Let someone in to read gas meter. They took a photo. Legit?

Yellow63

Hi,

This morning a man came looking to see the gas meter which is outside in our back garden. He was wearing a hi-vis jacket with 'gas' written on the back.

I wasn't here but my mum let him in, and he went round opened it and took a picture of the gas meter. My mum asked why, he said to see if there was any plastic broken or anything needs fixing.

Not sure what this was about. Normally e-on come by every 3 months to read our gas/electric meters.

He went down our street to other houses too.

Would love some insight to find out if this was legit.

Thanks!

torbrex

He was not there to read the meter, it would probably have been an inspection of the fittings and the meter itself to see that nothing had been broken or tampered with, if he took a photograph it could mean that he found something wrong and the photo would be to identify the fault with the meter number.

Ps
Are you sure his hi-vis said GAS and not G4S as I think they still have the contract for this kind of inspection.

Yellow63

torbrex wrote: »

He was not there to read the meter, it would probably have been an inspection of the fittings and the meter itself to see that nothing had been broken or tampered with, if he took a photograph it could mean that he found something wrong and the photo would be to identify the fault with the meter number.

Ps
Are you sure his hi-vis said GAS and not G4S as I think they still have the contract for this kind of inspection.

Thanks for the reply.

It could've said G4S, that seems more likely. My mum read it. I think the reason it said "Gas" made me a bit weary that doesn't seem normal.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Yellow63

From what you say, I agree with torbrex, this doesn't sound like a meter reading visit. We, or our contractors, sometimes need to see meters/pipework/fittings etc to make sure all is ok. Sounds more like this type of visit.

Thought I'd pop on with a bit of information about people calling at properties on our behalf. I know it's like shutting the stable door after the horse's done one but might help in the future.

All E.ON reps, including those like G4S who sometimes do work on our behalf, carry official proof of identity. They need to show their identity card on arrival.

Cards show who they're working for, their name, unique reference number, a colour photo of themselves and the date the card expires. There's also a phone number which can be used to check the person's identity.

Often, the rep will wear clothing that identifies the organisation they're working for and drive a vehicle with the company name on.

Wherever we can, we'll let customers know we intend to call but sometimes this isn't possible. If you or anyone else reading this has any doubts about someone calling on our behalf please contact us before letting them in. We'll be happy to confirm the identity of anyone working for us.

Hope this is useful in future Yellow63.

Malc