No electricity bill

e-Mo0?

I've been living in this rented property for about 8 months and I have not received an electricity bill even though I've asked a number of times and gotten no reply so I've pretty much given up.
Now I have been putting money aside every month for the bill but I'm wonder what my stance is if the landlord comes along with 8+ months of an electricity bill?

I have no idea how much my bill will be, so I might not have enough set aside for it.

djimi

Youre going to have to pay for it if you have been using it. You have been doing the correct thing by putting the money aside, so you should keep putting pressure on the landlord to give you the bill.

Why wasnt the account transferred into your name when you moved in? Its far better if you can manage the utilities yourself; there is no need to be getting the electric bills from your landlord.

e-Mo0?

djimi wrote: »

Youre going to have to pay for it if you have been using it. You have been doing the correct thing by putting the money aside, so you should keep putting pressure on the landlord to give you the bill.

Why wasnt the account transferred into your name when you moved in? Its far better if you can manage the utilities yourself; there is no need to be getting the electric bills from your landlord.

I've asked for the account details to switch it into my name and explained that I haven't received a bill and she hasn't said a word.

Thoie

Call an electricity supplier with the MPRN (found on the meter) and give them the reading as of the day you moved in (you did take a reading when you moved in, didn't you?)

Some landlords have some weird objection to changing the names on utility bills - I have no idea why.

OP, if you know what the original meter reading was, and what it is now, then calculate the bill as 20cents per unit, and then add on about €150 a year for standing charges/levies. So for 8 months, call it €100 + whatever you've used. That's very rough, but will give you an idea of what you should owe to date (hopefully a bit over estimated).

the_syco

Ask the landlord if the electricity is included in the rent.

melekalikimaka

Thoie wrote: »

Call an electricity supplier with the MPRN (found on the meter) and give them the reading as of the day you moved in (you did take a reading when you moved in, didn't you?)

Some landlords have some weird objection to changing the names on utility bills - I have no idea why.

OP, if you know what the original meter reading was, and what it is now, then calculate the bill as 20cents per unit, and then add on about €150 a year for standing charges/levies. So for 8 months, call it €100 + whatever you've used. That's very rough, but will give you an idea of what you should owe to date (hopefully a bit over estimated).

they wont accept a reading this late on, unless you have a photo possibly

fasttalkerchat

If I was you I would put it in your name and start paying from today. You can settle with the LL for what is used already when he gets the bills to you.

I'm sure you would remember if electricity was included in the rent?

ted1

e-Mo0? wrote: »

I've been living in this rented property for about 8 months and I have not received an electricity bill even though I've asked a number of times and gotten no reply so I've pretty much given up.
Now I have been putting money aside every month for the bill but I'm wonder what my stance is if the landlord comes along with 8+ months of an electricity bill?

I have no idea how much my bill will be, so I might not have enough set aside for it.

Who have you asked ? Did you not take a meter reading when you moved in and open an account with a supplier?

Thargor

Ive seen these threads before and cant believe everyone always advises coming clean and paying up, dont do it! Drag it out as long as you can, put money aside if you want but when it gets to a nice amount or you get caught get out of there and ignore future communications from them, deny everything, this is incompetence on the part of the supplier and you should see it as a gift, I got away with a years free electricity and NTL in Galway once, never heard another thing about it.

djimi

Thargor wrote: »

Ive seen these threads before and cant believe everyone always advises coming clean and paying up, dont do it! Drag it out as long as you can, put money aside if you want but when it gets to a nice amount or you get caught get out of there and ignore future communications from them, deny everything, this is incompetence on the part of the supplier and you should see it as a gift, I got away with a years free electricity and NTL in Galway once, never heard another thing about it.

People recommend paying it because the bottom line is that the OP owes the money and will have to pay it one way or another. Perhaps you think its okay to run away from your bills and more power to you if you get away with it, but thats not how it generally works in civilized society.

The landlord can come calling for this money at any time, and the OP will have to pay it, even if it means being dragged through the PRTB. The bill just isnt going to go away.

