Cruz Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hi guys, I'm wondering if someone can advise me on this. I've been living with my partner in Sydney for the past month (renting an appartment). She has lived in the appartment for the past 2 months, however we have not received any form of electricity bill as of yet. After numerous attempts of trying to contact our estate agent, I finally managed to get in touch with her. I asked when we would expect to receive an electric bill, and she informed me that, we would infact need to sign up to an electricity provider before we would receive a bill. The agent didnt seem confident at all when she explained this to me, and claimed that she explained to to my partner when the original documents were signed with the bond etc. However, my partner is certain that the agent did not explain this to her at all, nor does it say this anywhere in the original contracts which were signed. Could anyone shed any light on this to me? Is this the norm in Australia, i.e. you have to register with a electricity provider as soon as you start renting a property? My partner and I are a little concerned, as the previous tennants in our appartment appeared to be in some form of arrears. Also, surely if we didnt have an existing electricity provider, there would be no electric running within the appartment? - We currently do have electric. I'm heading down to speak with the estate agent againg later on today, but just thought I would double check with others on the forum before hand. Thanks for an advice on this C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleW Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Yes, it is your responsibility to switch the electricity to your name by signing up with a provider. The most likely reason that you have electricity currently is that the previous tenants never advised their provider that they were moving and so it didn't get switched off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruz Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Thanks for the quick response michelle. What are we best doing from this point onwards? should we move to another provider or get in touch with the existing provider? Going by some of the letters that have been still coming to our home addressed to the previous tenant (demanding money for late payments), I'm guessing they fell behind on electricity payments also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleW Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 For ease of switching over, I would say ring up the same provider and explain the situation, however you may not actually get the best deal with them. Do you know of a meter reading was taken by the estate agent when you moved in because if you moved in during the middle of a billing cycle it is going to be very difficult to work out who is responsible for what part of the bill. You can research providers on switch.com.au I believe it is and you might find a good deal, just be wary about getting locked into a long term contract if renting is only a temp thing for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruz Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 To our knowledge a meter reading wasnt taken by the estate agent before or when we moved in, but I will double check with them later today. I've just got a feeling that we are both going to have to pay for the electric we have used since moving in, along with any additonal overdue payments/bills of what the last tenant would incurred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabo Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 You should always take a note of all the meter readings when you move in and out of a property. That goes for you and the folk that rented the place before you. Sounds like they probably didn't care too much. You should only be expected to pay for what you use. Probably the best result is that you get to pro-rata usage from the last reading to the reading now. I would call up the existing provider to discuss. You should also suss out the best deal for you in your circumstances, as has been pointed out, some deals lock you in for a time which may not be convenient. Where we are in Sydney someone reads the meter every three months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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