I have recently bought an apartment in a new development and the whole development is served by SWITHC2 which provides hot water, heating and electricity.

I have now received the first bill and I have been charged for the consumption of heating, water and electricity but I have also found a voice STANDING CHARGE calculated at £1.49/day. In 40 days i have therefore been charged for £50.00 for utilities and £61 for service charges.

Because the whole development is served by central heating and cetral hot water, I can not switch on another suppleir, and i have the feeling that SWITCH 2 is overcharging me and all the owners. I need to highlight that the development is complosed of 60 flats. Therefore, if each apartment is charged at £1.49/day (as i suppose), at the end of the year SWITCH2 is having more than £30,000 as "standing charge".

I have been told that the "standing charge" are paid for

The operation and maintenance of the central plant and the energy distribution network.
• Maintenance of the consumer interface unit, metering and controls located in the consumers property, but excluding radiators, valves and pipework.
• Full guarantee.
• The Standing Charge for all incoming utilities, e.g. gas and water
• Billing and Administration of the system.
• Management and tendering for all required fuel to minimise the costs of running the system

But honestly, i think that £30,000/year is a bit expensive.

Because I am not British and I do not know where to seek for advice, I wonder if I can search for any remedy before going to a solicitor and apply the Court. Is there any association that can assist me in finding out if this cost is correct or is there anything else i can do in order to reduce this cost?

Thank you very much in advance.

Max,

The best people to speak to are Energywatch on 08459 06 07 08.

www.energywatch.org.uk

Good luck!

Dear Max,

I am having the same problem, I received my first SWITCH2 bill today, I paid 150 pounds for 2 months including almost 90 pounds for services charges.

Did you contact energywatch or did you find a solution ?

Thanks,

Nicolas.

Are you sure its not 14.9p per day!?

£1.49 per day most people will use that in elec in one day!

That's my problem ! it is £1.49 per day. I contacted Switch2 Energy and they confirmed me that the price is right: that's the cost of the network maintenance.

I checked with my neighbours and they are paying the same price.

Do you have any idea what I can do ?

I had a look at the SWITCH2 website!

I have been in the energy industry for 8 years and I have never seen this!

I found this:

5) Can I change my supplier?

Answer: You are connected to the communal scheme, so this would be difficult. However with the benefits of being connected to the communal system such as the lower costs, better service and more environmentally friendly credentials, you won’t want to!

The scheme provider will ensure that the cost of energy remains comparable to conventional utility supplies.

So it says it would be difficult not impossible!

I would contact other suppliers and see if they can support this system.

You may be better contacting the host supplier for your area!?