Lowri Beck and 0845 number

poppasmurf_bewdley

Last time l had a card left by this or a similar company, l decided to phone them and have a bit of fun.

I rang them and got around to asking if they were paid by the fuel company to collect this information. They replied that they were. So l asked how much they were going to pay me for the information. This seemed to get the poor girl in somewhat of a tizzy and after being passed to several people they gave up and never got the info they wanted.

But it must have been a freephone number as l would never have called a chargeable number for something like this.

PaschalFun

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

...
But it must have been a freephone number as l would never have called a chargeable number for something like this.

0845 numbers are free to call as part of your BT calling plan :money:
You can have up to 60 minutes fun time free of charge.

Other phone operators are available - check their terms and conditions.

unforeseen

Are you actually a customer of the meter reading company though.?

pineapple

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

I rang them and got around to asking if they were paid by the fuel company to collect this information. They replied that they were. So l asked how much they were going to pay me for the information. This seemed to get the poor girl in somewhat of a tizzy and after being passed to several people they gave up and never got the info they wanted.

Good on you. I know in my case they are supposed to do a physical check and that's what they are paid for. Asking the householder to give them the readings for them to pass on to the supplier is both cutting corners and pointless.

NonGeographicalMan

This is just to report that 16 months on from the last post in this thread and over five years on from the law changing to ban the use of 084/7 numbers for customer service calls that Lowri Beck are still at it as they clearly don't care in the least about the law or what their customers pay to call them and obviously think they can continue to break the law without suffering any form of sanction or adverse consequence.

This time they called me last Wednesday (14th Aug 2019) at a ridiculously early 8.17am showing a Caller ID of 0844 245 1260 on behalf of Scottish Power (who I am an electricity customer of) to ask if I wanted to have a SMETS2 Smart Meter installed after I had previously turned them down several times for a non supplier transferable SMETS1 meter (which they on each occasion failed to tell me was not transferable between supplier until I asked them). When I then asked them how they expected me to have confidence in these Smart meters or their attempts to sell me one when they were breaking a law changed five years ago by using a covert premium rate number the woman calling acted like she knew nothing about this law (when it has existed for all this time) and/or that she had no idea what CLI was shown when they called. Although she claimed she would pass on my complaint to her supervisor.

Also when I asked her if the meter was likely to get a mobile signal in a basement store room where it is located or if it would be able to communicate with the consumer display unit in my home by wifi (as my flat is a floor above and not located over the basement store room) she seemed to have no idea.

Basically with companies like Lowri Beck or ADT (UK's largest burglar alarm company) because it would cost them more money to have to change and they would have to pay their telecoms supplier more they simply can't be bothered to change and so unless and until either Ofcom gain powers to fine them for using these numbers for customer service work or there is massive and highly embarrassing national media coverage about their 084/7 number misuse they refuse to change.

I have sent the below email to CEO level at Lowri Beck but so far only had a fob off reply in response from Arunava (located in a call centre in goodness knows what country and no address or phone number stated in her email) claiming they will look in to the matter.

But my bet is Lowri Beck will simply carry on regardless because all the directors of their company and/or Scottish Power (who they were working on behalf of) appear to be asleep at the wheel and feel that breaking a UK law repeatedly tens of thousands of times a day or week is nothing at all to do with them.:mad::mad::mad:

EDIT:- I see that this post by a member of their own (Ovo Energy) staff in the Ovo Energy customer forum at https://forum.ovoenergy.com/smart-meter-booking-and-installations-66/bad-experience-getting-a-smart-meter-why-do-energy-companies-use-lowri-beck-1760about bad experiences with Lowri Beck in installing a Smart Meter indicates that Ovo Energy no longer uses Lowri Beck and has switched to Siemens meter services due to bad expriences with this company.

So it seems a great pity that Scottish Power and other energy suppliers won't follow Ovo Energy's example as perhaps then the seemingly profit only and not service focused directors of Lowri Beck might actually start to care about this issue............

