Is It OK To Open ESB Bill In Flat Mate's Name?

cagney88

I just moved into shared accomodation and the electricity bill arrived which is in my flat mate's name only. She doesn't own the property or anything.

Last time the bill came she told me how much I owed without showing it to me. For a 2 bedroom apartment it was €200 (total) which I thought was allot since Im never there, no tv and the heating is never on. I paid it and I have since tried to get the bill into my name also but it seems to be taking forever jsut to get someone to look at the meter.

Is it ok to open the bill or a no-go area?

mike65

Thats a no-no, indeed knowingly opening the post addressed to someone else is a civil offence I believe.

edellc

since your sharing she shouldnt have a problem with you opening it after all if she is looking for half of it you are entitled to see it
also esb wont add you she has to ring as its in her name to add you

EL_Loco

it's addressed to her but it's for you both. Open it and read it. and don't ever pay for anything without seeing the bill, gawd almighty.

jmbkay

I wouldn't pay anything until I saw the bill.

mike65

I'm wondering why anyone would be sharing a flat in such a situation.

tara73

I would say it's very simple, defenitely don't open the letter as it is only in her name and as 'mike 65' pointed out it's a civil offence so she can make a case out of it which is not in your interest, I presume.

Just ask to see the bill, that's your good right and you can be sure you're paying the amount you owe her.

On the bill you can see as well if the meter reading is estimated from esb or the correct read from your flatmate. if it is estimated I would ask your flatmate if she can give the current meter reader to esb to make sure you only pay what you use. esb is quite uncomplicated in dealing with and sends out corrected bills after giving the correct reading.

convert

If the bill is addressed to her then you shouldn't open it - it is a civil offence, as other posters have mentioned above.

If it's an ESB Bill, then she should show it to you when she's asking for your share of the bill. The last time I shared, the bills were put up on the fridge so everybody could see exactly how much the bill was and how it was divided. If she doesn't want to show you the bill, it would start to ring alarm bells for me. It could just be an over-sight on her behalf, or it could be that she's hiding something. Either way, it's your right to see the bill before you pay your share.

yogy

Don't open it but demand to see it before you hand over any money.

While you're at it do yourself a favour and ask to see the previous bill. €200 sounds like a suspiciously round figure.

She obviously sees you as young and slightly naive and will only take advantage of you more and more if you allow her. Put a stop to it NOW!

cruizer101

Gotta agree with yogy here, not sure if you meant in the region of 200. If bill was exactly 200 that is very strange. Obviously not impossible but just unlikely to be a nice number like that.

schween

200 sounds odd, especially for a two people.

As for opening the bills. For me it depends on who I live with. I haven't lived with a person yet who has had a problem with me opening energy bills. If they did have a problem, I definitely wouldn't open it, but ask to see it before paying. You shouldn't even have to ask, she should put the bill on the fridge or something when it comes in.

Miguel_Sanchez

I wouldn't open it unless you've been given permission by her.

However she shouldn't have any problem showing you the bill.

There's many reasons why it could be higher than you expected. If a few previous bills were estimated they might be playing catch up which is unfortunate for you. Or this bill could be estimated and the next meter-read bill will be lower to even it out.

Mike 1972

You could always work out electricity consumption by taking periodic meter readings yourself. Finding out current electricity prices (and how bills are calculated) and doing the maths

the_syco

Don't open a letter for someone else.

Refuse to pay any money towards the bill until you see the bill. For all you know, you could be paying for the total, and a shoulder of whiskey for herself.

sickofwaiting

Yep, definitely demand to see the bill before paying a cent. You could open the letter if you wanted....you'd then have to bin it and just pretend it never came that way you wouldn't have to worry about getting done for opening someone's mail. But the best bet is just to demand to see it the bill before paying towards it.

cagney88

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't open it.

I was just thinking that if it was a paperless bill (i.e you only got the bill by logging into an account) then I wouldn't even have the option of even seeing it.

Lesson learend; stop assuming the best in people.

28064212

cagney88 wrote: »

I was just thinking that if it was a paperless bill (i.e you only got the bill by logging into an account) then I wouldn't even have the option of even seeing it.

Ehhh.... Why? She doesn't have to show you the bill, but you don't have to pay her until she does. She's the one who needs something off you, not the other way around. From your OP, it reads like you didn't even ask if you could see the bill

plasmaguy

I believe you would be legally entitled to see the bill since you are paying it. Your flatmate is acting completely illegally and possibly fraudulently by not showing you the bill.

Refuse to pay the ESB unless she shows you the bill. If it continues, discuss it with the landlord.

It's unacceptable to pay a bill you haven't seen. Fullstop.

D3PO

plasmaguy wrote: »

I believe you would be legally entitled to see the bill since you are paying it. Your flatmate is acting completely illegally and possibly fraudulently by not showing you the bill.

Refuse to pay the ESB unless she shows you the bill. If it continues, discuss it with the landlord.

It's unacceptable to pay a bill you haven't seen. Fullstop.

your not legally entitled to open post addressed to anybody else regardless of what it is.

And the flatmate isnt acting illegally or fraudulently by not showing the bill. The OP hasnt even asked to see the bill !! and even if they did refuse to show the billl (off topic i know) that still wouldnt be illegal. However they cant expect the OP to pay without seeing it.

plasmaguy

D3PO wrote: »

your not legally entitled to open post addressed to anybody else regardless of what it is.

And the flatmate isnt acting illegally or fraudulently by not showing the bill. The OP hasnt even asked to see the bill !! and even if they did refuse to show the billl (off topic i know) that still wouldnt be illegal. However they cant expect the OP to pay without seeing it.

The law is on the OPs side should she refuse to pay the bill, that's the point I am trying to make, no judge for example would force someone to pay a bill they hadn't seen.

And I didn't say she should open the letter.