ftb moving into empty house advice please

jenni2777

hi im a ftb i have a completion date for this friday i am moving into a repossessed property.how do i find out who the gas/electric company is? there is no gas or electric on at the moment as they have been turned off by the suppliers as they are defaulted .as this is repossessed there are no previous tenents to ask the estate agent doesnt know either

Norma_Desmond

Just ring around the 'big' utility companies - you shouldn't have much of a problem.
Transco were quite helpful when I was trying to track down our gas provider; they confrmed it was British Gas when BG had denied all knowledge of the property!

A_Nice_Englishman

http://www.energywatch.org.uk/help_and_advice/faqs/index.asp#14

How can I find out who supplies the gas and electricity to my new home?

You can find out who your gas supplier is by ringing the Transco Meter Helpline on
0870 608 1524.

You can find out who your electricity supplier is by ringing your local electricity distribution company. You should ask for their Meter Point Administration Service (MPAS). If you are not sure who the company is, contact energywatch

mlz1413

i'm surprised there isn't a mountain of post that would give away the suppliers details.

I bought a house that had been empty for 6 months due to tenants being evicted and there was so much post I physically couldn't get in the door! the utility companies and the tv license co being the worst offenders for mail.

I had a lot of problems with the previous occupiers still applying for credit at the house I bought so I would recommend that you ask your bank about securing yourself against this. Also be very careful to shred anything with your details on it and don't just throw it away.

Gingernutmeg

We found it easier to just ring up the companies we wanted to go with and give them the hassle of finding out our suppliers Our last flat was a nightmare for this, nobody had a clue who supplied the property and everyone denied that we were with them .. oddly enough that got sorted as soon as we rang a company and said we wanted to switch

Jorgan_2

mlz1413 wrote: »

i'm surprised there isn't a mountain of post that would give away the suppliers details.

Its a repo so the letter box will have been sealed, so no post.

For the gas supplier ring Transco on 0845 081524 & for the electric ring 0845 6015972, follow the automated instructions and they will tell who the last suppliers are.

jenni2777

thankyou all for your help .theres no post as the letter box is sealed .the buildings insurance company have sent my insurance policy there by mistake so no idea where that is now.does anyone know if they switch on the services straight away ?

Jorgan_2

The services will usually only be turned off within the property (usually within the meter cupboard or fuse box for the electric), you should be able to do it yourself, if uncertain you can get an electrician and Corgi registered plumber to the property. Check with your local sorting office for your missing insurance policy, it may be being held there.

teabelly

Sometimes with repos the gas will have been deinstalled completely so you may have to contact national grid for a new supply. If when you ring the gas supply number and they say no supplier is listed as it is not showing a meter then it means going to national grid for a physical supply and also talking to a gas supplier of your choice eg npower/atlantic or whoever to actually do the billing. If there is still a meter then it will make life a lot easier and it will be a lot quicker to get the supply back on.

If the old electricity supplier is british gas then prepare to have to wait 2 weeks to get the electricity back on as they are incompetent at sorting things out. Even complaining to energywatch doesn't make them buck their ideas up.

If you can, start sorting things out now. The lead time on meter people to do reconnections is a couple of days and the slots get filled very quickly. British Gas are also a pain as they want a completion letter and proof of identity before they'll even bother trying to reconnect you. With the propery being a repo they may fail you on a credit check and stiff you for a security deposit or try and stick a prepayment meter in the house which may take even longer to get installed.

Get an electrician and corgi guy to check the house over as often owners do all sorts of stupid things like taking light fittings and damaging things.

Also watch out for the water companies as they often try to tack arrears onto your bill. The previous owners/mortgage company are liable entirely so don't let them con you into paying more either!