<prompt> Human: I live with 6 other guys in a flat. In November our boiler broke and we notified our housing company on that day. Later that week a plumber came out to fix this. We needed a new part and were told to use the immersion heater until it was fixed 2 months later. As a result of this out next electricity bill was 600 480 more than the previous one. When we received it we went to our housing company to attempt to get them to pay or compensate. They have consistently failed to turn up to arranged meetings and now we are beginning to receive collectors bills in the post as we have delayed paying the bill. Is there anything we can do?  <response>: Thats an annoying situation, but it also sounds a bit like youre overestimating your rights in this situation.Firstly, its your electricity bill, you have to pay it. The liability for utilities doesnt transfer to your landlord just because you have a dispute. Pay the bill and theres one less party in this situation, and you stop trashing your credit rating by failing to pay a bill thats rightly owed.Secondly, for future reference, when the landlord failed to repair the boiler in a timely manner, you had the right to have the repair done yourself and recover the cost from them. However, that ship has now sailed.You might be thinking about withholding rent. Sorry, but you dont have the right to do that you might have a claim against the landlord, but youre not entitled to extract funds yourself by witholding rent, two wrongs not making a right and all that.You need to work out how much youre actually disputing. Presumably this is 480, minus whatever your gas bill usually is. Then divide that six ways, and think hard about whether the 75 or so you end up with is really worth escalating the dispute.If you do decide to take it further, then get clear on what you claim the landlord has done wrong, and what you want in recompense: Because the landlord did not repair the boiler in a timely manner, we want XXX in compensation. Now you put that to your landlord, in writing you are beyond the point of face to face meetings, its letter writing time. If they dont respond in a reasonable amount of time usually a month then start small claims proceedings Once youre in the legal process, think carefully about how your actions will be considered by the court: Are you sure you didnt consent to the delay in repair when you were advised to use the immersion heater and maybe you said OK? Did you tell the landlord that they were going too slowly? Do you have a written record of you chasing them to repair the boiler and them failing to comply? Are you sure you havent done anything wrong yourself, such as withholding or delaying rent? Anything youve done wrong could count against you in a dispute.Personally, I would probably not bother taking this to the small claims court, given that your share of the disputed amount is less than 100. However, its up to you. 