High estimated bills but the property is empty?

Thanks so much for this!

I’ll phone them tomorrow and try explain what you said and hopefully discuss a more realistic monthly debit. 
 

cheers

Sounds good to me @Kmann 🙂 

Please let me know how the call goes!  

I am a landlord and my tenants have bought to my attention a sudden and unexplained increase in the usage of both fuels to coincide with them going away for about a week. On return, they still remain 2 to 3 times higher than before. The boiler and both meters are less than 2 years old.

Any idea what's going on?

There’s not much information to go on here @nodrogsbboh. Is there a smart meter installed? If so the 30 min readings can help to determine what level of energy is being used which in itself could help to identify what is using the power. 
Failing that, you would need to monitor the meter while switching circuits off and on to see what’s connected. 
Of course, we have moved into the winter cycle which will use more energy anyway. 

There is not enough information there for anyone to tell, so guesses are all we can offer at this time.

To start with:

It would be odd for both fuels to suddenly have an increased usage at the same time.
I suspect that it may well be what they are being asked to pay that has increased rather than the actual usages.

So the most important thing to start with:
Have you checked that your tenants metered usage has actually increased like they say that it has?
ie Have they/you actually checked the meter readings and compared them to previous readings?

That should tell you if it is actually their usage that has increased, or if it’s what they are being asked to pay that has increased.

If as I suspect the metered usage is about the same and it’s their payments that have increased:
Has their previous billing been based on actual meter readings, or on estimates?

How do they pay their bills?
If they pay by direct debit then is it their DD payment that has increased?
There are various reasons why that can happen.

Has their tariff changed?
eg if they had a fixed rate tariff that ended without them renewing it then they would automatticly be switched to the Standard Variable Tariff, which costs more.

They say that it started while they were away.
When did they go away? Was it when energy prices went up at the start of October?

If the metered usage has actually increased:
Has something changed, eg. the boiler/heating being turned on for the winter, or the timer being set so that the heating is on for longer, or even set to be on constantly and not on the timer?

Have they got any new/different appliances?

A remote thought - Was anyone else in the property while they were away, did anyone else have access to the property while they were away?

They went away on the 26th October and came back on the 3rd November. From the 27th the usage started to increase 2 to 3 fold for both fuel types. I have seen their phone app to confirm the daily increase is not a mistake or imagined. They assure me they have not changed their habits at all. The gas increase in usage seems to be a little more than the electricity!

Sorry, but you have still not made things clear.

Being honest with you, trying to get information 3rd hand like this is not ideal.
You don’t have access to their billing or account, and so you are not going to be able to give the information needed for us to work out what may be going on.
It would be better if they joined here themselves and so could then give us the answers and information needed,

When you were/are looking at the app were/are you looking at the usage figures in kWh (and/or cubic meters for gas) or were/are you just looking at the cost in £ ?

The cost in £ can sometimes show an increase even when the usage in kWh hasn’t increased.

Do they have smart meters?

But assuming that it is in fact an increased useage and not an increased cost, then the fact that it appears to have started just after they went away could be telling.

It raises questions such as:
Had they meant to turn the heating off and turned it to constant instead?
(BTW Is their heating gas or electric? Is the boiler a combi boiler? Do they also have an immersion heater?)

And again- was anyone still in the property, could anyone have accessed the property after they had left, either with or without their permission?

I’m sorry that the information I have is limited. As they are foreign students who have only been in the country 2 months, I said I would try to help. The property was completely empty while they were away and nothing was left on. Ordinarily, the usage should have been almost zero in these circumstances, however their app shows a marked increase in the number of kw used which is still the case.

I thought there might be a simple answer that somebody else had come across. I will contact OVO on Monday to try and solve this mystery.

Thank you for your responses!

Which is one reason why I was asking if someone may have got in without their permission.

All in all then I think that it would be best to have things checked out, and maybe even a meter inspection may be called for.

(I’m reluctant to mention the possible worst case scenario here, but as a Landlord I’m sure that you will be aware of the problems with cannabis farms being set up in rental properties, and while those guys usually bypass their own meter entirely they don’t care where they abstract power from and tapping into a neighbours supply while they are away may suit them well).

Thanks for the suggestions. Obviously I need to investigate further as no simple explanation seems to explain what is going on!