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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Housemate wants to pay less in elec bills

75 replies

SalehSalesSaleb · 03/12/2016 16:27

As is away for four weeks over festive period, me and other HM both away for ten days though. Not sure what to say! Have explained why this wouldn't really be possible but he is grumpy and refuses to discuss any more . WIBU?

OP posts:

MouseholeCat · 03/12/2016 16:54

YADNBU!!!

Surely with everyone away your consumption will be lower anyway, and it might balance out and end up with you being in credit (or having to pay back less) at some point?

Likewise, even if nobody is using energy you're liable for standing charge, so surely he doesn't think it fair that other housemates should cover this on his behalf?

He really needs to grow up for the sake of such a small period of time.

People make me so angry...

PlinkPlonkPlunk · 03/12/2016 16:54

To work out the amount, you need to do the following (this assumes that you all use roughly the same amount of electricity):

Ignore any standing charge - he still needs to pay his share for that as normal.
Now work out how much it costs per month to run the fridge, heating, and anything else that needs to be left on. He needs to pay his share of that as well.
Subtract both of those amounts from the monthly bill to figure out how much electricity is actually used in a month due to you all being there. Call this X.

Now, you're all away for 10 days. So, X is actually 21 days' worth of electricity. He is away for 4 weeks, so 28 days, or 18 days more than the other 2. His share would therefore be (X/3)(18/21), or (2X)/7).

Get him to work out how much that actually is, and then laugh in his face when it's about £2.50.

PlinkPlonkPlunk · 03/12/2016 16:57

Obviously you can also conveniently use X/62 to calculate how much less each of you needs to pay every time you're away for a day.

PlumsGalore · 03/12/2016 17:00

This is so petty it isn't true. One of DD's house mates wanted to do this at uni because his course finished several weeks before theirs, yet they were all, except him, health care students so spend weeks away from the house working long shifts on placement, DD being in another town for weeks at a time. Also he was the one playing music into the night, inviting all his friends to stay etc etc. I reckon if it had been worked out exactly per person his share would have been more!

MargaretCavendish · 03/12/2016 17:03

Electricity is one of the most annoying bills to sort in a shared house, though, because of the estimated/actual bills and the resulting build up of credit/deficit in the account. I was one of the final group of people to live in a house that had been continuously rented (with changing housemates, and none of the originals still left) for five years, and did feel a bit guilty when I realised that us final three would get a big rebate probably made up of other people overpaying. However, we did also have to get rid of all the crap that previous housemates had left behind and get the place back in 'handing back to the letting agents' shape...

RichardBucket · 03/12/2016 17:05

No, too much of a faff. It usually evens out in the end - one housemate likes baths instead of showers, but another likes the heating on higher in their room etc etc...

ADishBestEatenCold · 03/12/2016 17:21

"Yes they have"

Nothing about electricity, but why do you keep referring to your housemate as 'they', Saleh.

You did say in your OP that your housemate was 'he', so why not 'Yes he has' and 'His argument is the cost would be minimal if he lived alone'.

Sorry if this sounds petty, I don't mean to be. I'm curious, is this a thing now.

p.s. I think he is being unreasonable. If you were going to agree to that once, then you would need to keep a tally of periods away from the house, for each of you, at all times.

FlappysMammyAndPopeInExile · 03/12/2016 17:25

What Margaret says - he would still need low level heating if he lived alone - plus, having someone in the house actually makes it safer for him by a) deterring burglars and b) if there is a leak/burst/whatever, there is someone there to deal with it straight away.

He is being very U and very tight!

FlappysMammyAndPopeInExile · 03/12/2016 17:26

iinsancerre

harderandharder2breathe · 03/12/2016 17:28

Yanbu he is

It's part of being in s houseshare, which he presumably chooses because it's still massively cheaper over all

Tell him if he wants to live alone then he's free to do so when your contract runs out. See how much cheaper it is the other 11 months of the year!

FlappysMammyAndPopeInExile · 03/12/2016 17:29

Just out of interest - has he suggested what he thinks is an appropriate "refund"? I bet it's more than plinoplonk's £2.50!

Cheby · 03/12/2016 17:30

Point out that he doesn't live alone, and is benefiting on a daily basis from having shared bills rather than having to pay them all himself.

harderandharder2breathe · 03/12/2016 17:30

MargaretCavendish the previous housemates could've got themselves the rebate if they'd bothered to phone and give accurate meter readings instead of relying on estimated, so don't feel too bad! I used to do that in s rented house because otherwise we got a bigger than expected bill after the man read the meter, took five minutes to do on an automated phone line and this was seven or eight years ago

Trifleorbust · 03/12/2016 17:32

No. If you go down that road it doesn't end. Bills are split whether or not he chooses to be there. Utility companies bill per month but they charge per year based on projected usage. The bill would be the same even if none of you were in the house and would still need to be paid. YANBU.

Baylisiana · 03/12/2016 17:40

I sympathise with trying to cut costs but I agree with pp that house share is cheaper overall so he needs to take the whole package. Yes, if he lived alone he could use less electricity but he would also be paying a lot more in rent and for other costs. Also agree that working out how minor charge is would be funny, if it does come to about £2.50 I would be tempted to give it to him, all in coppers.

There snouts

PlinkPlonkPlunk · 03/12/2016 17:53

if it does come to about £2.50 I would be tempted to give it to him, all in coppers

Yes! Please do this!

Memoires · 03/12/2016 17:56

It's the thin end of the wedge, isn't it? Ask him if you only shower once a week, could you pay 1/7 of the water charges?

He knows well that he's better off flatsharing than living alone. Ignore hm.

Original poster

SalehSalesSaleb · 03/12/2016 17:58

He's a student but pays council tax snd I think is a bit resentful about this

OP posts:

bibbitybobbityyhat · 03/12/2016 18:01

How much is your winter electricity bill per month?

PlinkPlonkPlunk · 03/12/2016 18:20

He's a student but pays council tax snd I think is a bit resentful about this

So he's trying to recoup his losses by saving on electricity?

I once had a flatmate who was stingy like this. She'd come home with a loaf of bread that cost £1, say, and announce that we owed her 33.3p each. Since that clearly wasn't possible, she'd ask for 33p each this time, and then next time she'd ask one of us for 34p and the next time the other for 34p. This despite the fact that we both regularly bought things like milk and bread and didn't ask for the money (figuring that none of us was on the breadline, and it would roughly even out). We tried having a kitty that we'd put money into for communal stuff, but she was convinced that we'd both steal from it (despite there being no reason for her to suspect this), so it was abandoned in favour of her crazy system. Obviously, neither of us ever actually had 33/34p in change, so she would make a mental note of how much it was and add/deduct as appropriate the next time.

She also once went nuts because I had a friend round who wanted ketchup with dinner - I didn't have any as i don't eat ketchup, so used a small amount of hers instead. But she'd happily eat my biscuits, chocolates etc all the time (as I offered them around) - didn't seem to think that maybe, just this once, she could reciprocate that generosity.

We were good friends before we moved in together. We're not any more.

SocksRock · 03/12/2016 18:22

Why is he paying council tax if he's a student? He has no liability for that

Suburbopolis · 03/12/2016 18:23

Impossible to calculate. So he is BU

Original poster

SalehSalesSaleb · 03/12/2016 18:24

Because the rest of us are non-students and would have to pay the whole charge otherwise

OP posts:

Original poster

SalehSalesSaleb · 03/12/2016 18:24

Ie he chose to live with non-students

OP posts:

Suburbopolis · 03/12/2016 18:24

Im embarrassed for him that he asked😑

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