[Deleted User]

Lowri Beck work as contractors for Npower reading meters and a few other suppliers .I had a short time working for them meter reading for a year back in the year 2000.
These meter readings they are doing will be what are termed as "must reads " or must inspects ". Readings which must be undertaken as legal meter inspections which all suppliers must undertake to complete every now and then. The time scales for these meter inspections keep changing as smart meter installations make them less important.
Given that electric and gas meters nowadays are often tampered for free energy it is vital that every meter gets inspected on at least bi annual basis if they are not smart meters.. This is covered in every ones T/C s.
Possibly Lowri Beck using 0845 paid numbers are exempt because of the urgent nature of these meter inspections and fall outside OFGEMS rules. The meter reading a Lowri Beck employee would obtain would only prove that he has had visible contact with the meter to verify its safety. The reading would not be concerned with billing.

NonGeographicalMan

Houbara wrote: »

Possibly Lowri Beck using 0845 paid numbers are exempt because of the urgent nature of these meter inspections and fall outside OFGEMS rules

No you are wrong on this.

Calling customers to suggest they upgrade to a SMART meter (which is clearly not a meter inspection as you describe it but even such meter inspections clearly would be a customer service related and supported activity) is clearly a customer service activity and thus is covered by the requirements of the EU Consumer Rights Directive that calls to any customer service number must not be charged above standard national geographic landline call rates and hence therefore also included in any call packages covering calls to these numbers.

This Call Centre Helper article of April 2016 at https://www.callcentrehelper.com/companies-still-ignoring-ban-on-0845-numbers-86142.htm discusses the issues in eradicating all the errant numbers but three and a half year on Lowri Beck is one of the few major companies making lots of calls and working for large blue chip energy suppliers who have not complied. Reason they have not complied is because the directors of their company clearly do not care about these issues and do not deal with them personally. Even my email to their CEO on this matter has been fobbed off back to customer services, quite probably based in India.

Lowri Beck quite clearly only cares about doing things in the way that is cheapest for it regardless of the quality of customer service.

[Deleted User]

Legal meter inspections are not a "customer service " but fall outside that remit. It is nothing to do with the "customer " and certainly not a "service " but a legal requirement. The suppliers do not fully explain this and prefer to keep a low profile in order not to appear over bearing.
Access to meters are covered in laws of statute, eg Gas Act 1986, Electricity Act 1989 ,utilities Act 2000 and go beyond Government quango OFGEM
Npowers callback cards do mention the legalities of access to meters. Not sure if Lowri Beck s do .
Many occupiers will not allow access to our meters to allow inspections. This is why many thousands of magistrates court warrants of access are issued annually
. It is also an OFGEM rule now for suppliers to "offer " an install of a smart meter for every customer whether they do this verbally ,over the phone or by other means.
At the moment the rules are only to "offer " a smart meter. When the Labour party was in power in 2008 smart meters were obligatory and this could easily change in the future and revert to be mandatory once again .
Lowri Beck will have had legal advice I m sure, about using 0845 numbers. This subject has appeared on the Energy Board a few times over the years so maybe its useful to do a search on here for more advice.

Gerry1

Houbara wrote: »

Possibly Lowri Beck using 0845 paid numbers are exempt because of the urgent nature of these meter inspections and fall outside OFGEMS rules.

Wrong x 3 ! They are not Ofgem rules. And Lowri Beck are not exempt. And rip-off 084/087 numbers do nothing that 034/037 numbers can't do (except boost Lowri Beck's profits).

The ban on Customer Service numbers charged above Basic Rate is an EU ruling that has been incorporated into UK law as the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations (see Section J).

It's an Ofcom requirement to state the Service Charge and to warn of the Access Charge whenever an 084/087 number is promoted or communicated.

DawnCrush

Gerry1 wrote: »

Wrong x 3 ! They are not Ofgem rules. And Lowri Beck are not exempt. And rip-off 084/087 numbers do nothing that 034/037 numbers can't do (except boost Lowri Beck's profits).

The ban on Customer Service numbers charged above Basic Rate is an EU ruling that has been incorporated into UK law as the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations (see Section J).

It's an Ofcom requirement to state the Service Charge and to warn of the Access Charge whenever an 084/087 number is promoted or communicated.

I don't see any 0845 numbers on their website (not that they are illegal - in fact the reference to the appropriate legislation posted 18 months ago actually could be said to permit them albeit with conditions)

They have an 0345 number, and indeed have an alternative 01942 number, on their website today

https://myreading.net/#
https://www.lowribeck.co.uk/contact