Not charged for Gas

House_Martin

A blank screen on a gas prepayment meter can mean it has been bypassed or the battery has failed and the valve has shut down in the "open " position, so gas can continue to flow without a top up.
Its not uncommon, I`ve seen hundreds of them do that.
Criminal proceedings are virtually unknown for allowing this to happen or assisting the meters battery to fail by a disconnect.
Its not supposed to do that but the early ones had a good chance of failing with the valve open so people would get to the battery and disconnect it completely to help it along.
Shows how lax all suppliers are when even BG let this carry on for years.
Here at G4S and now MDS who read for BG, Scot Power, EDF our handheld computers do not seem to pass on to the supplier info about blank screens so the faults can go on for years .
My boss told me the only way a blank screen could get acted upon was to phone the supplier.
Blank screens which are fraudulenlyt obtained I always contact BG Revenue protection directly
BG are the only supplier who runs a large enough Revenue Protection Unit and you would expect them to be checking this address out pretty quick.
Any faults on any meters and the customer is obliged to inform the supplier as soon as it is noticed.It is in the terms and conditions of supply of everyone.
Sitting back for 6 years is obviously fraudulent.
Suppliers can back bill on estimated usage for up to 6 years if the meter fault is fraudulent , however a flat battery, with no evidence of damaging the seals which protect the battery compartment, the suppliers are usually pretty lenient and will not be pressing for 6 years repayment

viv0147

Why can't I see the replies to the question

scoey8

House_Martin wrote: »

A blank screen on a gas prepayment meter can mean it has been bypassed or the battery has failed and the valve has shut down in the "open " position, so gas can continue to flow without a top up.
Its not uncommon, I`ve seen hundreds of them do that.
Criminal proceedings are virtually unknown for allowing this to happen or assisting the meters battery to fail by a disconnect.
Its not supposed to do that but the early ones had a good chance of failing with the valve open so people would get to the battery and disconnect it completely to help it along.
Shows how lax all suppliers are when even BG let this carry on for years.
Here at G4S and now MDS who read for BG, Scot Power, EDF our handheld computers do not seem to pass on to the supplier info about blank screens so the faults can go on for years
BG are the only supplier who runs a large enough Revenue Protection Unit and you would expect them to be checking this address out pretty quick.
Any faults on any meters and the customer is obliged to inform the supplier as soon as it is noticed.It is in the terms and conditions of supply of everyone.
Sitting back for 6 years is obviously fraudulent.
Suppliers can back bill on estimated usage for up to 6 years if the meter fault is fraudulent , however a flat battery, with no evidence of damaging the seals which protect the battery compartment, the suppliers are usually pretty lenient and will not be pressing for 6 years repayment

Hi thanks for the reply. Would BG be able to tell when the meter was last topped up? i.e if she said she topped it up last month only to find the screen blank a week later, would they know the full history of top ups?
Also is there any way i can see from looking at the meter if it has been bypassed? i will check to see if the seals have been tampered with but is there anything else to look for?

House_Martin

scoey8 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the reply. Would BG be able to tell when the meter was last topped up? i.e if she said she topped it up last month only to find the screen blank a week later, would they know the full history of top ups?
Also is there any way i can see from looking at the meter if it has been bypassed? i will check to see if the seals have been tampered with but is there anything else to look for?

Yes, they have electronic records of when the last payment was received and of all top ups.They know how much they have received. They are supposed to issue a yearly statement showing usage and payments.
That is the usual way that BG s RPU get involved when they can see that no payments are taking place.
Standing charges of around 29 p a day £85 a year should be paid anyway even if no gas is used.
People take the gas meter off to tamper it. I m not going to say what they do but the meter has a giveaway sign to a meter reader which says "off "..when gas is flowing. In winter I check a radiator for heat or try the gas hob
But if the battery is dead tho the screen is totally blank. At 6 years blank it could be tampered or a flat battery.
Prepay batteries need changing more than credit meters which last for around 10 years.They can go flat much quicker but give a warning code on the index when the battery is low
The battery can be at the bottom of the older meters or in the middle of the smaller e6 meters. There is nt a seal as such on these but a small white round plastic disc which covers the battery screws.
Look for any damage at all on the meter . If someone has been taking the meter off completely the two unions can show signs of scuffing but this is not a reliable giveaway unless they have been doing it often.

Smodlet

scoey8 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the reply. Would BG be able to tell when the meter was last topped up? i.e if she said she topped it up last month only to find the screen blank a week later, would they know the full history of top ups?
Also is there any way i can see from looking at the meter if it has been bypassed? i will check to see if the seals have been tampered with but is there anything else to look for?

Why would she say this when it is patently not true? Beginning to wonder just how "innocent" this all is.

Mojisola

scoey8 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the reply. Would BG be able to tell when the meter was last topped up? i.e if she said she topped it up last month only to find the screen blank a week later, would they know the full history of top ups?

Why on earth would she compound the problem by lying to them?

If it turns out that the meter was deliberately damaged and she's just lied to them, who are they going to think is responsible?

scoey8

Smodlet wrote: »

Why would she say this when it is patently not true? Beginning to wonder just how "innocent" this all is.

Well it is innocent apart from the fact she has not highlighted the problem for 6 years. I just said it as she doesn't want to go to them and say 'i haven't been paying for my gas for 6 years.'

Smodlet

scoey8 wrote: »

Well it is innocent apart from the fact she has not highlighted the problem for 6 years. I just said it as she doesn't want to go to them and say 'i haven't been paying for my gas for 6 years.'

That has to be a definition of BS... imho, of course.

scoey8

Smodlet wrote: »

That has to be a definition of BS... imho, of course.

How do you mean? She didn't suggest saying that i was asking the question theoretically do they have records of all payments on cards? because otherwise she is basically admitting she hasn't paid for gas for 6 years. Don't understand what is BS. I don't want her to get a bill for 1000's so i'm trying to find the best way of broaching the subject with British Gas.

I.e if she calls and says i think the meter is damaged can you take a look, and they say when did you notice this and she says oh 6 years ago, that doesn't look good for her (her fault anyway i know). So i am trying to figure out how she can solve this with only paying say a years back payment.

Robin9

scoey8 wrote: »

i'm trying to find the best way of broaching the subject with British Gas.

The honest way is for her (not you) to ring BG and give them the facts - don't second guess anything.

She may need to quote the meter serial number and they might ask for a photo of the meter installation.