Am I being accused of something?

House_Martin

EachPenny wrote: »

I have the letter in front of me. I'll see what I can do about scanning it, but the body of the letter reads:


Why would a 'Credit Manager' be signing a letter about a 'visual safety inspection'? :think:


Because at the time I was leaving home at 7am and coming home at 9pm. BG only worked Monday to Friday 8am to 4:30pm. I had responded to their previous enquiries saying the times offered were not convenient, after a while they stopped asking. I then went away from home (work related) and came back to a pile of letters, just before the date of the court hearing. If I'd been away longer then I imagine I would have come home to find a new lock on my front door.


Agreed. But the DD was actually cancelled only because they hadn't read the meter themselves. But they had accepted numerous customer readings. The story about protecting dead customers sitting in armchairs made no sense, as presumably the dead customer wouldn't have been giving regular meter reads either, unless via a medium.


Apparently not then, although things might be different now. After all, they did *promise* to review their proceedures as a result of my complaints

How long had you been denying access EachPenny..Five years ?
BG have never used their own employees since the 1960 s, they have always used contractors who do not follow BGs hours anyway.The legal hours to access meters are 7.30am to 8 pm .
No mention of the supplier on that letter. Looks like a last resort letter when they have to go to those lengths to scare you into action..
I hope you have learnt your lesson and stopped messing around with suppliers for a simple thing like that. You sound like a workaholic with those hours every day. Just leave the readings in the window or somewhere if you are never in, thats what I always do.
.BG definitely have their meter readers working Saturday and up to 8 pm at night on must inspects, but then we always get the awkward types who either have something to hide, don t want people to see the state of their houses, or are just plain awkward old buffers who do not know the law and like a battle..I d guess on the latter with you !
I always worked Saturdays until 4pm on "must inspect " duties especially and so do every one of my meter reading team on a Saturday rota, just to sweep up on must reads appointments. It was always the best day to catch the workers on their days off.

EachPenny

House_Martin wrote: »

How long had you been denying access EachPenny..Five years ?

Nobody had been 'denied access'. I invited BG to make an appointment at a time when I would be at home and was advised that Saturday appointments were not available because they were 'too busy'. They then stopped asking for several months before the letters started coming. In all it was about two and a half years since the last 'inspection', and exactly two years since the last meter reading visit.

House_Martin wrote: »

BG have never used their own employees since the 1960 s, they have always used contractors who do not follow BGs hours anyway.The legal hours to access meters are 7.30am to 8 pm .

As a customer, the contractural arrangements BG make are of little concern to me. Only that they can make an appointment at a suitable time, and actually turn up to it. What is the source of those 'legal hours'?

House_Martin wrote: »

No mention of the supplier on that letter. Looks like a last resort letter when they have to go to those lengths to scare you into action..

BG.... as explained several times.

House_Martin wrote: »

I hope you have learnt your lesson and stopped messing around with suppliers for a simple thing like that. You sound like a workaholic with those hours every day. Just leave the readings in the window or somewhere if you are never in, thats what I always do.

Lol. :rotfl: Yes, I bent over and let BG give me a jolly good spanking for being so naughty and they made me promise never to do it again. As previously mentioned, my 'punishment' was receiving £50 compensation for putting up with the inconvenience.

It is nice to be accused of being a 'workaholic' - it makes a pleasant change from your usual assumption that everyone is a penniless 'fiddler'.

I used to leave the readings on a card blu-tacked to the front door. Until a pillock of a reader either didn't come back as promised, or didn't bother removing the card. When I returned four days later - having had the card advertising my absence all that time - I vowed never to waste my time again. I'll happily submit a reading online, but your cards go straight in the recycling. In any event, it was a 'safety inspection' that was required, not just the meter readings which I'd already been submitting to them.

House_Martin wrote: »

....but then we always get the awkward types who either have something to hide, don t want people to see the state of their houses, or are just plain awkward old buffers who do not know the law and like a battle..I d guess on the latter with you !

Well it could be all three... or 'none of the above'. For a start, if I go into 'battle' I make sure I understand the law first... it was what I was being paid to do, so would always do the same at home.

House_Martin wrote: »

I always worked Saturdays until 4pm on "must inspect " duties especially and so do every one of my meter reading team on a Saturday rota, just to sweep up on must reads appointments. It was always the best day to catch the workers on their days off.

Hallelujah! A (former) BG employee who understands we aren't stuck in the 1950's when it was a dead cert the 'missus' would be at home by the kitchen sink and looking after the sprogs so the meterman could pop round any time to read/inspect the meter.

Unfortunately, as explained, Saturday appointments were not available because they were 'too busy', so applying for a warrant for a weekday visit was more efficient. :rotfl:

So, with your insider knowledge.... can you explain why a 'Credit Manager' is organising 'safety inspections'. Surely safety inspections are managed by the metering/engineering/safety department, not by finance managers?

House_Martin

7.30 am to 8 pm is the industry norm for "acceptable " hours for customers to accept a visit for a meter reading although BG do 8am to 8pm..EDF go to 7.30 am start.
I ve no idea why a "credit manager " ( whatever that is ) is involved in gathering must inspect reads.
You have received well over the industry norm figure of £25/ £30 so your letter of complaint worked well. "Too busy " for a Saturday appointment would nt have worked with me. I would have demanded it, in fact I did for my smart meter exchanges.. I don t expect people to waste holidays for a formality periodic reading/safety check.
I m baffled why you seem to think that I suspect everyone (who denies access or refuses a smart meter ) of meter fiddling..Not a chance of that ! after 20 years in the job I know when people are deliberately keeping me from meters with b/s excuses.. Its area led where all the fiddlers are..Good areas its very rare anyone tampers..Trouble is there`s a lot of bad areas in the UK..Liverpool for instance

EachPenny

House_Martin wrote: »

I m baffled why you seem to think that I suspect everyone (who denies access or refuses a smart meter ) of meter fiddling..Not a chance of that !....

:rotfl: Keep them coming, it is cold and miserable today, we need something funny to cheer us all up

dekaspace

Ok so I arranged it for Saturday, heard a pathetic knock at door so ran to get it, no one there, came back to my living room, 5 minutes or so later heard another pathetic knock and no one there, and then came back into my living room, I did look out window just in case and also noticed my garden gate wide open, either it was a bit comedic and they knocked for a few seconds and then went into garden then back to door or they didn't wait long enough.

Im unavailable now for 2 weeks due to going to relatives for a week and at college 8-6 every day a bit panicky and annoyed as bet they will blame me, did see one of their vans outside my flat yesterday when I came back but they never knocked.

phillw

EachPenny wrote: »

The story about protecting dead customers sitting in armchairs made no sense, as presumably the dead customer wouldn't have been giving regular meter reads either, unless via a medium.

Just because it makes no sense, doesn't mean that isn't the reason they do it.

Someone might point out that there is no way they can tell who has entered the meter readings online. Maybe their computer system messed up and reassigned someone else's readings.

Joyful

The Energy

The back billing was not around 10 years ago.