Hi Mynewt,

Thanks for your response. I probably didn't explain about the meter cupboard effectively before - it's not the meter I can't get into, it's the cupboard that the meter is stored in - I found out this afternoon that only the management company for the building i live in have the key for it, so it seems that the electric company must have got access to take the reading through them...

In hindsight I should've chased the landlords for an initial meter reading when we moved in, but as the direct debit was set up and i was paying my monthly instalments on time, I hadn't thought about it until the bill came through the door - I will of course make sure I'm much more vigilent about such matters in the future. I'll contact the electricity company when i get in and will see if they can take another reading...

Thanks again

:)

kid_wispa:

Estimated readings should be either based on previous consumption (for the property) or typical consumption for the type of property.

On the face of it the size of the bill seems rather high for the type of property you describe at this time of the year.

At this stage you should phone your supplier and ask for an estimated start reading which results in more typical consumption. Report back if you need more help following that contact.

Also can you describe the type of lock on the meter cupboard.

Hi Kid_wispa,

If the meter readers can get access to the meter then there should be no real reason why you and to a far larger extent the letting agent could not get access. Meter readers all carry a meter box key, its a universal key that you can collect free from an energy supplier or from most hardware stores. I'm very surprised your letting agency do not have one. This is unless by some stroke of luck the meter reader happened to meet your landlord on site on one of the attempts.

As there has been a recent reading I would contact your supplier and explain the situation, see if you can agree to obtain a second reading 1 week or two apart from the recent one that was taken and have the start reading re-estimated using the two readings. This should give you a more accurate statement.

You also have to understand that the reading of the meter is a joint responsibility, even though I note you attempted to obtain a reading to start your account with, the blame so to speak falls on the shoulders of yourself, and to lesser extents your supplier, letting angent and/or landlord.

HI,

Me and my girlfriend moved into a 1 bedroom flat about 3 months ago, and when we did i had to move my electricity supplier, as my previous supplier didn't cover the new area i'd moved to. To give you a bit of background, we've got a pretty small 1 bed flat, and the only things we leave on permanently are the fridge and the freezer, and make sure everything is switched off at the plug every night. We are on economy 7 but we only switched the storage heaters on about a week ago.

When i set my account up with the new supplier, they asked me for a meter reading, but i was unable to get one because the meter is in a cupboard outside my flat that i don't have a key for, and told them this. They set up a direct debit for £64 a month which I was happy to pay, as it was about as much as i expected (given that i used to pay around £15 a month more for a much larger 2 bed property previously). This morning I received the first quarterly statement through and was informed that i owe in the region of £850 for the last 3 months! Upon closer inspection the bill says that the start point is estimated, and the finish point is actual, which means that they have managed to get into the cupboard outside my flat and have taken a final reading, but i'm unsure as to how they've managed to estimate a bill so high.

I called the lettings agent this morning to ask if they had the initial meter reading and was told that they hadn't taken one as they too could not get access to the cupboard, as the landlords had not given them a key, and told me they had informed my landlords of this and said they needed to take a reading, but as far as i can see it hasn't been done. I haven't had a chance to speak to the electricity company or my landlords as I am at work, but i just wanted some advice on where i stand regarding this, because if they have failed to take a reading does it mean I'm liable for this ridiculous bill?

The whole point we moved to a smaller property was to save money so obviously this has me really worried!

Thanks in advance for your help/suggestions