D3PO

Thargor wrote: »

Ive seen these threads before and cant believe everyone always advises coming clean and paying up, dont do it! Drag it out as long as you can, put money aside if you want but when it gets to a nice amount or you get caught get out of there and ignore future communications from them, deny everything, this is incompetence on the part of the supplier and you should see it as a gift, I got away with a years free electricity and NTL in Galway once, never heard another thing about it.

You cant believe that people don't advocate acting like a scumbag. Think that says more about you than everybody else to be honest.

You probably will suggest next that he doesn't pay his rent and wait until he is legally evicted a year plus down the line too ....

teddansonswig

scumbag's a bit harsh! its just playing the game

Thargor

Yeah he's not being billed so he's not running for anything, save it up and say you thought it was included in the rent, move somewhere else or pay it if you like where you are, dont forget to heat the place with electricity this Winter if you're not going to pay

djimi

Thargor wrote: »

Yeah he's not being billed so he's not running for anything, save it up and say you thought it was included in the rent, move somewhere else or pay it if you like where you are, dont forget to heat the place with electricity this Winter if you're not going to pay

Im not sure that you get it though; you can make all the excuses that you like, but ultimately the money is still going to be owed, and the bill is not going to go away no matter how many games you play.

teddansonswig

djimi wrote: »

Im not sure that you get it though; you can make all the excuses that you like, but ultimately the money is still going to be owed, and the bill is not going to go away no matter how many games you play.

you dont get it! sometimes the money is never chased up.

djimi

teddansonswig wrote: »

you dont get it! sometimes the money is never chased up.

And the majority of the time it is.

Genuine question; do you actually think that its okay not to pay your bills?

melekalikimaka

someone is being billed, you would have been disconnected within a month if the account was closed, either the previous occupier is being charged, or the landlord.

either way you are ripping someone off. just comes down to your morals how you continue. ring networks with your mprn and they will tell you your provider i think

teddansonswig

djimi wrote: »

And the majority of the time it is.

Genuine question; do you actually think that its okay not to pay your bills?

thats fine to say the majority, you were more dismissive in your PP.

I am just pointing out there is always a chance it wont be.

I have had free electricity in the UK once I have shown the intention to pay,
thats the key.

Im not advocating people on mass stop paying bills but everyone deserves to dodge the odd bill in their lives. Scumbag is a bit harsh for dodging the odd bill from a provider (not an individual ).

cali_eire

melekalikimaka wrote: »

either way you are ripping someone off

I thought I left the puritans behind in the states. To be fair the OP is asking for advise and obviously trying to do the right thing by putting money aside and trying to prod the LL into action. If the OP was trying to rip someone off they wouldnt have taken the above actions or be here on Boards. Save the lecture for a more worthy perp.

byronbay2

melekalikimaka wrote: »

someone is being billed, you would have been disconnected within a month if the account was closed, either the previous occupier is being charged, or the landlord.

either way you are ripping someone off. just comes down to your morals how you continue. ring networks with your mprn and they will tell you your provider i think

The OP is not ripping anyone off. They have tried several times to sort it out to no avail. As you say, the bill is being paid by someone but I don't see how it is OP's problem to find out who. There must be a strong possibility at this stage (the only other option is extreme incompetence) that electricity is included in the rent.

As far as I'm concerned, OP, you've done your best at this stage (I hope you have a record of these attempts) and should not mention the electricity bill any more. It would probably be prudent to keep putting money aside in case of the issue blowing up at a later stage - consider it a savings scheme!

djimi

cali_eire wrote: »

I thought I left the puritans behind in the states. To be fair the OP is asking for advise and obviously trying to do the right thing by putting money aside and trying to prod the LL into action. If the OP was trying to rip someone off they wouldnt have taken the above actions or be here on Boards. Save the lecture for a more worthy perp.

