Landlady getting oil without notice

brianthebard

So a few months ago we ran out of oil, one of the guys notified the landlady who told us to get it ourselves so we did. Then a few weeks later a half tank of oil arrived without any notice, and again last week the same thing happened. Now the landlady has text to say her (ex)husband ordered the oil, will collect the dockets on christmas eve(presumably to have a nosey, they are that sort of people) and we will be billed in the new year. Considering we were not given notice that this oil was being purchased nor asked if we wanted it can she ask us to pay for it like that? Also although the (ex)husband is afaik co-owner of the house I have never had any dealings with him nor do I consider him my landlord. I think most of the people in the house are willing to accept the situation but I'd at least like to know my entitlements and the legal situation before getting into this with her one way or the other. Thanks in advance.

djimi

Condering you didnt ask for it to be delivered at the very least I would be telling her that you will pay for it when you can afford it, ie in a couple of months when you would have actually ordered more oil yourself. Chances are you would have ordered it and used it anyway, but its the principle of the situation.

the_syco

So... you were told to get your own, and then you were told after you got the oil that you'll be charged for it? I'd wonder what company the hubbie works for.

Bob Z

Maybe she thought the pipes would freeze without oil? Or thought she was doing you a favour?

the_syco

Bob Z wrote: »

Maybe she thought the pipes would freeze without oil? Or thought she was doing you a favour?

If it were either of these, she wouldn't charge...

Shelli2

Who's name is on your lease as landlord? Hers or the ex hubbie?

I'd tell her that you'll of course pay for the oil this time, as you'll be the one using it, but that you will order the oil if it's needed in future and if there is oil in the tank at the end of your lease if you are leaving you will be reimbursed for it.

the_syco

brianthebard wrote: »

Now the landlady has text to say her (ex)husband ordered the oil, will collect the dockets on christmas eve(presumably to have a nosey, they are that sort of people) and we will be billed in the new year.

I just re-read this part. Wouldn't the person who bought the oil, ie; her hubbie, be the one with the dockets, as he bought the oil, if by docket, you mean reciept?

housetypeb

Tell him you dont want it and will order your own oil when you need it as already agreed with the landlady.
Ask him to call the oil company to remove it as it was ordered by mistake.
Its not your problem-let the landlord worry about it.

brianthebard

Thanks for the replies.

the_syco wrote: »

I just re-read this part. Wouldn't the person who bought the oil, ie; her hubbie, be the one with the dockets, as he bought the oil, if by docket, you mean reciept?

What I mean is the oil tank arrived without letting anyone know about it and the first we knew was a smell out the back and a slip of duplicate paper from the company in the letter box. The second time I only found out we were getting out cause I went into the kitchen and saw the guy already filling it. I guess the paper is not technically a receipt because it doesn't have the price on the page. I've always called this slip of paper a docket.

housetypeb wrote: »

Tell him you dont want it and will order your own oil when you need it as already agreed with the landlady.
Ask him to call the oil company to remove it as it was ordered by mistake.
Its not your problem-let the landlord worry about it.

Would like to do that but the others in the house won't go for this. I agree with people saying we might have ordered it eventually but our oil might have lasted another month or two and if it didn't we would only have ordered half a tank, not a full one, so its going to be double the price we would have paid too.

Lol at the idea of this house having a lease. I've always dealt with the landlady and consider her the only person I need to deal with but its co-owned from what I can tell. Obviously this is a dodgy set of people we're dealing with....

the_syco

brianthebard wrote: »

I guess the paper is not technically a receipt because it doesn't have the price on the page. I've always called this slip of paper a docket.

Does it have the amount? Because if it doesn't have the price, or amount, what fee will you be paying? Without knowing how much was put in, you could be paying for two full tanks, instead of two half tanks.

Oh, and is your pipe above ground, or below ground? I ask as this cold tends to burst pipes, and if it's below ground, you may find your oil running out quicker than normal... as it may be leaking. Keep an eye out on how much oil is used. If above ground, check for leaks.

brianthebard

the_syco wrote: »

Does it have the amount? Because if it doesn't have the price, or amount, what fee will you be paying? Without knowing how much was put in, you could be paying for two full tanks, instead of two half tanks.

