Energy company divulging previous tennants usage.

pauldavis123

I took over a lease and the energy company are sending me bills based on the previous tenants' usage.

How come this is allowed, does it not contravene some data protection as it could be deemed the data is economically sensitive?

cfingers

pauldavis123 wrote: »

I took over a lease and the energy company are sending me bills based on the previous tenants' usage.

How come this is allowed, does it not contravene some data protection as it could be deemed the data is economically sensitive?

How do you know it was based on previous tenant?

What information are they actually giving you on the previous tenant?

pauldavis123

The energy company told me, the bills were really high, I asked why and they said historical usage in the unit.

Smee_Again

But they don't give you any information that could be used to identify the previous tenant so I don't see the issue.

Just submit your own reading if you want a more accurate bill.

Graces7

OP they always do this with the first bill of a new occupier, and it is easily and swiftly sorted. There were no names etc. so no harm done

Here the previous bill was huge; I just read the meter and told them.

Victor

Smee_Again wrote: »

But they don't give you any information that could be used to identify the previous tenant so I don't see the issue.

It isn't just information that can identify someone. It is also information about an identifiable person.

KildareP

What do the T&C's of your previous tenant and your own electrical supplier's agreement state? That will tell you if and how it's allowed.

Smee_Again

Victor wrote: »

It isn't just information that can identify someone. It is also information about an identifiable person.

How would you go about identifying someone from their energy usage?

melekalikimaka

I believe you can contact networks and obtain this yourself, its known as EAC and is on everyones accounts. Its essential in estimating usage without actual reads

Victor

Smee_Again wrote: »

How would you go about identifying someone from their energy usage?

Read my post again.

If a customer uses X units per month, then yes, identifying the exact customer is going to be difficult.

However, if I tell you customer Y, at address Z, uses X units per month (the point I was making), then certain things could be inferred from that usage. For example, zero usage would suggest the person wasn't actually living there. Severely high usage might suggest a grow house.

melekalikimaka

Victor wrote: »

Read my post again.

If a customer uses X units per month, then yes, identifying the exact customer is going to be difficult.

However, if I tell you customer Y, at address Z, uses X units per month (the point I was making), then certain things could be inferred from that usage. For example, zero usage would suggest the person wasn't actually living there. Severely high usage might suggest a grow house.

in the above case it is standard practice to base estimated bills on historical electricity usage of a premise, this is a non issue

Smee_Again

Victor wrote: »

Read my post again.

If a customer uses X units per month, then yes, identifying the exact customer is going to be difficult.

However, if I tell you customer Y, at address Z, uses X units per month (the point I was making), then certain things could be inferred from that usage. For example, zero usage would suggest the person wasn't actually living there. Severely high usage might suggest a grow house.

Have a read of the definition of personal data as per GDPR and explain how what you're saying is relevant.

‘Personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

The previous tenant is not identifiable by his or her energy consumption.

Bass Reeves

OP it's an automated system. The only way you can officially identify someone from there bills is if they do not contact the energy provider any one else they receive BLS from that they are leaving the house. The energy company in this case is using averaging from previous bill to bill new tenant. It an automated system that send out bills so it cannot think for itself.

You can make the same case if a bill arrived for telecommunications or for TV licence. In the case of telecommunications call details would be on it.

If bill payer has cancelled the original contract then no data is revealed that supplies there name

El Tarangu

Victor wrote: »

Read my post again.

However, if I tell you customer Y, at address Z, uses X units per month (the point I was making), then certain things could be inferred from that usage. For example, zero usage would suggest the person wasn't actually living there. Severely high usage might suggest a grow house.

But this tells you nothing about the identity of customer Y.

Deeec

Victor wrote: »

Read my post again.

If a customer uses X units per month, then yes, identifying the exact customer is going to be difficult.

However, if I tell you customer Y, at address Z, uses X units per month (the point I was making), then certain things could be inferred from that usage. For example, zero usage would suggest the person wasn't actually living there. Severely high usage might suggest a grow house.

I think your way over thinking this. I cant see what the information could imply or why anyone would even consider guessing what the previous tenant was doing. It is merely a way of charging - ie. the provider assumes you will have the same usage as the previous tenant. Take a meter reading and inform the provider.

silver2020

pauldavis123 wrote: »

I took over a lease and the energy company are sending me bills based on the previous tenants' usage.

How come this is allowed, does it not contravene some data protection as it could be deemed the data is economically sensitive?

FFS will people wo want to use GDPR in an argument at least do the basics of understanding what the hell you are talking about.

"economically sensitive" - where did you get that?

cfingers

The estimation could be based on more than just previous customer usage. It could be be based on several customers, It could also exclude very high or very low periods. eg if the the 4 out of the last 5 customers had similar usage , the system might exclude the 5th customer.

We really don't know exactly what it's based on.

seamus

There's a potential argument for a privacy issue. The identity thing not so much, but if the new tenant already knows the identity of the old tenant, and the energy company gives details of the historical usage of the property, then one could in theory infer something about that individual.

It's a stretch though. The historical data will be aggregated, so you won't know how much energy they use on a day-to-day basis or at what time of day, merely an average monthly bill.

The most you could work out is whether on average they used more or less than someone else. Which could be considered "private" data, I guess. But not sensitive data.

jimmycrackcorm

Victor wrote:

However, if I tell you customer Y, at address Z, uses X units per month (the point I was making), then certain things could be inferred from that usage. For example, zero usage would suggest the person wasn't actually living there. Severely high usage might suggest a grow house.

You're confusing speculation with identification.

Spook_ie

When you take over any premises do you not take a meter reading and give it to a supplier anyway to avoid paying for a previous customers gas/electricity supply?

wench

Spook_ie wrote: »

When you take over any premises do you not take a meter reading and give it to a supplier anyway to avoid paying for a previous customers gas/electricity supply?

They're not being asked to pay for the previous occupant's use.


It is now time to estimate the current user's bill, and feeding into that is previous use at that premises.

Victor

Spook_ie wrote: »

When you take over any premises do you not take a meter reading and give it to a supplier anyway to avoid paying for a previous customers gas/electricity supply?

It is the billing period immediately after this that is being discussed.

Spook_ie

Yeah I know that but most suppliers now tell you when they need a meter reading and send you a bill based on your reading or an actual reading from ESB Networks

melekalikimaka

The EAC estimated annual consumption isnt the actual amount used by someone, its an estimate

Victor

Victor wrote: »

It is the billing period immediately after this that is being discussed.

A billing period is not an "identifiable person" or a "data subject". If the current tenant knows the identity of the former tenant that is no fault of the engergy provider.

Buddy Bubs

My home usage is usually about 100 euro a month on gas and electricity

I have just seen our business usage and it is as follows:

Dublin premises 1: 1146.13 + VAT
Dublin premises 2: 1381.58 + VAT
Limerick premises: 985.62 + VAT
Cork sales office: 158.69 + VAT
Galway sales office: 212.58 + VAT

How in the hell is any of that sensitive information?

For Forks Sake

Smee_Again wrote: »

How would you go about identifying someone from their energy usage?