British Gas Meter Intefered with not by me

Annoyed07

:mad: All 5 gas meters in the building where I live (five people living in individual flats) are located next to each other on the wall down in the cellar of the building where the meter reader reads the meters. I've always paid my bills since moving to the property in September 2000. This is despite being unemployed and experiencing enduring health problems.

Last month a guy from B'gas visited (not a meter reader) to check my meter and informed me that the meter reading had not changed since 2004. He also informed me that the meter had been illegally interfered with which was probably why it had stopped registering units etc. I let him know most categorically that I had never ever fiddled with the meter since taking up residence in 2000. Having some bills of late indicating I was in credit etc combined with my unemployment and health problems I didn't recognise a problem.

Only through his investigation did I become aware of the situation. Upon which he informed me, despite holding no responsibility for intereference with the meter, I would be billed for usage from 2004 - now !!! Nor could a new meter be installed until the account is settled.

Had the letter/bill £1528.00 warning if not paid a no notice warrant will be applied for to enter the property to disconnect the meter.

I'm not responsible for the interference and given my situation I caln't pay that sort of money.

What do I do?

tripled

Wlecome to the forum Annoyed07. Unfortunately you are in quite a serious situation. Read this link for more information.

I would also recommend speaking to energywatch or contacting your local CAB urgently, as not only are you at risk of being left without a supply but also of a police investigation.

You are sure it is your meter that is being investigated? Have you checked your bills to confirm you haven't been charged anything for 3 years? After all, if every payment you have made for the last 3 years had been refunded at the annual review surely you would have noticed?

Cardew

I know that all utility companies take any interference with meters very seriously; as it is theft pure and simple.

IMO it is a very thin excuse to say that you haven't noticed that your meter reading hasn't moved since 2004 and you have gone in credit.

Who would have interfered with the meter do you think?

Your unemployment and ill health do not seem relevant to this situation; indeed spending more time at home would give you more time to look at your bills.

What do you expect BG to do? They obviously cannot just accept that meters can be iterfered with, gas stolen and that the receipient of the stolen gas simply disclaim any knowledge and expect to get away without paying.

If that was the approach they took; everyone would try the same scam.

It seems to me more than reasonable that they insist on you paying your arrears and I doubt if you will get any help, or indeed sympathy, from anybody. They are not taking you to court, just insisting that you pay for the goods you have received.

Annoyed07

Cardew

If you caln't respond in a respectful manner without directly implying that I have full knowledge of and involvement in the interference, you should refrain from responding to any further posts on this forum and have your usage terminated immediately.

Let's hope you are before you get the chance to seriously offend other users of the forum.





If that was the approach they took; everyone would try the same scam.

dmg24

Hi Annoyed,

Welcome to MSE.

I am not doubting that you have not interfered with your meter, however you are liable for your gas usage for the period that the meter has been faulty.

Could I ask how they have come to the figure quoted?

Have you asked if you can come to an arrangement to pay the money owed?

bob4jane

Seems like Cardew doesn't know the 'ins and outs' of your situation, but was merely presenting the facts you had -but from the perspective of British Gas.
It as much not their fault is it is not yours.
From the point of BG, you should have noticed a problem(your meter/bill), that is all Cardew is saying.
I'm afraid that now, having noticed it (well, it being brought to your attention) you may owe them the money.
I suppose the best you can ask for is to pay it monthly?

londondulwich

If your usage has been unmetered since 2004 I would be interested to know how the calculations were made regarding the present bill.


It's more work, but better if you write a letter asking for a breakdown of the sum.

In the meantime suggest a repayment scheme which you can afford.

I would also ask to have a copy of the engineers report which suggests that the meter was tampered with.

espresso

Annoyed07 wrote: »

I've always paid my bills since moving to the property in September 2000.

It does seem strange then that you have not noticed that you have not used any gas since 2004! What have you paid since 2004? Who has access to the area where the meters are located?

Cardew

Annoyed07 wrote: »

Cardew

If you caln't respond in a respectful manner without directly implying that I have full knowledge of and involvement in the interference, you should refrain from responding to any further posts on this forum and have your usage terminated immediately.

Let's hope you are before you get the chance to seriously offend other users of the forum.





If that was the approach they took; everyone would try the same scam.

I suggest you read my post more carefully.

I am not implying anything. Rather I am stating unequivocally that you should have been aware that your meter reading hadn’t changed for years.

I am further stating, equally unequivocally, that tampering with your meter is a scam/theft.

If your meter has been tampered with, even without your knowledge, and the Utility Company took no action to recover the money for the gas received (and legal action where possible), it would be a scam/theft that would be repeated endlessly. What would anyone have to lose?

There have been many successful prosecutions for theft of gas/electricity by meter tampering; and I doubt if in any of those cases there was a single example of the thief being caught ‘red handed’; they were convicted on the balance of probability that the account holder was the culprit.

Many meters are placed outside the property these days – including mine. If my neighbour kindly sabotaged my meter(without my knowledge of course!) I would totally accept I was liable for the gas consumed; but I would doubtless have noticed the readings had not changed when I got my bills.

However unwillingly or unwittingly, you have been the beneficiary of stolen goods. From your post it appears that all that the utility company are demanding is that you repay them for stolen goods. That seems more than reasonable to me.

Now do you need any further clarification?

Annoyed07

Espresso

You ask what I have paid since 2004/who has access to the area where the meters are located?

Four other residents living in the building have access to the area where the meters are located in the cellar. Not locked, free access and just a few steps down into the cellar. Any tradesmen doing long term maintenance work on the flats might store stuff down there too. It's also used as a storage area for storing the overflow of stuff like bikes, old gym equipment etc. Meter readers generally go down alone to register readings etc. The guy from B'Gas last month went down alone when he arrived and then asked me to go back down so he could show me the problem.

I have paid bills since 2004 but to secure the actual figure I need to do a paper trail locating past B'Gas bills paid along with some assistance from my bank providing statements proving when and how much.

Ms_Chocaholic

Has only your meter been tampered with or have all four meters been tampered with? Is there any indication on each of the meters as to which meter belongs to which flat?