Oh, and is your pipe above ground, or below ground? I ask as this cold tends to burst pipes, and if it's below ground, you may find your oil running out quicker than normal... as it may be leaking. Keep an eye out on how much oil is used. If above ground, check for leaks.

No there wasn't a price on it when I checked. I don't know how the landlady intends to decide what we pay tbh, will just have to wait for that text in january. You mean the pipe that goes from the bottom of the oil tank? That's underground.

Xiney

I maybe overly cynical, but I wonder if this oil is going to get "stolen" in a little while. (ie, by one of your landlords - free oil paid for by their tenants. Needed to make sure the tank was full though, of course)


...get a lock

delllat

you need to tell this woman that either you or she is responsible for ordering the oil ~(i would prefer to order it myself if i were you )

she cant be filling the tank whenever she feels like it because shes spending your money and you have no idea how much oil is being ordered,used etc so your going to be hit with a bill upon leaving (probably roughly as much as your combined deposits)

brianthebard

delllat wrote: »

you need to tell this woman that either you or she is responsible for ordering the oil ~(i would prefer to order it myself if i were you )

she cant be filling the tank whenever she feels like it because shes spending your money and you have no idea how much oil is being ordered,used etc so your going to be hit with a bill upon leaving (probably roughly as much as your combined deposits)

I agree that she needs to make up her mind, my immediate concern however is what I can do or say about the oil she's ordered and whether I would have a small claims case for instance if she withholds money from my deposit in lieu of me paying.

delllat

brianthebard wrote: »

I agree that she needs to make up her mind, my immediate concern however is what I can do or say about the oil she's ordered and whether I would have a small claims case for instance if she withholds money from my deposit in lieu of me paying.

call her down for a meeting and ask to see how much has been spent so far and tell her the tenants would like to see original receipts stating amounts delivered ,cost ,date etc and COMBINED TOTAL

its better to know now than find out when you ask to get your deposits back that you spent €1776.65 on oil this winter and she bills you for it

in my area we usually get a few quid knocked off by getting quotes from a few companies ,she probably hasnt done this if she thinks ur paying for it so it would be better to get it sorted before it gets out of hand

Graces7

brianthebard wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.




What I mean is the oil tank arrived without letting anyone know about it and the first we knew was a smell out the back and a slip of duplicate paper from the company in the letter box. The second time I only found out we were getting out cause I went into the kitchen and saw the guy already filling it. I guess the paper is not technically a receipt because it doesn't have the price on the page. I've always called this slip of paper a docket.



Would like to do that but the others in the house won't go for this. I agree with people saying we might have ordered it eventually but our oil might have lasted another month or two and if it didn't we would only have ordered half a tank, not a full one, so its going to be double the price we would have paid too.

Lol at the idea of this house having a lease. I've always dealt with the landlady and consider her the only person I need to deal with but its co-owned from what I can tell. Obviously this is a dodgy set of people we're dealing with....[/QUOTE]

You need to sort that immediately. Call Threshold and ask them re this? If the tenancy is not leased than you have problems; if the tenancy is not registered then they have problems and often being challenged by the PTRB will improve other matters too; official third party intervention works well.

Hold back any payment until all this is sorted; that gives you some bargaining power.

We had a landlord like this once; we were sure he was overcharging us on the oil; so we made a check on the meter on the tank. That stopped the overcharging...

doubleglaze

The ordering of oil should have nothing to do with the landlord. Dunno why she was ever contacted about it in the first place, unless to ascertain whether 'twas diesel or kerosene one should be ordering or some query along those lines.

Just a bad thought here:

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that the landlady ordered 1000 litres of oil. She could have instructed the lorry driver to put 300 litres of it in her own oil tank (wherever she lives) and the remaining 700 litres in your tank. She could have instructed him to leave the docket at your gaff so that you be billed for it.

