Not given meter reading since before COVID

Sea_Shell

What / when was the last actual reading, used for billing?

What is the reading you've recently taken. (February?)

In other words, how many KwH are you basing your calculation on?

In the absence of those figures, it does seem that £5000 over 4/5 years is unlikely.

Can you get another reading as of now?

You could bite the bullet and submit that reading, at least then you would have their "actual" figure as a starting point.

Robin9

Agree with @Sea_Shell    There's nothing to be lost by not Biting The Bullet now -   then at least you will have firm figures to work around.

Ectophile

Reed_Richards said:

You will not have back bill protection for failing to provide a meter reading.  That would be too easy and would just encourage everybody else to do the same.  You may have to come to an agreement with your electricity supplier to pay off the debt by instalments.  But can the debt really be as high as you think?  Electricity prices have changed a lot since before COVID, making it quite difficult to work out what you owe.      

I don't think it's that simple.  See https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-energy-back-billing-rules

You don't lose the protection by failing to provide meter readings. Only if you obstructed the supplier from taking readings.

BarelySentientAI

Ectophile said:

Reed_Richards said:

You will not have back bill protection for failing to provide a meter reading.  That would be too easy and would just encourage everybody else to do the same.  You may have to come to an agreement with your electricity supplier to pay off the debt by instalments.  But can the debt really be as high as you think?  Electricity prices have changed a lot since before COVID, making it quite difficult to work out what you owe.      

I don't think it's that simple.  See https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-energy-back-billing-rules

You don't lose the protection by failing to provide meter readings. Only if you obstructed the supplier from taking readings.

Although the actual legal document that describes back billing does it in a different way from the OFGEM page - which might as well be written in crayon for how accurate it is.

Actual obstruction is only one of the criteria that would void the back billing protection.  It also comes down to a 'reasonableness' test of the customer's behaviour. 

Is it reasonable that the OP "could have given a reading at any time in the last year and a half but was too scared to get one"?

Is it reasonable that the OP did not attempt to obtain a reading at any time in the two and a half years that the flat was empty?

Is it reasonable that the OP did not attempt to get a reading during COVID because of "financial issues"?

Where the answer to any of those is yes, the back billing prohibition should be secure.  Where the answer is no, there could be an exclusion to the prohibition of charges.

The same thing usually applies to the supplier's behaviour when there is a complaint, but isn't strictly defined in that section of the licence.  They have requirements such as 'make all reasonable attempts to obtain a reading at least once every twelve months'.  So, is it reasonable that they asked multiple times for the OP to send a reading, and also sent meter readers to the supply address?  Is it reasonable that they appear to not have attempted to access the neighbours flat, even after being told the meter is there?

I agree that it certainly isn't simple.

imeach

As others have said, that figure does seem awfully high. 
Get a current reading and give it to the supplier, hopefully it will be a less than you think. 
Depending on the value, talk to the supplier and explain your situation. 
Doing nothing may only make it worse. 
Good luck

gbhxu

I've had the electricity company knocking on my door to take a reading but they've been unsuccessful as it's in the neighbours flat

So with lockdown starting in March 2020, they've not met their legal obligation to read the meter 3 times

BarelySentientAI

gbhxu said:

I've had the electricity company knocking on my door to take a reading but they've been unsuccessful as it's in the neighbours flat

So with lockdown starting in March 2020, they've not met their legal obligation to read the meter 3 times

Perhaps.  But the obligation isn't to read the meter, it's to take "all reasonable steps" to obtain a reading.  Subtly but importantly different.

Bseaguy28

I have finally given the meter reading resulting in my account being 3000 in debit now.

SAC2334

The suppliers have an obligation to get to the meter and do a safety check on the meter and they are every bit as lax as the occupier .Smart meters can go for years without inspections but dumb meters should be accessed at least every year .
 They could have tried harder themselves after all it's not the Occupiers meter and they would have known that it's in an adjoining flat . 

BarelySentientAI

SAC2334 said:

The suppliers have an obligation to get to the meter and do a safety check on the meter and they are every bit as lax as the occupier .Smart meters can go for years without inspections but dumb meters should be accessed at least every year 

Not any more - that specific requirement was removed several years ago.

Now it is much more handwavy and there are not specific timescales - terms like 'as necessary' and 'as appropriate' predominate.