Buchannan clark + wells,debt collectors

Confused_landord

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SwanJon

Was there any time between the tenancies?
If not, send copies to the supplier and they should stop chasing you.

If there was time between them, then it's not so easy, as the supplier will have an account for the time in between. What they see is energy being used that needs to be paid for.

They are within their rights to take you to court on an estimate - otherwise, why ever let them in?

Your complaint is with the agents, and I don't think the supplier can help you much, but you could try calling them and see if they can adjust the bill.

Good luck.

Terrylw1

SwanJon's right. Your complaint is with RR.

If there is a gap in dates, the Supplier will assume that if the opening reading of the new tenant is higher than the final reading of the old tenant, the LL must have used the property. Some LL's leave the heating on which can cause it.

How is the reading an estimate? Do you mean the final reading on this bill to you?

Or do you mean the final bill of the previous tenant? (although I thought you said they had submitted one that was too low???)

Estimates can be replaced by Suppliers if you dispute them. You need to talk to the Supplier about what they can do. Suppliers re-estimate bills in lots of circumstances like this. They also write off bills if it will be too much hassle or cause a complaint by passing debt onto an old customer.

It's not their fault that 3rd parties are passing bills between each other so in their eyes they just see someone not paying.

Confused_landord

The bill outstanding was in between tenants,,one moved out, then thre was bout 6weeks and nobody in and then a new tenant moved in,,and thats a good point,, how can i have an estimate bill , if the meters had been read?My grudge is also reeds raines will do there best not pay this, but seeing why i was on full management with them thay said it dosnt include meter readings,,i have tonight been on other web sites for estate agencies and they read meters in there full management schemes..i hate bein fobbed off and end up payin for other peoples problems,,i have told reeds raines , if i end up paying this bill (which isnt mine)i am taking the peoperty from them and giving it to another agent............does anybody know if you are on full management that this does include meter readings????

Confused_landord

..also ..i am quite prepared to pay for the inbetween time when nobody was in it...but surely 6weeks dosnt cost 110.00..I do expect to pay a small charge,,but the problem arose when the meter was read correctly for the next tennant moving in,,which produced this shortfall of monies, which i do expect to pay some of it , although no electric was used in the meantime, except for the odd light going on here and there when i do my final inspection.

Terrylw1

I agree with you. You are only liable for any movement between tenancies. Your Supplier will also agree on that. It only gets a bit hazy when Suppliers have to estimate hence getting readings helps to protect LL's like yourself.

So, RR did take a reading when the old tenant moved out and the new one moved in? So, they took the previous tenants reading too low as you said in your first post.

Well, thats RR's error. Your Supplier doesn't care who about that, they just want payment. However, that doesn't mean you can't dispute the final reading of the previous tenant (which is your opening reading) and say it was too low.

I suggest you contact your Supplier ASAP about this and discuss it. Suppliers are happy enough to re-estimate under these circumstances if they can see a reason to do it. Have RR admitted to the error? If so, that might be enough for the Supplier to re-estimate your opening reading which should make it more reasonable.

At the end of the day in terms of utilities, you are the legal owner hence are liable for all charges (except where you have a tenancy agreement where tenants agree to pay whilst in there). This means you can challenge RR's reading and blame it on them since your Supplier cannot refuse to discuss that with you, but they can with RR.

The other problem here is going to be that when they do this, they will cause part of this bill to be added to the old tenant. If that tenant moved out over a year ago, they can't charge them. So, you may be talking about them writing part of this off.

I would suggest if you get nowhere, speak to a manager as this might require some authorisation. If that doesn't get you anywhere, write in and complain and then go to Energywatch if you get no response or they refuse to do anything.

Confused_landord

thats the problem as of now RR are saying they dont officially have to read meters and that i shuda checked the meter myself anyway,,they just dont wanna pay for there mistake..in the mean time i have been put on a dispute hold by BCW..but i dont know how long they do that for????What is energy watch???????by the way

Terrylw1

Per their website:

energywatch is the independent gas and electricity watchdog. We were set up in November 2000 through the Utility Act to protect and promote the interests of all gas and electricity consumers.
We provide free, impartial information and advice and take up complaints on behalf of consumers who are experiencing difficulty in resolving problems directly with their energy companies.
We use the intelligence we gather through the complaint-handling process to develop a real understanding of the issues affecting consumers and their impact on their day to day lives.
We highlight the issues of greatest concern through campaigns, by naming and shaming the offending companies and by using the consumer experience to illustrate the human cost of corporate failure.
energywatch works closely with the regulator, Ofgem, to ensure that company performance issues are monitored and where appropriate, the evidence is provided to trigger investigations and/or enforcement action.
We are also work constructively with companies, initiating changes to their policies, processes and systems that will make them more responsive to the needs of their customers.
We deliver our services in partnership with a range of other caring organisations and advice-giving bodies.


EW will persue complaints on behalf of consumers when they find they are getting nowhere with their Supplier.

Regardless of what RR say they do now (because you can take your own readings which is better for your peice of mind anyway) you still have the right to discuss changing it on the basis of the Agents mistake as you are the owner. One of your tenants could also do that if they have to pay the utilities as it's a basic consumer right.

Confused_landord

Further to this post.. today, reeds raines , said they do now read meters???that is after i told them i rang every estate agent in town to tell me is reading meters included in there full ,management fees,,to which everyone said yes it is.....Further to that the manager of the branch said they rang RIGHT MOVE(what they have to do with anything i do not know) and they said 80.00 is about right for a propertry that is empty for 3mths or so.........so i said i would have to get back to RR when i have got my facts straight as i remebered the 18mths ago that the bill appeared because the meter had been read wrong and i remember RR askin me how would i have read it????
Now then ,when i got in tonight i have gone through my passed accounts for my rental property and i have found an electric bill for 29.98 that i paid for whilst my property was empty covering the months it was empty!!!!which was 4 months!!!!!!Also my present tenant has told me her electric bill is only 30.00 per month for both her and her boyfreind,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,what do you think,,,,all replies greatly accepted and thank you for any replies in advance..i think i am begining to lose the plot

Confused_landord

Also further to that 80.00 RR are querying(sp) the bill has incurred a penalty in taking it to the total of 115.00.........i did give RR the bill the 18mths or so ago and they returned it bout 4wks later without any explanation,,because of this i thought they had paid it,,,,,as if they hadnt you would expect a letter ..wouldnt you??????

Terrylw1

There will be dent collection letters going out. However, if the address is RR, they may not have passed them on.

I can tell you now that £80 for 3 months on a vacant property is complete garbage. A complete lie!

Meters do naturally move a couple of Kwh a year, but thats it. So, if your property was empty and no lighting heating being used for showing potential clients around then even with any standing charge it would be nowhere near that.

It's a difficult issue to prove. It's worth asking your Supplier if they have a record of any readings close to the date of this bill as they may spot that it's not in keeping with the meter readers reading.

As far as additional charegs for not paying goes, thats not the Suppliers fault. As far as they are concerned, if you do not dispute the bill and don't ask them to investigate it, you are just a non payer. I think you should get RR to pay the charges though if it all turns out to be their fault since they have caused it. The Suppliers will not waive it on that basis.

I suggest you take your own readings if possible otherwise you never have any proof. If thats just not possible, maybe it's worth considering a new management agent.