Have they committed perjury?

IDK_2

Hello all, if possible could I pick your brains? Yesterday morning we were woken by a huge banging on the door with male voices demanding we opened the door. My OH and myself have been struck down with some virus and could barely move out of bed. We managed to get out of bed and looked down the stairs and saw a screwdriver being waved through the letter box. Again demanding we opened the door. I came down stairs and asked who they are, they demanded I open the door and they have a warrant to force the door. I asked to see the warrant so they smashed a piece of paper against the glass of the door. I couldn't read it like that. I asked them to put it through the door, they refused. I told them I wont open the door unless I see the warrant. Their reply was that's ok they'll ring the police. I said that's fine. To my our surprise the police did turn up. I allowed the police in and asked who they were! Their reply was its a utility bill you haven't paid. I asked my OH if we've missed any thing and she said no. However she had made an arrangement with a certain french owned power company to pay £90/month (this was their figure not ours) in January this year but we hadn't missed one payment. The police brought in the rep for them, he was from a utility management type company. He said in front of us that he has a warrant to change our meter, he has a gas fitter and a big lad in case it got violent. Total intimidation! The rep stated quite clearly that we hadn't paid anything to this company for some time. He also stated he has visited us twice during the day (we work full time) but he put letters through our door. NO HE DIDN'T!!!! He said all of this in front of the police officers (who were brilliant). We told the rep we've never missed a payment and showed him out standing order payment going back past Febuary. Every month paid!!!! He then rang the utility company asking if we've made any payments and they confirmed we did???? The only letters after arranging the monthly payment we got were telling us how to save energy. From this I would like to know if the utility company would have got a warrant if the magistrate knew we made normal regular payments? Has the company has committed perjury by telling the magistrate we hadn't made any payments? Why did the company arrange a payment plan and then do this? Can we call the police and ask them to investigate this? Ever since it happened we find it hard to leave the house, I can't sleep. The whole street saw all of this and the embarrassment is too much. We have kids and work hard yet we don't know why we've been treated like scum! Hope someone can help! Thanks all. IDK

Loanranger

Please can you separate your post into paragraphs? It's almost impossible to make sense of it.

magpiecottage

I suggest the OP looks here.

Gingernutty

IDK wrote: »

Hello all, if possible could I pick your brains?

Yesterday morning we were woken by a huge banging on the door with male voices demanding we opened the door.

My OH and myself have been struck down with some virus and could barely move out of bed.

We managed to get out of bed and looked down the stairs and saw a screwdriver being waved through the letter box. Again demanding we opened the door.

I came down stairs and asked who they are, they demanded I open the door and they have a warrant to force the door.

I asked to see the warrant so they smashed a piece of paper against the glass of the door. I couldn't read it like that. I asked them to put it through the door, they refused.

I told them I won't open the door unless I see the warrant. Their reply was that's ok they'll ring the police. I said that's fine.

To my our surprise the police did turn up. I allowed the police in and asked who they were!

Their reply was its a utility bill you haven't paid. I asked my OH if we've missed any thing and she said no.

However she had made an arrangement with a certain french owned power company to pay £90/month (this was their figure not ours) in January this year but we hadn't missed one payment.

The police brought in the rep for them, he was from a utility management type company. He said in front of us that he has a warrant to change our meter, he has a gas fitter and a big lad in case it got violent. Total intimidation!

The rep stated quite clearly that we hadn't paid anything to this company for some time. He also stated he has visited us twice during the day (we work full time) but he put letters through our door.

NO HE DIDN'T!!!!

He said all of this in front of the police officers (who were brilliant).

We told the rep we've never missed a payment and showed him our standing order payment going back past Febuary. Every month paid!!!!

He then rang the utility company asking if we've made any payments and they confirmed we did????

The only letters after arranging the monthly payment we got were telling us how to save energy.

From this I would like to know if the utility company would have got a warrant if the magistrate knew we made normal regular payments?

Has the company has committed perjury by telling the magistrate we hadn't made any payments?

Why did the company arrange a payment plan and then do this?

Can we call the police and ask them to investigate this?

Ever since it happened we find it hard to leave the house, I can't sleep. The whole street saw all of this and the embarrassment is too much.

