Apartments - Electricity Bill

[think_too_mut]

Today is the day when the monthly rent is due.

 

My gf got the bill and electricity is almost 4000 bahts! ( I remember Stick stating somewhere that his bill was 1500 per month. In farangland, I pay 3000 Bht for 3 months).

 

 

 

When she took the apartment, the lease agreement states:

 

 

 

6500 apartment

 

1600 furniture

 

 

 

Now, with 780Bht for phone, 320Bht for water, 4000 for electricity, it nearly doubles the price.

 

 

 

Aircon is in there but why the bill is so much higher today then 5 months ago? She definitelly switches it off when she goes out.

 

 

 

Is there any room for bill padding here? Certainly, we will pay anything that is on it but I don't know for how long without questioning.

 

 

 

Last time, she inquired and was shown the reading of the meter. The building must be reselling the electricity to the tenants at a much higher price.

 

 

 

The phone there is not 3bht but 5bht per call. If the electricity is charged with same mark up, there we are.

 

 

 

Any way out of it?

[Guest]

>Is there any room for bill padding here?

 

 

 

Well, does you GF send you copies of the bills?

[think_too_mut]

BassGod>:does you GF send you copies of the bills?

 

 

 

She does not send them to me but she keeps them in a file, separate folder for all receipts for each month.

 

 

 

This particular one was shown to me over the webcam - indeed, 3830Bht.

 

 

 

The previous one was 2665 bht, I had in my hands.

[Guest]

Has your power consumption gone up, or has the price per unit gone up?

[Guest lazyphil]

think_too_mut...your living up to this nickname!

[think_too_mut]

The price gone up ?

 

 

 

Don't know, I would think all the guys living in BKK would have known that.

 

 

 

Consumption gone up?

 

No new electrical devices have been brought in. In May, within this same environment, the bill was 1200 Bht lower.

 

 

 

Maybe she has started sleeping with the aircon on every night? I can't tell her not to do that, that's why I did not ask.

 

 

 

I guess, my question should be: not knowing the power consumption of the aircon and how many hours it runs can that beast burn that much energy? It is a sealing mounted aircon with a big motor on the balcony.

 

 

 

Or even easier question: do you guys get bills like this or higher, lower or much lower..?

 

 

 

 

[think_too_mut]

I have no problem paying what's been consumed. I'm just puzzled on how the bill went from 1400Bht in January to almost 4000Bht in June.

 

 

 

Maybe I should accept what is most likelly the case - she was using it sparingly in the beginning, ramping it up gradually to 12 hours a day usage.

 

 

 

Well, I insisted the place must have an aircon....

 

 

[Guest lazyphil]

<<Maybe I should accept what is most likelly the case - she was using it sparingly in the beginning, ramping it up gradually to 12 hours a day usage>>

 

 

 

This sounds like a reasonable explaination.

 

 

[pattaya127]

In my owned condo, there is a counter for water (in the batroom itself) and one for the electricity. So that you can see what has been used. It is common practice, i hear, for rentals, to charge double for each electricity unit, i don't know what's playing in your case, but hopefully you should be able to look at the electricity counter every month, and check any bill discrepancies. IMO

[think_too_mut]

P127,

 

If there is anything irregular here, you might have just pointed at it - the reading on last complaint was correct, the thing is how much they charge for each unit.

 

 

 

What is your price per unit (electricity)? I have nothing to compare with.

 

 

 

Not that I want to count beans here but it looks like those "Price from only...." ads where you end up paying double.

 

 

 

With the phone, it is 70% markup per call (5 instead of 3 bahts). So, her 780bahts last month should have been 270 or so. I would think an average Thai would have balked at 500 Bht difference (if they dare complaining).