British gas broke into my home!!

TIMMY85

tesuhoha wrote: »

ask them their name and position and write it down. This often freaks them out.

Of all the things that would freak me out this would be nowhere near. I answer a call by giving my name and if someone wants to know where I am based (usually because they think I MUST be Indian/Thai/Filipino) I tell them.

ihateyes

should they not be checking the meter number as well????

Cardew

ihateyes wrote: »

should they not be checking the meter number as well????

Yes!

As mentioned above in posts #8, #14, #16, #26, #28;)

Terrylw1

There are other issues to consider on top of the action itself:

- customer service was clearly lacking. Blagging a callback in this scenario is terrible, someone senior in that call centre should have taken the call on until the correct dept came in.

- correcting this isn't as simple as changing the meter back to a credit. Given this is for a different flat, how likely is it that the new meter will be recorded against the flat it is actually in...it will be on the other account. So, this is going to cause the OP's account to bill to estimates which will need rolling back to the final reading of the removed meter. Now, how on earth is the Meter Operator and Data Collector going to process the removal of the OP's meter & reading against the other flats meter? So, all that needs unpicking as well. Then we've got the payments on the PPM...are they hitting the other flats account?

So, getting the meter corrected onsite is the immediate priority but I suspect the admin side will take some time and the OP may have further frustrations to deal with such as discounts going missing, DD mess ups, etc.

C_Mababejive

Bear in mind also that warrant officers are generally not employees of the gas supplier. They are third party recovery agents from an assortment of bailiff companies.

[Deleted User]

Copy of warrant is not left, a letter detailing what has happened is normally left. To get to warrant stage, 217b would have had at least three "human rights act letters " If no response, an application for a warrant is applied for giving the occupier a chance to be there at the magistrates to oppose it. No opposition, the magistrates signs it, and British Gas gain entry using their own (in house ) employees and contracted locksmith.
Prior to the "human rights act s" letters, British Gas, if they dont access a meter within a year it gos to "must read " status , that is visits after 5 pm and Saturday. This can go on for at least another year up to the two year minimum access inspections. then it will go to pre-warrant stage which involves a letter asking for an appointment to inspect the meter.
I might add that British Gas have cut right back on issuing warrants in the last couple of years. I have plenty of properties I am trying to get into which havent been accessed for at least 4 years

uk1

To the OP - sympathies. Horrible thing to happen. Ignore any of the idiots who want you to feel as though you contributed to this issue because your flat asn't numbered. BG sholdn't guess about which home to break into.

Good luck.

prowla

ihateyes wrote: »

should they not be checking the meter number as well????

No, they should be checking the meter number.

Wolf3

Sorry to hear of your problems OP - its not unheard of in the energy industry and a lot of the previous comments are correct in stating there are a number of third parties involved.
The main priority will be to get through to your supplier either by phone or e-mail and get an appointment booked to re-instate a credit meter to the property as quickly as possible.
Then you will need to get your supplier to sort out the billing status of your account, due to the unrecorded meter exchange at your property. The engineer who enforced the warrant, will have recorded the installation of the prepayment meter on the other properties supply number as those were his instructions.
As far as i know a copy of the warrant does not need to be left at the property but instructions on how to manage the Prepayment meter does. In regards to them breaking into the flat, they unfortunately have every right to do so in enforcing the warrant, as they believed the property they were entering was the correct one. As long as the flat was left as secure as they found it, no crime has actually been committed so i dont think going to the police would be of any benefit, unless any insurance claim was needed.
Also other comments with regards to the meter serial number can be taken with a pinch of salt. In all likelihood the meter that was removed had a similar number to the flat upstairs if they had been installed or re-certified on the same day. You might find, if your supplier will confirm, that the engineer noted the slight difference in serial number on his records.
Although i realize none of the errors make up for the fact someone has forced entry to your property without your knowledge and the small inconvenience of having to use a prepayment meter, I'm sure someone at your supplier would be able to sort this out for you, if you press them enough to get an appointment and log a complaint if they have not already done so.

coochy123

I live in a similar building although the flats are 1,2 and 3 ie. Flat 1, number 10.

I would assume, going into one of those sorts of buildings that the ground floor would be 217a, 2nd floor 217b and 3rd floor 217c and if the doors aren't numbered otherwise it'd be easy to assume that I suppose.

What I don't get is how they got into the street door. If it's anything like mine, the flats each have their own doorbells and we have to go down to answer it. The street door doesn't allow for people going in without a key or without being let in. Is yours always unlocked or easily accessible?

These are obviously no excuse with how you've been treated by the staff etc! It's terrible, I'd personally be expecting a LOT of goodwill from them!