with radiators on in the communal areas all winter. You can't compare energy usage based on 'X bedrooms' alone. 

greatcrested

Is it just me?  I can't see any meter readings at all?

Each of the first two simply say 'see back for charges' and that's where the readings will be, and that's where it will show 'E' esimate or 'CR' (customer reading' etc

But it certainly appears that in Feb 2020, shortly after the tenancy started, the account was in credit. So any usage since then is the joint responsibility of the two joint tenants. Except the final month of the acount after the tenancy ended which is balanced more or less by the initial month of the tenancy.

As for why the usage was so high, there are various possibilities but it' impossible to know - had the 2 tenants been on top of monitoring usage, they could have spotted the high usage early and perhaps modified their lifestyle, switched off an energy guzzler, or queried it with the company. But now....?

Someone has to pay the bill and it would be unfair to make the other tenant do so when both were living there, both using energy, and both equally liable legally.

ciderboy2009

OP - I would insist on seeing the complete bills - including meter readings (even if only estimated) before offering anything.  Mainly so I could see exactly what was estimated and what was actual.  You would normally expect to be in credit on the bill in November to see you over the Winter so a £122 debit is showing a problem right from the start.

If you take the £122 off of the Feb 2021 balance (as it existed before you were there) and then make an allowance for Jan 2021 (it was a very cold month so I would expect January to be about half of the 3 month bill) then I would guestimate your share of the outstanding bill to be around the £350 mark.

HampshireH

greatcrested said:

Is it just me?  I can't see any meter readings at all?

Each of the first two simply say 'see back for charges' and that's where the readings will be, and that's where it will show 'E' esimate or 'CR' (customer reading' etc

But it certainly appears that in Feb 2020, shortly after the tenancy started, the account was in credit. So any usage since then is the joint responsibility of the two joint tenants. Except the final month of the acount after the tenancy ended which is balanced more or less by the initial month of the tenancy.

As for why the usage was so high, there are various possibilities but it' impossible to know - had the 2 tenants been on top of monitoring usage, they could have spotted the high usage early and perhaps modified their lifestyle, switched off an energy guzzler, or queried it with the company. But now....?

Someone has to pay the bill and it would be unfair to make the other tenant do so when both were living there, both using energy, and both equally liable legally.

I thought it was just me

But then your post only has 2 lines that I can see and when I quote it it has much more 

Semple

That's a huge amount of electricity for just 2 of you in a 2-bed flat. 

I would almost bet your flatmate was running a mining rig. 

warwick2001

Its the 12th May to 24th July bill that gets me. As near as damn it £630 when the weather's getting better and we spend more time out the house enjoying the sun????? When the heating should be absolutely minimal, and tends to be the period where you build up credit, not get into big debt.

What were you doing in this time? IIRC the weather was fairly normal UK summertime i.e. approx 18 - 20oC and not a massive amount of rain. If you can remember how you spent this time, it may help to give you an idea why the bills are so large. But if you've agreed to pay some money between yourselves, then I guess it doesn't really matter.