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Hello all, I'm hoping you can help.
Situation:
*Signed a tenancy agreement and moved into a new property last month.
*The landlord gave me the meter readings and informed me that the current energy supply is with e-on and that there are 2 old electric meters and 1 gas meter which the landlord would replace soon. Next, I called E-on to set up an account, but they were unable to change the account as the property is registered as commercial and not domestic. I contacted the landlord about this, and they suggested I could keep things the way they are in the landlord's name and that he could forward the bill to us to pay to save us the hassle of changing the account names. Although a kind gesture, I responded, that commercial energy is more expensive than domestic and that I wouldn't be eligible for the government's energy contributions. At this point, we were nearing Christmas, and the landlord told me they'd "get on it after Christmas". Fair enough I thought.
Christmas passes, and I receive a letter from SSE business, stating a "change of tenancy" and that I am being billed at an "out-of-contract rate" on a "Variable Business Rate". I was a bit confused as I thought the energy provider was with e-on. I guessed that that SSE provided gas to the property as there was something called an "MPRN" number on the letter, which is associated with gas meters.
I then sent a photo of the letter from SSE and sent it to the landlord, who said they'd "sort it out". I thought to save time I'd just call SSE and try to sort it out myself. I explained my situation that I had recently moved in and needed a domestic supply of energy not commercial, but SSE business energy told me that they do not supply domestic energy and in any case I would need to supply them with meter serial numbers.
Again I relayed this information to the landlord, who then sent photos to me of all the meters, however none of those photos contained serial numbers nor MPANs or MPRNs. I relayed the latter to the landlord who has told me that they will get it to me next week.
At this juncture, my concern is that over a month has passed and I'm worried I will be liable for a bill for business rates for energy.
At no point was this pointed out to me by the landlord , and is not mentioned anywhere in contract. I imagined just moving in, setting up energy providers and just getting on with life. This has been quite stressful as I work from home and find the lack of clarity frustrating.
My suggestion would be for the landlord to calculate our energy based on a domestic rate retrospectively for the energy used thus far, and then deduct appx £60?, as this is how much I believe householders get on their energy from government. Then once we are supplied with all info I need I can finally switch to domestic rates.
However, where do I stand legally and what can I do? None of the this is my fault.
Your help on this would really take a lot of stress away from me.
Thank you
*2 meters are locked away in an area only accessible to the landlord and 1 meter publicly accessible.
Situation:
*Signed a tenancy agreement and moved into a new property last month.
*The landlord gave me the meter readings and informed me that the current energy supply is with e-on and that there are 2 old electric meters and 1 gas meter which the landlord would replace soon. Next, I called E-on to set up an account, but they were unable to change the account as the property is registered as commercial and not domestic. I contacted the landlord about this, and they suggested I could keep things the way they are in the landlord's name and that he could forward the bill to us to pay to save us the hassle of changing the account names. Although a kind gesture, I responded, that commercial energy is more expensive than domestic and that I wouldn't be eligible for the government's energy contributions. At this point, we were nearing Christmas, and the landlord told me they'd "get on it after Christmas". Fair enough I thought.
Christmas passes, and I receive a letter from SSE business, stating a "change of tenancy" and that I am being billed at an "out-of-contract rate" on a "Variable Business Rate". I was a bit confused as I thought the energy provider was with e-on. I guessed that that SSE provided gas to the property as there was something called an "MPRN" number on the letter, which is associated with gas meters.
I then sent a photo of the letter from SSE and sent it to the landlord, who said they'd "sort it out". I thought to save time I'd just call SSE and try to sort it out myself. I explained my situation that I had recently moved in and needed a domestic supply of energy not commercial, but SSE business energy told me that they do not supply domestic energy and in any case I would need to supply them with meter serial numbers.
Again I relayed this information to the landlord, who then sent photos to me of all the meters, however none of those photos contained serial numbers nor MPANs or MPRNs. I relayed the latter to the landlord who has told me that they will get it to me next week.
At this juncture, my concern is that over a month has passed and I'm worried I will be liable for a bill for business rates for energy.
At no point was this pointed out to me by the landlord , and is not mentioned anywhere in contract. I imagined just moving in, setting up energy providers and just getting on with life. This has been quite stressful as I work from home and find the lack of clarity frustrating.
My suggestion would be for the landlord to calculate our energy based on a domestic rate retrospectively for the energy used thus far, and then deduct appx £60?, as this is how much I believe householders get on their energy from government. Then once we are supplied with all info I need I can finally switch to domestic rates.
However, where do I stand legally and what can I do? None of the this is my fault.
Your help on this would really take a lot of stress away from me.
Thank you
*2 meters are locked away in an area only accessible to the landlord and 1 meter publicly accessible.
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