I Rented a New House and I Haven’t Had Any Utility Bills Yet

In November of last year I moved into a new rented house.

The letting agent proudly told me that they would deal with the utility companies for me. When a new tenant moves into one of their properties they automatically inform the water, gas and electric providers, who then move over the account into the new tenants name.

It sounded like a great idea, what with all the other things you have to worry about in a new property.

Sadly, the reality didn’t live up to the hype. No bills turned up. I let things slide the first month wondering if the bills were generated quarterly. After three months I still hadn’t received a bill – or even a welcome letter.

I chased the letting agent. They told me not to worry, and that everything was as it should be. Be patient.

Month 4 came and went. Then I started to get worried.

My worry was impacted by the fact that it was now spring. We’d been through four months of heavy winter. Of snow and darkness, which resulted in heavy use of our central heating and electric lighting. I knew the bill was going to be hefty, and the longer it took to receive it the larger it was likely to be. Finally I decided I’d have to take action myself.

Finding My Utility Suppliers

Knowing that I probably owed someone thousands of pounds I was more than a little bit nervous. But who did I owe, and how should I resolve the situation?

I started off by contacting the utility companies in my tenancy agreement, asking them why I hadn’t had a bill. They’d never heard of me. They checked my address. I definitely wasn’t set up with them, and didn’t owe them anything. So what next?

As it turns out, here in the UK the utility companies are part of an organisation known as the Energy Networks Association. The country is divided up into sections, with each having a regional office. All the phone numbers can be found here. Annoyingly, in this day and age, you have to ring up – there’s no online form or automated system to use.

All the same – a quick phone call led me to the supplier of my utilities. The next step was to make contact and sort out all this mess – least of all the money I knew I owed.

Setting Up a New Utilities Account

Ringing the utility supplier was challenging – was I new customer or an existing customer? Who knew? I got passed from one department to another for a while until finally someone said they could help.

They confirmed that they were supplying my electricity and gas. They set me up with a new account. They took my meter reading.

Then, with my heart in my mouth, I broached the subject of payment. What did I owe them, and how could I make the payment more affordable?

As it turns out, they work mainly on estimated billing. With a few property details (number of rooms, number of residents etc.) they calculated an average annual bill. This was then divided up between the months between the date of setting up the account and the anniversary of moving into the property.

This created a monthly bill. It was certainly higher than if the account was set up in month one, but it wasn’t unreasonable, and it saved me paying a four-figure back-dated bill on the spot.

All I need to do when moving out again next year is to take a final meter reading and settle any difference between the estimated and actual usage.

Conclusion

All that hassle, all that worry, and the reality turned out to be entirely benign. The woman on the phone wasn’t even surprised. There was no telling me off. Just a polite conversation lasting less than ten minutes and everything was sorted out.

The funny thing is that I’d been worrying for months about the situation, and had also been getting ever more frustrated with the letting agent. In less than an hour I had everything resolved, and the end result was even better than I expected.

Isn’t it often the case that the worry over financial difficulties is far worse than the reality, when finally you’re brave enough to face it head on?

So if you’ve moved into a flat or house but haven’t received any utility bills yet then relax. My own experience suggests that it’s a quick and easy problem to solve, and that it doesn’t have to be as expensive as you might be expecting. Good luck!