DEALING WITH LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IN UTILITY CHARGES

As every knows - or should - site owners are generally prohibited from

making a profit on the resale of essential utilities and that if you ask your site owner (always in writing - keeping a copy ) to supply documentary evidence that explains how your utility charges are calculated, they MUST supply them , free of charge - or otherwise be in breach of your Agreement.

That understood, there are numbers of site owners who`ll disregard that contractual obligation, either by ignoring the request or sending copies of parts of their own received invoices with key information missing, in hope you`ll then pay up in full.

There are also those such as Wyldecrest, who`ll threaten financial penalties by way of payment surcharges (such as late and/or other fees) if full payment isn`t made. However, where there `s been refusals or inadequate transparency ( whether incorporated into your Written Statement or not,) these are highly unlikely to be enforceable. Payment surcharges (such as late payment fees and other associated fees ) are generally NOT payable if the late or undue payment is caused by the site owner`s fault, inaction, or mistake.

Default fees are permitted ONLY when the home-owner breaches the Agreement, NOT when the site owner is responsible by failing to comply with their contractually implied obligations.

Moreover, If you`ve entered into a Direct Debit Mandate that includes the site owner collection of utility bills but they are NOT complying with their own obligations in transparency, then you can ( and should ) cancel your mandate and pay by phone and card, against which no charge can be imposed.

Again, whether a payment surcharge for not paying by Direct Debit is included within your Written Statement - or not, such fees are again highly unlikely to be enforceable when the site owner has failed to comply with their contractually implied obligations and you`ve cancelled your Direct Debit as a precautionary measure due to your site owners previous or potential lack of transparency in future charges.

NEVER be bullied into paying bills where there are shortfalls in transparency . If the information is being hidden from you, then assume there`s a reason - one of which could be that your site owner knows you`ve been overcharged and doesn`t want you to know- so, simply pay what you believe might be due and no more, inviting the site owner to make an application to a tribunal to recover the balance, when the same transparency you`ve asked for will be required for them to succeed in any claim.