edf accused me of tampering

the_accused

hello we just moved into our house 3 month ago
when the previous tennant left 2000 debt but we thought electric was off so we rang edf and explained we had to send tennacy to wipe debt,,

but when i looked in fused board it wa off, i flipped switch vwalla its on but with that ammount of debt on a key meter,

they sent us a resett key to reset meter but never got round to it,,

we never in house, to be honest i thought it was qualterly bill, as never used key meter.

my son put 40 quid on key but he put it on the old key, which didnt work, but he didnt no as he a learning diffculites..

this week it set on fire blow up and totally destroyed the meter and no electricity. called them and engineer come out and said its been tampered, but i took a pic to show people on facebook show them what happened and you can clearly see all the tsgd sre secure and rusted, he cut all them of and he said the screws were loose, holding main out to the house, tampering and not putting electric on untill investigation, i have a dissabled 18 year who needs caring for, but they dont care, they accused my husband for it but he doesnt touch anything, the previous tennant owed 3000 on electric and 400 on gas, and leeged it without paying rent he is wanted by the police as the baliif said when they come for his stuff and he got accused of conspire to commit fraud by missdeception they said thats got nothing to do with it,, we have no need to tamper with electrics, can you please help

chanz4

It does not look good that you have not been chasing about not having to charge, if you provide your previous address the rpu will be able to chase where you lived before. Section 7/11 of the electricity act allows disconnection to the premises pending remedy.

Hasbeen

the_accused wrote: »

hello we just moved into our house 3 month ago
when the previous tennant left 2000 debt but we thought electric was off so we rang edf and explained we had to send tennacy to wipe debt,,

but when i looked in fused board it wa off, i flipped switch vwalla its on but with that ammount of debt on a key meter,

they sent us a resett key to reset meter but never got round to it,,

we never in house, to be honest i thought it was qualterly bill, as never used key meter.

my son put 40 quid on key but he put it on the old key, which didnt work, but he didnt no as he a learning diffculites..

this week it set on fire blow up and totally destroyed the meter and no electricity. called them and engineer come out and said its been tampered, but i took a pic to show people on facebook show them what happened and you can clearly see all the tsgd sre secure and rusted, he cut all them of and he said the screws were loose, holding main out to the house, tampering and not putting electric on untill investigation, i have a dissabled 18 year who needs caring for, but they dont care, they accused my husband for it but he doesnt touch anything, the previous tennant owed 3000 on electric and 400 on gas, and leeged it without paying rent he is wanted by the police as the baliif said when they come for his stuff and he got accused of conspire to commit fraud by missdeception they said thats got nothing to do with it,, we have no need to tamper with electrics, can you please help

Hi, as you are obviously new to our country and do not speak or understand english very well, it is recommended that you get in touch with a local CAB Citizens Advice service/bureau and they will advise you.:)

Terrylw1

Did you continue to use the old key instead of the reset key? Or did you use nothing?

With you stating you were sent a key but thought you were quarterly billed, have you possibly used the tamper from the previous tenant? If so, the supplier sees you as a party to it, so may want a deposit and to create a bill for what they believe you have used.

Need more info really as its difficult to understand about your usage and the tamper.

forgotmyname

No credit on the meter for 3 months? Gotta be a windup?

torbrex

Whether or not it was you that actually tampered with the meter, you are guilty of using electricity without paying for it and thus guilty by association.
It was your responsibility to report that you were getting electricity without loading the key.

Claiming ignorance is a common excuse used by new tenants but it never works with investigators and the evidence is usually so obvious that the meter has been tampered with that anyone would see it.

chanz4

torbrex wrote: »

Whether or not it was you that actually tampered with the meter, you are guilty of using electricity without paying for it and thus guilty by association.
It was your responsibility to report that you were getting electricity without loading the key.

Claiming ignorance is a common excuse used by new tenants but it never works with investigators and the evidence is usually so obvious that the meter has been tampered with that anyone would see it.

Sounds like a bypass was in situ between 1-4, companys will still investigate incase its inherited

DVardysShadow

torbrex wrote: »

Whether or not it was you that actually tampered with the meter, you are guilty of using electricity without paying for it and thus guilty by association.
It was your responsibility to report that you were getting electricity without loading the key.

Claiming ignorance is a common excuse used by new tenants but it never works with investigators and the evidence is usually so obvious that the meter has been tampered with that anyone would see it.

I doubt OP or family have the technical knowledge to tamper a meter nor even enough knowledge to recognise a dangerously tampered meter. I don't think this intervention is particularly helpful.

torbrex

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I doubt OP or family have the technical knowledge to tamper a meter nor even enough knowledge to recognise a dangerously tampered meter. I don't think this intervention is particularly helpful.

They will have known that they were getting the electricity for nothing and that makes them as guilty as the person that put the bypass in.

It requires no technical knowledge to put a bypass in a meter and I would say that lack of technical knowledge is actually a bonus as they would be oblivious to any possible dangers.

I have been an RPU officer and have had first hand dealings with bypassed meters and all the excuses that go with them and 'A big boy did it and ran away' is the single most common excuse that is heard.
Tenants that have been in properties for 6 months with a key meter and never paid a penny will still try to blame the previous tenants.

[Deleted User]

hi The Accused, just wondered if you will give me permission to pass your post along to OFGEM as an example of whats happening throughout the UK.
Dvardysshadow, I have found people this year, ( two familys of immigrant Roma Gypsys ) who have had zero education who have bypassed the latest gas meters.Others I ve found also are not exactly well educated to say the least. I have also heard about in certain areas, people go around charging a bit of money to do it for them.
I do see meters where it is not at all obvious that they have been bypassed, but the majority are easy to see that they have been

[Deleted User]

got to agree with Torbrex, the"I ve not been in here long, i thought it was a quarterly bill " is not uncommon, as is "it was already like that when i ve moved in ". I have just sent a photo of an extremely dangerous previously bypassed meter to OFGEM. The new tenants, a young lady with child, had just moved in and got a new key from EDF, and did nt realise how dangerous the meter was with all its exposed live screws and loose cables all down at floor level in the front room next to where the child was playing. Still waiting for OFGEMS response, although they have said its under investigation at least