Hi, I move into a 1 bedroom flat Oct 2008. My tenancy started 4th Oct but I did not move in until the 17th Oct so the property was sitting empty and no electric was being used. I also went on holiday for 3 weeks between November and December so no eletric was being use other than the immersion heater and my fridge.

There is no gas supply to the flat only electric. The flat was previously used as office space then converted to residential. There are two storage heaters which are useless as there is no double glazing in the flat. Since I move in I had to call the landlord to replace 6 sockets which suddenly stopped working. That includes the switches for the storage heaters which look to be at least 10 years old.

As I mentioned there is an immersion heater. Last November the day before I was due to go on holiday the immersion heater switch and another socket stopped working. I contacted my landlord requesting for it to be fixed during the period I would be on holiday. I gave my best friend the keys who lives couple doors down requesting for her to let him in the flat to do the repairs. After repairing the immersion heater switch he claimed that it was because I was turning the it off and on that caused the fault in the switch and stated that it was not good to turn if off. He claimed that it is to remain on at all times. I never used an immersion heater before so I took his advice and kept if on bacause I didn't want to be blamed again if stopped working. The problem is that I always had boiling hot water and that made having a shower difficult. When I first signed up with Npower they informed me that they will be taking readings and I will be sent my bill quarterly. I was confident I my usage was low as I work full time, leave at 7am and don't get home until 8pm. I am also out most weekends as I have a part time job. I have been paying Npower by direct debit £60 monthly. I received an estimated bill was stated I was in credit by £185 but that was on an estimated reading. I called to ask whether they had done any readings. They claimed they could not access the meters. Partly my fault yes as I should have contacted them earlier to check on my account. I gave them the readings on the 27th May. I called Npower on the 28th to check if I owed anything. Thats when they told me I owed £839. I was shocked by this as I am hardly ever at home. I requested some advice and discuss my usage with Npower in detail. The only appliance kept on daily was my fridge and the immersion heater. the storage heaters have not been turned on since the end February and were only really used between mid November to end Feb. Npower informed me that the immersion heater was not to be kept on as it was heating the water over and over again.

I contacted my landlord to inform him that he request for it to be kept on was the fault. Due to my working hours whenver there were repairs to be done I always requested for my best friend to let him in. He tried to used that as the reason for my bill being so high suggesting that she lives there and stays there all day. I have always taken my keys back from her after repairs have been done and she wokrs full time herself and I live alone. I requested for him to cover 40% of the billed as my usage would not have been as high it is if he hadn't insisted for the immersion heater to be kept on. He claimed that the immersion heater is on a timer which I have proven that is not the case. The tenants in the flat below me are also complaing of extremely high electrec bills. They have complained of several electrical problems similiar to the issues I have experience in my time in the flat. I am thinking on witholding next month rent unless he agree to cover part of the bill. My tenancy ends 3rd Oct this year. Can anyone offer any advice. I am working two jobs as I enjoy living alone not because I want to waste my money on paying for high electric bills.