Meter mix-up prepay installed, credit billed, advice?

sandrot

Would like to seek for some advice on a situation which just doesn't seem progressing anywhere.

Rented out an apartment beginning in late January this year, couldn't view it due to distance & Covid. Registered with utility providers before actually visiting the property the first time. It is electricity only, with electric heating, poor insulation.

To my utmost surprise, I realized that it has a prepay meter only then (got checkin reports along with the keys when moving in). So I ended up with Direct Debit set up to SSE, while having a prepay meter which I have to keep topping up in a shop to have electricity. Since then I am trying to figure this out and resolve with SSE and letting agent, with no much perceivable progress (photos of the meter were sent, confirmed they have it numerous times, a technician came out to investigate some 2 months ago).

Recently I received a quarterly bill showing a meter reading and the serial number of the meter they think this property has (along with increasing my Direct Debit). The meter on the bill is not in the building's meter cabinet, letting agent couldn't tell where it is.

So as things are now, I am essentially held hostage by a prepay meter I can't get replaced (which is probably registered to someone else), while the same time having to pay someone's electricity by Direct Debit as well (as that meter seemingly exists somewhere and somebody consumes electricity through it).

Filed a complaint on SSE's site after being informed of this by the energy ombudsman who I called, so if I remained here, in 2 months I could advance the case there.

Is there anything I could reasonably do apart from moving away (agencies are reluctant to accept me due to "moving too often") and let this be someone else's problem? How the chances are for a refund if this could get resolved? It feels a bit more serious than an ordinary meter mixup as I have to fund two properties' electricity (mine is electrically heated as above, the other, no idea, don't feel too well about the winter), while somebody somewhere maybe has "free" electricity.

BeerSavesMoney

Have you checked to see who the supplier is for the property? https://www.energynetworks.org/operating-the-networks/whos-my-network-operator

If you can find out you can at least register with the top up meter supplier. 

Does the photo of the meter on the checkin report match the one you have access to? It does seem a very odd situation..

sandrot

Thank you, will try to call them tomorrow (WPD is my distributor).

Sorry for the ambiguity, yes, the photo on the checkin report has the prepay meter on it. The meter wasn't replaced during my tenancy, the situation wasn't even apparent for me until SSE started taking money from me by Direct Debit, then talking with them over phone (quite a few times over the course of months) revealed the actual situation. Initially I tried to ask them for replacing this prepay meter to smart meter.

QrizB

I'm confident it will all get sorted out eventually.

How did you end up with an account with SSE that you are paying by DD? Did they write to you as "the occupier" after moving in or was there something else that connected you both?

Which company are you making pre-pay payments to? Did you get a new key when you moved in, or are you possibly paying off the previous tenant's debts by using the key that was already there?

sandrot

Thank you, I ended up with the account by the letting agent: they directed me towards Tili to set up my utilities (which proved to be totally useless, had to contact Council and water myself once realizing nothing was set up). This directed me to SSE to set up electricity with them, this was before I moved. I wasn't aware of prepay meters even existing then (I live in the UK since two and a half years).

The prepay meter has a key which has to be topped up at a PayPoint. When I first entered the property, electricity was shut off, meter down at its limit (£10), the property was in a severe state of neglect (the agency didn't disclose this until they gave me the keys), I can imagine the previous occupant might have been evicted.

(Side note: Was having severe mental health issues due to complete isolation, made the move to relocate near people I knew, being able to work remotely. Wasn't in a state to be capable of making properly considered decisions then)

QrizB

I'm no expert on pre-pay (some people are, one might be along any minute now) but as I understand it the key is linked to an account with an electricity supplier. That account will be in the name of the previous tenant and may have debts owing on it. The electricity supplier will adjust the price you pay for your electricity to ensure that you pay off those debts in addition to the cost of the electricity. You might be paying £1000s of someone else's bills without even knowing it.

Does the key have any identifying information on it? A supplier's name or phone number?

sandrot

I cycled through its readings (and did so back in March when providing all those to SSE), it seems clear. Unit rate is 17.98 pences (urgh... for electric heating), debt is clear, and I think was clear when I provided the readings to SSE. February cost me some £400, but it was like a window was nearly falling off, could get the agency to fix the worst and weatherstrip windows by mid-month.

The key only has a logo on it. Which I though to be SSE's, but right now checking it I realized it isn't the SSE logo, just the colours match up. Digging around a bit, it is a British Gas logo. Nothing else on it or the meter anywhere identifying supplier. Will try to call them, hope they wouldn't send me away by some GDPR nonsense.

QrizB

sandrot said:

Digging around a bit, it is a British Gas logo. Nothing else on it or the meter anywhere identifying supplier. Will try to call them, hope they wouldn't send me away by some GDPR nonsense.

Hopefully BG can help you. Please let us know how you get on!

BeerSavesMoney

sandrot said:

Thank you, will try to call them tomorrow (WPD is my distributor).

Sorry for the ambiguity, yes, the photo on the checkin report has the prepay meter on it. The meter wasn't replaced during my tenancy, the situation wasn't even apparent for me until SSE started taking money from me by Direct Debit, then talking with them over phone (quite a few times over the course of months) revealed the actual situation. Initially I tried to ask them for replacing this prepay meter to smart meter.

I’ve just had a look on their website and you can check without calling them here: http://supplier.westernpower.co.uk/

I wonder if the meter got swapped at some point and the relevant databases weren’t updated correctly?

sandrot

Huh, thank you, nice find! No much new info, it gave me SSE, though it also gave me the MPAN which I didn't have (neither could get from letting agent). So this seems corresponding with the meter they think I have if that British Gas logo on the key is any guidance where my actual meter should be.

What I could imagine that at some point maybe due to the previous problem tenant the prepay meter was installed, and it wasn't logged properly.

Gerry1

The lettings agent pointed you towards Tili because they get a kickback.  Never let an agent have anything to do with your utilities or read a meter.

If SSE are involved, submit a formal complaint by snail mail and remember that you can go to the Ombudsman after six weeks rather than the normal eight (because their customer service was so poor).