Hey everyone, hoping someone familiar with Sarawak Energy / SESCO can give some advice.
So here’s the situation:
My family owns a house that was rented out for the past 10 years. Apparently, during that entire time, SESCO couldn’t read the electricity meter because it was “too far inside” the house. Instead, they just estimated (agak-agak) the bill at around RM200/month for years.
Recently, when we took back the property, SESCO finally managed to get an actual meter reading. Out of nowhere, they sent us a bill for RM8,500, saying it’s the “adjustment” for all the undercharged usage from before.
We were shocked — we didn’t even live there during that period, and the tenant was the one using the electricity. But the SESCO account is under our (the owners’) name, so now it’s showing as our liability.
We’ve already confirmed:
• The previous tenant was the one living there and paying rent/utilities.
• SESCO admitted they estimated for a decade because “the meter was hard to access.”
• The new RM8.5k charge only appeared after they did a proper reading this month.
Has anyone dealt with something like this?
• Are we legally responsible for the back-bill even though it was the tenant’s consumption?
• Can SESCO back-bill that far (10 years??) when it was their own fault for not reading the meter?
• What’s the best way to dispute or negotiate this?
We’re planning to go to the SESCO office with tenancy proof, but I’d love to hear from anyone who’s gone through this — what’s realistic to expect? Can they waive or reduce it?
Thanks in advance 