Treading water in big waves!
I need some help... I am starting to feel the effects of being an ignorant 22 year-old and managing jargon-encrusted finances!! Here is the dilemma:
We finally received our gas bill (£133 something) but we have only been billed since November. We then received a threatening letter (no bill though) from NPower's debt collection agency saying that we would go to court if we didn't pay £333 something for our electricity since last May. I phoned up to pay both bills, maxing out the rest of the overdrafts and feeling a little helpless. Now, I am thinking that their quote of £42 a month for just electricity in a one bedroomed flat that we don't occupy all that much is a bit harsh, is that right? My parents pay about 45 quid a month for gas AND electricity in a 4 bedroom house!
We have been trying since last May to obtain a bill, but our dodgy flat has about 3 addresses and, try as I might, I could not convince any supplier that our flat even existed!! It is only now that they have acknowledged the fact that if there is a first floor flat and a basement, it would be pretty worrying if there was nothing in between!!
Someone came to look at the electricity meter the other week... Why have NPower not chased us for a bill ever? (I chased them!!) Coincidentally they supply the whole building. Is this weird? Are they working out some loopy average?!
Dilemma 2: The money earmarked for paying these bills has not been paid to us by a festival that JT worked for in September. In fact, they are ignoring all my calls, emails, letters etc!! Is it Christian to take them to court?! As Luke wisely remarked on his blog, would we be doing so for profitable gain or because we actually wanted justice - would we still take them to court if there was definitely no money in it? Hmmm probably not. Would I want to ruin someone's reputation for the sake of £375? Probably not.
Dilemma 3: We have three+ addresses. I have emailed Royal Mail who administrate the databases of most businesses and asked them to change it to one address, Ground Floor Flat, 5 Berkeley Place. They said that they have done this, but still we appear to be Flat 1, 5 Berkeley Place, Flat 2, 5 Berkeley Place and (for some reason!!) 5 The High Street with a different post code!! Talk about dodgy. The council insist that we are 5 The High Street and will not change it. However, engraved into the stonework of the ancient buildings that we live in are the words "Berkeley Place". On the other side of the street is a road sign saying "Berkeley Place". Hmmm... This is why we are told by companies that if we do not know our address then they will not speak to us! The name of the lead character in "Meet the Parents" springs to mind (plural). We would just move, only it costs £1500+ to move into rented accommodation and, predictably, we don't have £1500.
Bonus dilemma: We need to open a business bank account but for some reason they all speak in Double Dutch. I don't understand a word and I'm scared!
Sorry for the rant, but I am feeling very ill-equipped!! JT is working the equivalent of about two full-time jobs at the moment and cannot really squeeze in the time to figure it out!
We finally received our gas bill (£133 something) but we have only been billed since November. We then received a threatening letter (no bill though) from NPower's debt collection agency saying that we would go to court if we didn't pay £333 something for our electricity since last May. I phoned up to pay both bills, maxing out the rest of the overdrafts and feeling a little helpless. Now, I am thinking that their quote of £42 a month for just electricity in a one bedroomed flat that we don't occupy all that much is a bit harsh, is that right? My parents pay about 45 quid a month for gas AND electricity in a 4 bedroom house!
We have been trying since last May to obtain a bill, but our dodgy flat has about 3 addresses and, try as I might, I could not convince any supplier that our flat even existed!! It is only now that they have acknowledged the fact that if there is a first floor flat and a basement, it would be pretty worrying if there was nothing in between!!
Someone came to look at the electricity meter the other week... Why have NPower not chased us for a bill ever? (I chased them!!) Coincidentally they supply the whole building. Is this weird? Are they working out some loopy average?!
Dilemma 2: The money earmarked for paying these bills has not been paid to us by a festival that JT worked for in September. In fact, they are ignoring all my calls, emails, letters etc!! Is it Christian to take them to court?! As Luke wisely remarked on his blog, would we be doing so for profitable gain or because we actually wanted justice - would we still take them to court if there was definitely no money in it? Hmmm probably not. Would I want to ruin someone's reputation for the sake of £375? Probably not.
Dilemma 3: We have three+ addresses. I have emailed Royal Mail who administrate the databases of most businesses and asked them to change it to one address, Ground Floor Flat, 5 Berkeley Place. They said that they have done this, but still we appear to be Flat 1, 5 Berkeley Place, Flat 2, 5 Berkeley Place and (for some reason!!) 5 The High Street with a different post code!! Talk about dodgy. The council insist that we are 5 The High Street and will not change it. However, engraved into the stonework of the ancient buildings that we live in are the words "Berkeley Place". On the other side of the street is a road sign saying "Berkeley Place". Hmmm... This is why we are told by companies that if we do not know our address then they will not speak to us! The name of the lead character in "Meet the Parents" springs to mind (plural). We would just move, only it costs £1500+ to move into rented accommodation and, predictably, we don't have £1500.
Bonus dilemma: We need to open a business bank account but for some reason they all speak in Double Dutch. I don't understand a word and I'm scared!
Sorry for the rant, but I am feeling very ill-equipped!! JT is working the equivalent of about two full-time jobs at the moment and cannot really squeeze in the time to figure it out!
posted by NaiT at 9:06 AM
5 Comments:
Nai,
That sounds really scary.
I'm not an expert, but you've asked for help, so here are some thoughts:
1) Don't get intimidated if they send more threatening letters. It's not reasonable to expect you to have paid for stuff before they've billed you for it, and any court would agree. Send a threatening letter of your own, stating that although you have paid in response to their letter, you are refusing to pay any further money until they can provide you with a proper bill.
2) Did you read the meters when you moved in? If so, have another look at the gas bill and see if they are using the correct initial reading as well as the correct one for what the meter says now. Also, work out how many kWh of electricity you have used since you moved in and estimate how much it should have cost, at, say, 13p per kWh. See if this is anywhere near the £333 they have charged you. It may not be a fair comparison with your parents if you have electric heating and/or hot water - it is much more expensive than gas.
3) If you didn't read the meters when you moved in, then start reading them now. Read them every couple of weeks and start to work out a pattern of how much you use. Then you will be in a better position to estimate what the readings must have been when you moved in.
4) Who actually owns the house? Who lived in it before you? They should have read the meters when you moved in. If they didn't, it's an interesting question who is liable for how much.
5) Try turning off and unplugging absolutely everything in the flat and then look at your electricity meter. If it's still zooming round, then you're being billed for other people's electricity.
6) Ask the owner to sort out the address problem for you.
Hope some of those ideas help. Remember that God is always on the side of the poor, especially when they're being unfairly treated by the people with all the power.
Wow - sure sounds like you're in a comlicated situation at the moment. Do the other people in the house have the same problems - perhaps they could advise you about the address. It might also be worth having a chat with the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
Thank you so much Ruth for your helpful advice... will definitely try some of these things. Forgive my ignorance, but which Ruth is this? I know a few Ruths you see :-) xx
Hi Nai
Glad to help. Since I wrote all that, it's occurred to me that the letting agent is supposed to read the meters on the day you move in, too.
Sorry I didn't identify myself properly. I know loads of Ruths too. Churches are always full of Ruths (and Naomis, Hannahs, Rebeccas etc) - not enough choice of biblical girls' names!
This one is Ruth Graham. Not either of the famous ones (Billy Graham's wife and daughter) but the one who was chatting to you at the back of church in the interval of Stop the Traffik.
Hope you manage to move soon in spite of the notice problem. Make sure you read all the meters on the day you move out!!
;-)
Aha!! Thanks Ruth, I thought it might be you :-) Thank you for your kind advice. xx
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