Urgent help - Abuse of Process

MarkyMarkD

I think your case is complete rubbish, to be honest, and concur with everything dag says above.

If you move into a house with a dual-rate supply, you HAVE to have a dual-rate supply unless, and until, you get the supplier to agree to replace the meter with a single-rate meter.

Until this point, you HAVE to supply 2 meter readings and you HAVE to pay for your fuel on a dual-rate basis.

I can't see why you imagine that you could just ignore the night time reading on your Economy 7 meter and "pretend" you had a single-rate supply - by doing so, you were failing to provide readings for part of your electricity usage.

And as for the supplier failing to provide proper bills, that appears to have been your fault for failing to provide proper meter readings.

I don't see what you reckon your case is for "abuse of process". You sound like someone who's just failed to pay their bill and is coming up with !!!! and bull excuses IMHO.

scattycat_3

LD, hi, unfortunately I have to agree with the last two replies. The supply company has right of access to read its (owned) meter.

It would appear that you have not supplied them with the information requested, i.e. the units used overnight, for which you will have to pay, and hence the warrant.
Only a certain number of estimated/customer readings are allowed before their meter reader must read the meter. I cannot understand why access to a company meter reader was previosly denied, as they would have explained/shown you the reasons for your billing, and thus prevented the dispute or misunderstandings.

HTHs Scat

LD

well with respect to the last three posts, about the only good thing to come out of this, which I mentioned in my original post, is that they now concur that the meter is a SINGLE RATE METER and have already agreed to sort out a bill on that basis and that compensation is due. which brings it back to the original posted question how much is a reasonable amount

LD

MarkyMarkD wrote:

I think your case is complete rubbish, to be honest, and concur with everything dag says above.

If you move into a house with a dual-rate supply, you HAVE to have a dual-rate supply unless, and until, you get the supplier to agree to replace the meter with a single-rate meter.

Until this point, you HAVE to supply 2 meter readings and you HAVE to pay for your fuel on a dual-rate basis.

I can't see why you imagine that you could just ignore the night time reading on your Economy 7 meter and "pretend" you had a single-rate supply - by doing so, you were failing to provide readings for part of your electricity usage.

And as for the supplier failing to provide proper bills, that appears to have been your fault for failing to provide proper meter readings.

I don't see what you reckon your case is for "abuse of process". You sound like someone who's just failed to pay their bill and is coming up with !!!! and bull excuses IMHO.

why do you think that after going to court to get a warrant to allow entry to fit a pre-payment meter they didn't and left apologising profusely?

LD

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at some of the constructive replies as I have had near a year of trying to explain the meter and secondary gadget setup to the 'owners' (whose agents had an agreed access some three weeks before the break in) whose own staff don't know about it, (it doesn't appear on any power companies web sites that I had previously looked at) at present I still haven't been informed exactly what it is, mumbles about experimental equipment, but that's about all.

anyway to summarise,

the company now admit error, both in their records with respect to the type of meter fitted and therefore the previous bills sent and in obtaining and executing a warrant, and agree that compensation is due.

which again brings me to the original reason for the post, what is a reasonable figure?

roger56

From what you have said it seems some errors have been made by the utility company.
I suggest you start by writing a letter to their complaints department just giving the factual history of the problem with dates, understandings etc.
At the end of the letter give them 14days to respond to you in writing with a full explanation of their actions. Advise them that if no response is received you may take further legal action including a Subject Access Request (see below). I suggest you send the letter signed for so you can prove later in court that it was received.

The other step you can take is to issue a Subject Access Request on the utility company. This forces them to provide you with all information they have about you under the Data Protection Act. The cost is up to £10. The Request should be served on the Company Secretary (ie letter by post) and they must comply within 40 days (note the 40days starts once the fee is received - if you cann't find out what they charge send a £10 cheque to avoid further delays and state that you expect to be refunded if they are found to have acted improperly).
Whilst the process may seem tedious, it shows them that you will not accept their failings any longer. I've use a similar process on British Gas and it was the Subject Access request that finally got proper responses and a resolution of nearly 2 years of arguing and Court threats (British Gas backed down as they realised the various departments dealing with my queries were just not communicating properly).

Download this guide which includes a sample letter (you should include a request
for them to explain how automated decisions are made about you)
http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/cms/DocumentUploads/2%20Data%20Protection%20Act%20Subject%20Access%20A%20Guide%20for%20Data%20Subjects.pdf

Also, do keep a record of all correspondence and agreements on the issue from now on, it helps if you do have to go to court.

Good Luck.

LD

@roger56; thank you for reminding me about the DPA, I have actually used it in the past but forgotten about it, but currently I am hoping for a quick resolution to this matter and was just trying to get a figure to hang my hat on. However if it drags on this will be a first course of action

scattycat_3

LD, apologies for misunderstanding and doubting, and sympathy for your problems. (£500ish imho, for unwarranted distress/humiliation/inconvenience, etc and most important time)
It is most unusual for metering in such a highly regulated industry to be anything but standard. My father and father-in-law both worked for the pre-privatised supply boards, and would be horrified by your installation. Privates "Progress" :rolleyes:

Besides threatening court action, to test the water, you should also complain via http://www.energywatch.org.uk/help_and_advice/how_we_can_help/index.asp

as recommended by Ofgem, as well.

Good Luck.

Firefly

Make sure you copy all correspondence to your MP.

I had an ongoing problem with the water board, I started to copy correspondence to OFWAT and my MP and lo! I got a result quite quickly AND £100 compensation for something much more trivial than you have endured (although still a lack of communication).

MP's don't know what we are suffering or where there is concern unless we tell em!

scattycat_3

Thanks Firefly, you have just reminded me of a site I have used very successfully in the past, I highly recommend them. they have a league table of responders to cajole some action.

http://www.faxyourmp.com/index.php3