Energy meter reader trespass??

kazwookie

Why not fit a bell / push button / video / intercom type device to the outside of the gates, and place it so you can hear it from your office?

So they can ring 1st, then you can open the gates if you want to let them in

steffyoak

Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated - I had a suspicion that commission may have been involved somewhere! .Just to clarify....
(i) the gates are there to protect my personal property/car/home ...as is the case on numerous other properties in the neighbourhood, not to specifically block access to the meters. The layout & design of the house at the front, from the roadside was originally very open plan & not at all secure. We have had experience of intruders attempting break ins down the side of houses, often during the day & only 2 years ago a neighbours car was driven off their drive after someone let themselves in the back door to get the keys whilst they were watching TV!
(ii) I never have, nor will prevent the agents obtaining access to the meters - so long as they take appropriate measures to do so e.g attempt more than one knock (i.e. I was on the phone) &/or leave a calling card to say they'll return (as they've done in the past but not on this occasion). By the way - I don't live in some grand mansion with a mile long driveway & a moat or something. Its just a normal detached house, on a normal residential estate. The gates simply run across the drive from the side of the house. My neighbour has slightly taller gates which are made from wrought iron with a spiky design on top - bet he didn't attempt to climb those!
(iii) The guy clearly thought I was out as no car was on the drive so presumably this is his standard approach to things regardless of whether a special intercom device is fitted or not or whether someone is actually in to answer it. I'm assuming these guys regularly come across houses where people are out during the day & cannot get to the meters. SP told me previously that it is not standard policy at all to take such a course of action to get a meter reading
(iv) I'm entitled to a certain level of privacy & respect of my own home & property & I don't believe having a grown, supposedly professional, man scaling a 6ft gate is representative of that - I had no idea he was a meter agent when I saw him. My first instinct was intruder - very scary. In addition. I was left with size 10 muddy boot prints all up the front of my newly stained gates
(vi) The spike strips on top of the gates were added after the last episode of trespass. They're made of reinforced plastic or something & about half inch high on a strip. They are perfectly legal to apply to gates/fences so long as you put up a warning notice which we have. They are sold as a deterrent to thieves & intruders - apparently! SP reimbursed me the cost - £12
(vii) My aim here is most definitely not to get someone the sack or gain financially by compensation. It is merely to expect a certain degree of security in my own home & not have the living daylights scared out of me when I happen to open my back door one afternoon. That would be my exact same reaction to ANYONE who was found dangling over my gate. If nothing else - it's highlighted to me a security flaw & the need to get new gates because if that middle aged fella from SP can attempt to get over them then some sprightly young thief will certainly be able to manage it!

Thanks again

deshepherd

I lived in California 10-15 years ago and remember that as electrity and gas (sorry, "natural gas" as opposed to the liquid gas you put in cars!) meters were round the side of the house we rented. As a result we were told we had to leave the side gate to the house unlocked as meter readers had a right of access (and they came *every* month to read the meters!).

That said, security in Cupertino didn't seem to be an issue. Weekly "crime report" in local free newspaper caused major hilarity to a visitng cousin who was in UK police at time - anyone turning up at a UK police station to report a "crime" of the sort reported their (e.g. "man left wallet on desk and it had gone when he got back from meeting") would be told to go away and stop wasting police time. And one Christmas we returned from 2 week visit back to UK to find our electric garage door had malfunctioned and our garage had been wide open for several days ... but everything was still there - doubt that would be the case in the UK. There was one "crime" though in the time we were there - armed robbery at the bank at the end of the road!

undaunted

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

-
I'm an even handed fellah steffyoak :

You ask if who is in the wrong, I think (1) the SP reader and (2) yourself are both wrong - there is a problem only you can fix .........

Terrylw1 wrote: »

I totally respect your situation but if you somehow prevent it by installing some way you can be contacted, then the supplier can send a message to them regarding access.

Like the telephone perhaps? Whilst I appreciate the problem to the reader surely it is not so unreasonable for the poster to want her own property to be secure or for a meter reader wanting access to her property to try knocking more than once or telephoning if necessary, and if that fails to effect immediate access even making an appointment?

Jamie_Carter

C_Mababejive wrote: »

As someone who makes house calls may i say that I am fed up with people who..

a) Dont have a house number on their door and/or property boundary
b) insist on having a daft name for their house instead of/as well as a number
c)Miss callers because due to various circumstances and yet dont see the logic of having a doorbell.

Maybe people don't want cold callers.

Jamie_Carter

steffyoak wrote: »

(vi) The spike strips on top of the gates were added after the last episode of trespass. They're made of reinforced plastic or something & about half inch high on a strip. They are perfectly legal to apply to gates/fences so long as you put up a warning notice which we have. They are sold as a deterrent to thieves & intruders - apparently! SP reimbursed me the cost - £12

So if the spikes are in place, then how did he climb over?

steffyoak

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

So if the spikes are in place, then how did he climb over?

I caught him half way in the act...upper part of his body was raised up over the top as he was attempting to lever himself over. The plastic spikes are meant to provide an element of "discomfort" as you put weight on them so...I imagine he'd have just begun to get the full effect of them on his hands or wherever! Either way - I'm definitely getting new/taller gates!

[Deleted User]

Its still adviseable to get a call bell, and a gate letterbox, installed at the gates if you will not be allowing people to approach your front door, as is your right.Apart from meter readers there are plenty of other people who need to contact you, e.g. internet courior companys with your parcels etc unless you want to make possibly long and expensive trips to their depots. I had one courior company this year whos collection depot was further away from where the parcel was originally posted

steffyoak

the front door of the house isn't behind the gates - it's to the side so is accessible to anyone who needs its. The gates just protect access to the side & back of the house, including the garden & my garage which is set further back

Terrylw1

undaunted wrote: »

Like the telephone perhaps? Whilst I appreciate the problem to the reader surely it is not so unreasonable for the poster to want her own property to be secure or for a meter reader wanting access to her property to try knocking more than once or telephoning if necessary, and if that fails to effect immediate access even making an appointment?

The trouble is, these are the guys that just taking readings. They do what their companies Best Practice is.

The supplier can improve this by issue special access requests e.g. knock loudly. For customers with special needs, they do this, but they have this other facility for non special needs.

There is no reason why the supplier couldn't send a message like "knock loudly, wait, DO NOT scale spiked gates"...its a ridiculous thing to have to do, but perhaps a better access message will, help the OP.

They won't call them unless stated in this. Even then its always been the case that not even all engineers have always carried mobiles (it was some years who though) so its not always successful.

Evening appointments depend on the contract. If not, it may hit the safety check list but it will still be treated the same until someone decides to call the customer.