I suspect the "ripping off" comment was more in response to some of the replies rather than to the OP, who in fairness sounds like they want to, and are making an effort to, pay.

melekalikimaka

byronbay2 wrote: »

The OP is not ripping anyone off.

call esb and find out who is supplying, then ring and ask the supplier, will get an answer right away, problem solved

Femme_Fatale

Thargor wrote: »

everyone deserves to dodge the odd bill in their lives.

I don't see how everyone "deserves" it. I'm not moralising, just stating the reality of the situation. If you owe money for a service you have agreed to pay, then you owe the money. The big bad company won't suffer but customers suffer because of non payers driving prices up. Bigger picture needs to be considered.
As for the person who "can't believe" people advise paying up, the reason I'd recommend it is because it could bite them in the ass if they don't. It's taking a foolish risk to be confident that it might not come home to roost.

If people want to wangle out of paying stuff (lol at "playing the game" - this isn't south central L.A.) they should just say so instead of pretending the company is wrong to bill them.

Thargor

Thats not my quote but I pretty much agree with whoever said it, its not encouraging people to just start driving without insurance or anything like that, its just sometimes you just get lucky, it makes life interesting when things like this happen.

The_Conductor

Thargor wrote: »

Thats not my quote but I pretty much agree with whoever said it, its not encouraging people to just start driving without insurance or anything like that, its just sometimes you just get lucky, it makes life interesting when things like this happen.

Its not lucky.
The OP has not made a reasonable effort to normalise the account.
Usually you would ring ESB networks with the MRPN and a meter reading.
Normally they'd give you the name of the supplier over the phone (but not the name). From there you'd ring the supplier and they in turn would contact the person whose name is on the bill.

Whether you are willing to accept it or not- you are advocating ripping off either the landlord or possibly a previous tenant. That they haven't sorted the account- is a footnote- the OP owes the money.

I don't care if you got 'free electricity' or 'free NTL' in Galway for a year- I suppose you'd get 'free rent' too, if you thought you'd get away with it.

Advocating not paying bills is the same as advocating sneakily stealing from an unknown party- and at some stage- you will get caught out.

OP- putting money aside to pay for this is wise- it will catch up on you sooner or later- having a lumpsum to cover it is wise.

the_syco

The_Conductor wrote: »

OP- putting money aside to pay for this is wise- it will catch up on you sooner or later- having a lumpsum to cover it is wise.

Regarding this; if the sum you have is less than the sum you owe, haggle.

The_Conductor

the_syco wrote: »

Regarding this; if the sum you have is less than the sum you owe, haggle.

By all means haggle- but accept that it is a bill for a service you have availed of- so if you want to haggle- you have to accept that you don't really have a bargaining position- it is money you owe, period.

byronbay2

melekalikimaka wrote: »

call esb and find out who is supplying, then ring and ask the supplier, will get an answer right away, problem solved

I don't think it is the OP's job to go sleuthing around to find out who is currently paying the bill. Besides which, with just an address (no previous bill, no MPRN) to go on they will probably hit a brick wall at the call centre: "We can only speak to the account holder" etc.

No, you've done your best OP so just "Do A Bertie" now and ignore the problem. I'm guessing that (like most people) you've enough problems/worries in your life without worrying about somebody else's!

BnB

The_Conductor wrote: »

...Whether you are willing to accept it or not- you are advocating ripping off either the landlord or possibly a previous tenant. That they haven't sorted the account- is a footnote- the OP owes the money.

...Advocating not paying bills is the same as advocating sneakily stealing from an unknown party- and at some stage- you will get caught out.....

The OP has no obligation, moral or otherwise to sort this out. They have made an effort with the landlord to find out details and they haven't been forthcoming.

If the landlord and/or the previous tenant (or whoever is currently paying the bill) is too lazy to sort it out, they the OP certainly shouldn't bother their barney.

The OP is definitely doing the right thing by putting some money away every month to cover it. Chances are, whoever is currently paying the bill will finally get the finger out at some stage and might come looking for some back money.

I would advise the OP - Keep putting your money away every month - But don't bother your barney ringing up utilities companies etc. You asked the landlord to sort it out, and until he does it, don't you do anything either.