On the day that you move in to new premises, you should take meter readings and pass these on to the supplier. If you didn't, all you can do is take a reading today and again tomorrow and see how that usage compares to the bill. Without meter readings, you will have to find some sensible way that both you and the supplier are happy with to canculate the usage.

If you are expecting problemswith the supplier, you can correspond in writing and keep copies and posting receipts (ask at the post office). You should mention the dates that you have been in contact in your letters.

ConsumerDirect and/or ConsumerFocus may help.

Hi there, I moved into my flat (which is a small 2 bedroom place) in December 2008 and have been told that in this time I have spent £1782 on electricity. This seems absurd considering that only 2 people live here and the place is usually empty. I did receive a letter from Souther Electric asking me to call up and give my readings which I did (I was also told on the phone that the bill was around the £600 mark), however the letter received today said they have not heard from me which is wrong.

I cannot afford this and am shocked that is such a high amount considering my last home was a house with three people and cost a fraction of this for the same period (also Southern Electric). Obviously I would like this resolved as soon as possible, I tried calling their customer service line but was put on hold for half an hour so decided to write their head of C/S an email instead.

I am very careful with electricity (only run the washing machine after 12.30, leave everything switched off, use energy saver light bulbs etc) and cannot believe this is accurate at all. To top it off I lost my job on monday so am quite scared that I am not going to be ale to pay this off. Any advice on what I could do about this would be appreciated!