We have kids and work hard yet we don't know why we've been treated like scum!

Hope someone can help! Thanks all. IDK

If the utility rep had to 'phone and check, that alone suggests the he was genuinely mistaken and warrant was obtained in good faith.

He backed down after he was proved wrong.

No. It sounds like someone made a mistake and there was no malice in the actions. No perjury.

IDK_2

Sorry Loanranger but this is the first time I'vevdone this. No Gingernutty he didn't back down they executed the warrant and changed the meter. He didnt care we were paying as per arrangement. He would have had to tell the magistrates we hadn't made any attempt to pay to get the warrant. Obviously this is the wrong place to ask.

Cardew

It sounds like an address/account mix up.

It is a long process to get a warrant and I cannot believe that you wouldn't have been informed by the court, let alone the Utility company and Debt Collection Agency unless all that information was being sent to the wrong address.

It is not perjury unless the evidence given to obtain the warrant was deliberate lying - as opposed to a mistake.

What I cannot understand is why they still went ahead and changed the meter(presumably to a pre-pay) after you had apparently established that you were paying the agreed payments and the Utility company had confirmed receipt of those payments.

From this quote below, I get the impression(correct me if I am wrong) that you do have a debt with the Utility company and the £90 monthly(by Standing Order and not Direct Debit??) is paying off arrears.

However she had made an arrangement with a certain french owned power company to pay £90/month (this was their figure not ours) in January this year but we hadn't missed one payment.

However as you have explained the situation, you obviously have a good case for an apology and compensation.

pooch

IDK wrote: »

... Obviously this is the wrong place to ask.

Yes you are correct. This is not the place to come, create a new user account and post in the wee small hours of the morning, probably after just coming in from the boozer, and posting some c&b story in the hope of winding up the regular MSE forumites. :cool:

Yorkie1

How on earth can you tell whether the OP is a wind-up merchant, pooch?

This forum is getting increasingly antagonistic and cynical towards new posters. It's supposed to be a community for helping people, among other things. We are asked to be nice to newbies.

As it happens I don't have anything detailed and constructive to suggest to the OP as I am not sufficiently familiar with this sort of stuff. However, if I did have anything helpful to contribute then I'd give the poster the benefit of the doubt rather than having a go at them.

Many people come on here and their first thread is to ask questions in desperation. They don't need the sort of response you've given them.

Cardew

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Many people come on here and their first thread is to ask questions in desperation. They don't need the sort of response you've given them.

I agree with your sentiments, but in general terms there are too many people who post describing scenarios that are totally implausible. - 'I have just noticed that I haven't been paying gas and electricity for x years'

In the post above, I have taken the OP at face value(and thanks for your 'Thanks') However if I were a betting man I suspect we haven't got the full picture.

To use the term again! I find it implausible that the OP wasn't aware of a debt, had been paying the full agreed amount to the Utility company - ie. this came totally 'out of the blue'. Yet with the police/energy company rep in attendance to confirm the OP's version of events, they still changed the meter.

Cardew

Cardew wrote: »

I agree with your sentiments, but in general terms there are too many people who post describing scenarios that are totally implausible. - 'I have just noticed that I haven't been paying gas and electricity for x years'

As if to illustrate the point!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4797616

ValHaller

Cardew wrote: »

I agree with your sentiments, but in general terms there are too many people who post describing scenarios that are totally implausible. - 'I have just noticed that I haven't been paying gas and electricity for x years'

In the post above, I have taken the OP at face value(and thanks for your 'Thanks') However if I were a betting man I suspect we haven't got the full picture.

To use the term again! I find it implausible that the OP wasn't aware of a debt, had been paying the full agreed amount to the Utility company - ie. this came totally 'out of the blue'. Yet with the police/energy company rep in attendance to confirm the OP's version of events, they still changed the meter.

While I share your caution, I am sorry to say that corporations are far more aggressive than they were 40 years ago and i am prepared to believe that in rare circumstances (several hundred times a year across the UK) a supplier will get a warrant for a wrong address or for the right address with no grounds and without affording the resident the chance to attend a hearing. And that they will proceed to execute the warrant without the true facts (as opposed to the given in court facts) actually supporting the action taken.

And I would not be surprised to see similar come up on these forums several times a year