How to handle bills...

 1. Why do I need to know about this?

Most rent in the private sector does not include the cost of utilities. Ignoring them does not mean that you’ll get away without paying and it may lead to problems getting your deposit back at the end of your tenancy. Companies have very good tracing services – if you don’t pay and register for use later at a new address, they could find you there.

2. What do I need to know?

Find and read your meter when you move into your new house, make a note of the readings and contact the suppliers with the name of each of the tenants and the reading to open an account. Don’t “take one each”, it’s important that the utilities are in the name of all of the tenants as it can cause problems in the future if bills remain unpaid.

The utility companies should allow you all to register jointly and it is only the cable and telephone companies which do not allow you to do so, so it may be a good idea to open a house bank account where these bills are paid from. However its worth remembering that whoever’s name is on the bill, the whole house has joint liability for paying the bills.

If you cannot find the meters in your property or there is some confusion over what meter services your house or flat, contact your landlord or estate agent.

 

3. Why do I need to take a meter reading?

 

When you take your meter reading inform the company of it, you are agreeing to pay for all gas, water or electricity from this point onwards. Therefore, if you don’t take a reading from when you move in you may end up paying part of the previous tenant’s bill, as it is difficult otherwise to prove when your account started from.

 

4. How do I find out who supplies the gas, electricity and water to my house?

Water: Yorkshire Water supplies Water to everyone in this area. Unless you are on a meter you don’t have to get a reading for this. Contact Yorkshire Water with your names and they will set up an account for you which can be paid monthly or three monthly. To contact Yorkshire Water to set up your account or for any problems to do with your water www.yorkshirewater.com

 

Gas and Electricity: Many companies can now supply your gas or electricity or both. However with choice often comes confusion. To find out who currently supplies gas to your house contact M-Number on 0870 6081524

Remember if you don’t do this straight away you could find yourself paying for the previous tenant’s gas.

Although M-Number will give you the telephone number for your supplier, here are the websites of the most commonly used gas suppliers in the local area:

If yours isn’t listed here, you can find details of other suppliers at www.ofgem.gov.uk

 

To find out your electricity supplier contact M-Pas on 0845 3300889 with your meter reading as before.

Although there are many suppliers working in this area, the most common ones are:

  • There is also a new supplier - Ebico http://www.ebico.co.uk/ who may be cheaper for customers on a prepayment meter.

 

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5. Gas Safety

Your landlord should have given you a copy of your Gas Safety Record when you moved in to prove that all your appliances were safe and had been checked in the past year. It is a legal requirement that your landlord does this annually. For more information have a look at www.corgi-gas-safety.com

If you smell gas in or around your house it is important that you call Transco immediately on 0800 111999

For more information visit www.transco.co.uk

We also have some more information on safety in the home on our safety and disrepair pages

 

6. Complaints

You should always make your initial complaint to the supplier. However if you are still unhappy you can take your complaint to the utilities ombudsman, Energywatch. www.energywatch.org.uk

For more information on the gas and electricity industries: www.ofgem.gov.uk


7. Common Questions

 

What happens if someone moves out?

You only need to pay for the gas; electricity or water that you use or have had access to. This means that if someone moves out early, then they would stop paying towards the bills.

 

What happens if the others don’t pay their share of the bills?

If you have been left with bills unpaid by your housemates send a copy of the contract, together with the names and contact addresses of those who haven’t paid, to the company and they will pursue them as well.

 

What happens if we don’t receive a bill?

If you have telephoned the company with meter readings and they haven’t sent you a bill it is advisable to write to the company rather than continue telephoning. Letters are often treated more seriously than telephone calls and this may resolve the problem sooner.

 

What happens if we think the bill is too high?

If you think that either your gas or electricity bill is too high then it is up to you to prove it. The first thing to do is to check to see if the bills you have been receiving are based on actual usage and not on estimated figures. To do this look at the last bill that you received and it will tell you next to the details of how much you have used if this is an estimated figure. If they have been estimating this, you need to do a meter reading and contact your supplier with this number. They will then issue an amended bill based on this actual figure. Please bear in mind that this could result in your bill actually increasing if they have been under estimating your usage.

If they have been using actual figures and you still think it is wrong, it is worth doing daily checks on how much gas or electricity you are using. Consider doing a meter reading one day and then a follow up reading twenty fours hours later to give you an idea of how much your house uses over this period. You may be surprised at how much your house really uses.

Failing this, and if you are still concerned that the meter is not accurately reading the amount of gas or electricity your house is using then you can ask to have your meters checked. Contact your supplier who will be happy to check the meter for you, although please bear in mind that they may charge you to do this.

If none of these uncover a problem with your meter, then it may be that gas and electricity costs more than you imagined and you may have to re-think when and how much you use these utilities.

For information and advice on how you can reduce your energy use and save on your bills, please see the Save Energy website at www.saveenergy.co.uk

 

What if I want to change my supplier?

You will no doubt be faced with door to door sales people, trying to get you to change your supplier. After discussing this with your fellow housemates, if you decide to go ahead and change your supplier write to your landlord or estate agent informing them of the change.

The company will send you all the necessary forms including one to be sent to your current supplier. However, it is important that you do a meter reading and pay your final bill to the current supplier as they will not let you out of the contract if there is money outstanding.

You can get an independent comparison of gas and electricity prices form different suppliers in your area from http://www.uswitch.com/

Page Created: 18th Apr, 2008
Last Updated: 11:26am on 18th Apr, 2008 by Anne-Marie Canning