Here's another wicked but possible scenario:

The driver of the lorry might have put 300 litres in his own tank at home and put the remaining 700 litres in yours along with the bill for the total.

I suggest you have a courteous meeting with the landlady and find out from her who said what to whom (God knows what arrangement your housemate made with her); why she ordered the oil, etc. Get the ordinary docket issued by oil companies upon delivery. You are entitled to evidence that what you are being billed for was delivered to you.

At the end of the day, if there is any liability with yourself, then pay it, but (nicely and firmly) instruct the landlady that only you will order your own oil in future to avoid confusion.

doubleglaze

brianthebard wrote: »

I guess the paper is not technically a receipt because it doesn't have the price on the page. I've always called this slip of paper a docket.

Any time I've ever ordered oil, I always got a docket with a price on it. I find it bizarre that there was no price on the docket. Might be no harm ringing up the oil company to ask them what one can normally expect to see on on of their dockets. Once you have that information, then tell them about the docket they left you and ask them why there was no price on it. You might find out something interesting.

By the way, it's highly irregular for a landlord to order oil without your consent. It might, however, just be a coercive way for the landlord to ensure that the house was kept heated during the cold spell and the risk of pipes bursting minimized.

I ordered a full tank of oil (1000l) for a small, relatively newish house with relatively ok insulation standards at the very end of September. It will run out by the end of next week if I don't order more.

Maybe the landlady was concerned ye hadn't ordered enough to keep ye going during the cold spell and decided to take matters in her own hands??

daithi2011

If you pay for the oil you get the docket. Dont give them the docket unless they are paying for the oil. They just want to submit the docket as an expense and make a profit out of it.

delllat

call the oil company on the docket,ask them how much oil was delivered to your address since the summer , ask them for litres/ dates and prices

they should have all this info

brianthebard

doubleglaze wrote: »

Any time I've ever ordered oil, I always got a docket with a price on it. I find it bizarre that there was no price on the docket. Might be no harm ringing up the oil company to ask them what one can normally expect to see on on of their dockets. Once you have that information, then tell them about the docket they left you and ask them why there was no price on it. You might find out something interesting.

By the way, it's highly irregular for a landlord to order oil without your consent. It might, however, just be a coercive way for the landlord to ensure that the house was kept heated during the cold spell and the risk of pipes bursting minimized.

I don't know why there was no price on it, I assume it was because the docket was being dropped at the house but not paid directly by us. One docket for the person who ordered and one for us. But then that doesn't explain why he had to come around to pick up the docket (mainly for the nosey tbh). Anyways she ordered it cause she always takes control of the bills in the house, they never knew what the monthly electricity bill was until I moved into the house and forced the issue. The order was not for the benefit of the house anyways I can say that for sure.

Anyways, update on the situation; I text her to let her know the washing machine was playing up and she says we each owe 90 quid for the oil. Haven't text her back on it yet, debating whether to ask her for receipts first, or just pay 30 per month over the next three months. I would like to kick up a bigger fuss but everyone else has already accepted the situation so I'd be going it alone.

brianthebard

delllat wrote: »

call the oil company on the docket,ask them how much oil was delivered to your address since the summer , ask them for litres/ dates and prices

they should have all this info

That's a good idea I will do that.

doubleglaze

brianthebard wrote: »

Anyways she ordered it cause she always takes control of the bills in the house, they never knew what the monthly electricity bill was until I moved into the house and forced the issue.

Well, that may be the way things have always been done, but you are entitled to hold her to account. For such a big bill as oil, I'd be urging the housemates to order it yerselves from now on. For fear she's scamming you.

brianthebard

doubleglaze wrote: »

Well, that may be the way things have always been done, but you are entitled to hold her to account. For such a big bill as oil, I'd be urging the housemates to order it yerselves from now on. For fear she's scamming you.

Yeah if for no other reason than to stall paying her I will try to push for a receipt. I'm surprised the others allowed her to carry on like this for so long, but a couple accepted the situation and it made some things easier so I guess they went with it.