Thanks, both. I may have confused you with wrong terminology as I am not familiar with it. I want to clarify that I am a private tenant and I am not using any housing or council benefits; I pay my monthly rent entirely by myself. The scheme I was talking about is this - https://www.energbilling.co.uk/Home/FAQ/ I have spoken with the current supplier, a different supplier and my agency already and they all say the same thing - unless the landlord covers the expenses for new boiler/meters/anything else associate with this, there is no way I can switch to a different provider. Is it possible I can negotiate lower rent amount/shorter tenancy length based on the false disclosure in my tenancy agreement? Thanks, L

Thanks, this makes sense. I have spoken with a couple of neighbours and there is definitely no way I can switch providers unfortunately. Is there anything I can do to get out of my tenancy before December based on the false disclosure in my previous post? Thanks, L

Hi, stu007 - I am not sure about the district heating system, but I think this is the case. There is a small 8L boiler-looking kit and a separate meter installed for the heating/hot water additionally to the one for electricity. I also know the supplier owns the generator/substantion, if this helps. In regards to utility bills, the Tenancy Agreement, it states the following: "The Tenant shall: b) Upon signing this agreement as soon as reasonably practicable place all telephone and utility accounts into the name of the tenant and pay all charges for the use of gas, electricity, water (if not included in the service charge) and telephone consumed or supplied on or to the property during the term of this agreement including all rentals, standing and other recurring charges and not to allow any of the said services to be disconnected, altered or removed and shall ensure that the said services are operating throughout the tenancy.". There is a "Disclosure of Tenant's details to Spark Energy" at the bottom, and Spark Energy is not my current supplier! I did contact them about switching, as I said in my original post, and they could not help because of the missing MPAN numbers from the database. The disclosure states: " a) At the start of the lease gas and electricity will be provided, or will be in the process of being provided by Spark Energy Supply Limited ("Spark Energy"). However this will not prevent the Tenant from changing to a different energy provider if desired. b) The tenant agrees that the letting agent may pass the tenant's name and contact details to Spark Energy for the purposes of: - registering the gas and electricity meters at the property in the tenant's name with Spark Energy, providing gas and electricity to the tenant and administering the Tenant's account with Spark Energy; - registering the tenant with the relevant local authority for the payment of council tax; - registering the tenant with the local water supplier to the property. c) Enabling Spark Energy or a third party with a broadband and telephony provider to provide the Tenant further information about its services and products with a view to concluding an agreement with the Tenant for those services and products offering (although the tenant will be under no obligation to enter into discussions with such provider and may change to a different provider if desired) d) Spark Energy will use the Tenant's details only for the purposes set out above and not in any other way. Spark energy will comply with its obligations as a data controller in the Data Protection Act 1998 and will handle tenant's data in the manner set out in Spark Energy's standard terms and conditions and/or privacy notice. If the tenant has any questions regarding details or use of the tenant's data held by Spark Energy, the tenant may contact Spark Energy. " This disclosure is completely inaccurate. Do you think I can do anything about it? I don't want to move out, but if there is no way the landlord can help me with the bills, would it be possible to reduce the tenancy length from 12 to 6 months based on this? ericsbrother - I am not sure which one is the main one or if there is additional one outside the property, but I know for sure that I am paying all charges from the ones within the flat - heating/hot water, electricity, water, standing charges, and the landlord is not paying anything. Thanks, L

Hi, Heating is communal, there is no gas supply in the property. The second bill, for January/February, arrived today and here is a rough breakdown: Heating/Hot Water: £35; Electricity: £7; Standing charges (electricity + band 5 apartment): £8 + £23; VAT: £4, coming to a total of £76 for 32 days. This is with heating completely switched off from the main with the exception of around 3-4 days when the engineer and I were fiddling with the meter. Thanks

Hi ericsbrother, Thanks for the advise. The meters are inside the flat so only I have access to them (and as I mentioned, the supplier is getting the readings by automated transmission). I would be a bit wary fiddling with wires myself - as far as I understood what the engineer checked was whether there is anything going through the valve when the heating is switched off, and it was fine. When I spoke with the other supplier about switching to them they said they can't find my postcode in the national database and I did ask my current supplier for MPAN, but they said they don't have them and I need to speak with the person in charge of the housing scheme (I keep calling it housing scheme, not even sure if it's the right term!).

