Electric meter allocated to neighbours house (and I have theirs!)

red_four

Hi MSE Forum,

I wonder if anyone has any advice on the current situation I find myself in?

I purchased a new build property January 2021 and moved in a few months later in May 2021. The property is part of a redevelopment of an old pub, my house was the only new build and my neighbours are in the old building which was split in two and turned into houses. These were occupied first around 6 months before I finalised my purchase.

This week I discovered (with the help of an electrician) that the electric meter I have been paying for since moving in isn't actually mine, it is one of my neighbours, and she has been paying mine! This particular neighbour bought the house from a single person in November 2023, who decided to sell up due to high running costs, for context, we all have electric boilers for our central heating which we all know is pricey to run!

From Jan 21 to Oct 23 my electric wasn't too horrendous, and then I noticed that it jumped up considerably, I put this down to a new water heater and merrily went on my way until this months bill which was eye watering! I assumed I had a faulty appliance so got an electrician out to help diagnose the problem.

I have contacted my energy supplier who has passed the query to the metering department and I can expect some sort of response in 7-10 days. I have also informed the neighbour of the issue so that she can do the same. 

My question is, has anyone had this happen? And how do the companies determine what's fair in respect of monies owed? I'm of the opinion that my usage from before the current neighbour would have been higher than I was aware, I would have been putting the heating on for longer than I would had I known what it was costing; and the same will apply to the current neighbour too, she was blissfully having a warm Christmas whilst I was restricting myself to 2 hours per day at 18 degrees! And my old neighbour is surely due some sort of compensation, being forced out of her home due to high energy costs?

Thank you for your time if you made it this far, I appreciate any responses.
 

EssexHebridean

It's certainly not unheard of, but by the sound of it you and neighbour are on the same page so it ought to be relatively straightforward to sort out, if possibly a bit time-consuming. Knowing exactly what the  nature of the switch is, and that it IS a straight 2 property switch is certainly helpful! 

Robin9

@ke_biller1  I think you are too quick off the mark here -  at this stage we do not know the financial consequences

There is . a lot to untangle even if they are with the same supplier.

pete-20-11

Robin9 said:

@ke_biller1  I think you are too quick off the mark here -  at this stage we do not know the financial consequences

There is . a lot to untangle even if they are with the same supplier.

Me thinks they might be a bot. AI?

brianposter

ke_biller1 said:

What a shocking mix-up! Have you considered seeking compensation for the incorrect billing and potential financial losses? Keep us updated on the response from your energy supplier.

It is unlikely that the energy supplier is at fault in these circumstances.

It might help if it is agreed with the neighbour who will pay more and who will pay less and the electricity supplier is then contacted jointly.

red_four

brianposter said:

ke_biller1 said:

What a shocking mix-up! Have you considered seeking compensation for the incorrect billing and potential financial losses? Keep us updated on the response from your energy supplier.

It is unlikely that the energy supplier is at fault in these circumstances.

It might help if it is agreed with the neighbour who will pay more and who will pay less and the electricity supplier is then contacted jointly.

The electric company installed and registered the meter so it is their fault 🤷🏼‍♀️

Gerry1

red_four said:

brianposter said:

ke_biller1 said:

What a shocking mix-up! Have you considered seeking compensation for the incorrect billing and potential financial losses? Keep us updated on the response from your energy supplier.

It is unlikely that the energy supplier is at fault in these circumstances.

It might help if it is agreed with the neighbour who will pay more and who will pay less and the electricity supplier is then contacted jointly.

The electric company installed and registered the meter so it is their fault 🤷🏼‍♀️

Possibly not, the developer will probably have registered the account during the building process and before the postal address was allocated.  It's a relatively common problem.  But your conveyancer / solicitor has done you do no favours by not warning you that the developer was a cheapskate, installing an inappropriate system that was cheap for them but horrendously expensive for you to run.  Were they 'tame' ones suggested by the developer?

EssexHebridean

 Oh come on Gerry - it’s not down to the solicitor to comment on things like heating systems, the surveyor might have been expected to know and perhaps mention it, but it’s well outside the remit of the conveyancing side of things.

prowla

BT once mixed up mine and my neighbour's phone lines so I got their calls and they got mine!

QrizB

pete-20-11 said:

Robin9 said:

@ke_biller1  I think you are too quick off the mark here -  at this stage we do not know the financial consequences

There is . a lot to untangle even if they are with the same supplier.

Me thinks they might be a bot. AI?

You can report suspected AI-generated replies and bots as "technical disruption" per MSE_James's advice:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81194368/#Comment_81194368

Gerry1

EssexHebridean said:

 Oh come on Gerry - it’s not down to the solicitor to comment on things like heating systems, the surveyor might have been expected to know and perhaps mention it, but it’s well outside the remit of the conveyancing side of things.

Yes, 'surveyor' would have been a more accurate word to have used, but the fact remains that the buyer should have been warned.  It's not some low risk theoretical problem, it'll start as soon as the heating has to be switched on.

A first time buyer might never have paid energy bills, and even someone more mature but only used to GCH might well be unaware that virtually nothing else is more expensive than the humongous cost of daytime electricity for space heating.

It won't have been the first time that the professionals have encountered this problem, and they really should have flagged it up.