I think when they've completed it they've signed a lease with the supplier to put the whole building with them and in return get the standing charge. These are only rumours but from what I've heard, everyone is getting ripped off.

Hi, I moved into a one-bedroom rented flat at the end of December and got my first electricity bill toward the end of January, totaled at approx £180. I knew I had used the heating a bit excessively over the past month as January was cold, however I was still surprised to see that I am charged £140 for heating only (at around 10p per kilowatt). The other thing was that I am charged with two standing charges - 25p/day for electricity and 75p/day for "Band 5", which I found goes to the developer of the building and is based on the size of the property. This means that I have to pay £30 a month in standing charges even if I don't use any electricity or heating at all. I switched everything off immediately and had an engineer coming over to check the meter, which he tested and found it is working okay. The meter readings are transmitted electronically to the supplier so when I got the bill I compared it with the current instant reading and it was about right. However, I only have the first reading at the start of the tenancy for the electricity only and not the one for the heating, which were provided to me by the agency, so I wonder if there is a way to check if the one for the heating is also correct? I watched the meter for a while and noticed that with thermostat set to 18-19 degrees and heaters open at max, it rolls 1 kilowatt per about 10 minutes. Some quick calculations later and I found that if I use the heating for 2.5h per day it will cost me around £40 without the standing charges, which will nearly double my bill. I have spoken with an advisor at another supplying company and checked with them if there is any way to switch, however they couldn't help much. I understand that if I switch suppliers, the whole building will have to switch too as part of the scheme. I also understand that I have little control over leaving the scheme (if this is even possible), as I am only a tenant and not the owner of the property. Is there anything I can do to reduce this bill or fight this before it takes me to bankrupt? My tenancy is on a 12-month basis and leaving the flat earlier is hardly an option. Thanks in advance, L

Hi slick, Yes, I am on board with your advise. Thanks, L

Hi Slick, I have received two letters this week while I was away from home - from the Trading Standards and from Regal Credit - please see here. Please advise on the best course of action now. Please also note that I cannot afford any court charges and if it comes to this I will likely have to declare bankruptcy. I might be able to pay the current fee in several instalments, like they have suggested. Thanks, L

Hi Slick, I received a reply from the CMA today - please see a copy here. Kind regards, L

Thank you very much, slick. I will send these tomorrow. Do I need to send a copy of the second letter to the Trading Standards as well? Thanks, L

Hi slick, I have received another letter from the debt collection consultants, please see a copy here. As far as I understand, this case will be transferred to their legal consultants next. Is there any chance it will affect my credit score in a bad way and from your experience, would it be possible to resolve the issue at all without having to pay this amount? Thank you for the help, L

Thanks, Slick. Yes, the letter from post #13 definitely had my correct address. This is reassuring, thank you. Do you think it is worth including these points, the wrong address or that they have spelled my name wrong in the bank details of the original contract (which I just noticed) in my response? Kind regards, L

Hi Slick, I have an email correspondence with a representative of the gym where I send proof of moving house with my new address in January, when I first attempted to cancel my contract due to this change. Other than this, I have not asked them formally and specifically to update my details anywhere. In this latest letter you have proposed, you are saying they have failed to address my concerns, however they have proposed a new 12-month contract on the discounted lower price - could this be considered as a counter argument from their side? Thanks, L

Hi Slick, I have received another letter from Regal Credit consultants, please see it here - photo. It seems like Total Fitness have sent out a new contract to my old address on a discounted (student) rate, extended for a new 12-month period. Would you be able to give any advice on the best thing to do from here? Thanks, L