Gas provider, faulty meter, not used , provider issuing bill.

ATaleOfTwoWaffles

sugerplum2 said:

victor2 said:

Good luck with Citizens Advice tomorrow @sugerplum2, hopefully they will be able to see both sides of the story and advise you accordingly. Do please let us know the outcome, as it could benefit others who are having problems dealing with their energy supplier. Take as much evidence as you can with you to Citizens Advice so that they can understand your position.

Thank you. Citizens Advice have not got back to me. I shall try again later as have an appointment to try to get benefit support for me and my child...

I hope your second appointment with Citizens Advice CA went better than the first, which didn't happen.

If you don't have it they provide an online form as well which may get a faster response...

  https://ssl.datamotion.com/form.aspx?co=3438&frm=energy&to=flareenergy.fromforms

I'd suggest initially keep it short in the details of the compliant section if you choose to fill the form in. Perhaps, if I've understood your issues correctly...

   (*) I believe I am being pursued to pay for gas which I haven't used, I have a pay as you go meter;
   (*) A warrant was recently executed on my home by my energy provider. The entering bailiff refused to provide me with a chance to see the document and validate ID;
   (*) I am in vulnerable circumstances and this is causing me significant distress."

You can request being contacted by telephone as the preferred contact method if you would like to talk through the issues with someone.

The main citizens advice website in the "More from us / Contact Us" section has a section to put in your postcode and it will list out nearby Citizens Advice locations if you wanted somewhere to try visiting in person. Contact numbers for their advice line are on the same page.

I hope they are able to provide help.

sugerplum2

ATaleOfTwoWaffles said:

sugerplum2 said:

victor2 said:

Good luck with Citizens Advice tomorrow @sugerplum2, hopefully they will be able to see both sides of the story and advise you accordingly. Do please let us know the outcome, as it could benefit others who are having problems dealing with their energy supplier. Take as much evidence as you can with you to Citizens Advice so that they can understand your position.

Thank you. Citizens Advice have not got back to me. I shall try again later as have an appointment to try to get benefit support for me and my child...

I hope your second appointment with Citizens Advice CA went better than the first, which didn't happen.

If you don't have it they provide an online form as well which may get a faster response...

  https://ssl.datamotion.com/form.aspx?co=3438&frm=energy&to=flareenergy.fromforms

I'd suggest initially keep it short in the details of the compliant section if you choose to fill the form in. Perhaps, if I've understood your issues correctly...

   (*) I believe I am being pursued to pay for gas which I haven't used, I have a pay as you go meter;
   (*) A warrant was recently executed on my home by my energy provider. The entering bailiff refused to provide me with a chance to see the document and validate ID;
   (*) I am in vulnerable circumstances and this is causing me significant distress."

You can request being contacted by telephone as the preferred contact method if you would like to talk through the issues with someone.

The main citizens advice website in the "More from us / Contact Us" section has a section to put in your postcode and it will list out nearby Citizens Advice locations if you wanted somewhere to try visiting in person. Contact numbers for their advice line are on the same page.

I hope they are able to provide help.

Thank you, I do really really struggle tremendously to

SAC2334 said:

sugerplum2 said:

SAC2334 said:

sugerplum2 said:

Ectophile said:

The relevant bit of the https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/45/schedule/2 Gas Act is Schedule 2, section 8, "Deemed contracts in certain cases".

Essentially, you are only a customer if you "take a supply", or if you agree a contract with a gas supplier.  Until then, you can't be a customer.

Thank you . The problem I am having is the fact that they are so corrupt. As they are claiming there has been usage on the meter, yet are also verifying no payment ever was made on to the account and as it's a card meter, no gas would of been able to be supplied without a payment. The meter was also faulty they have verified this but not when? confirmed it was not tampered with. I am unsure how it is they supposed I have used this gas they allege I have. They have and are trying to entrap me into further contracts with them, with this new meter, which ofgem state they are not allowed. The representatives who come to my home have miss lead me with disconnection costs and daily standard changes. They refuse to answer or respond to me the majority of my questions. I suffer with anxiety so it just exaggerated by this. They have tried to represent my thoughts and views without even asking what my thoughts are views are. I have been had my privacy invaded at my home, intimidated, publicly humiliated and lied to and no consideration what so ever shown as to my vulnerability. I think they are acting totally crazy, there must be no staff control, to ensure they practice in keeping with policies. I've just accepted that there is little I can do untill I get the data release a on the 15th August, to see what it is they have allowed to be released as they have already been in touch saying it's going to be filtered. I shall seek advice from Citizens advice, realise I will have to persue matter further via ombudsman and court as it's all so appalling. I am keen to highlight that more should be done to inform people that if they do not use a supply it need to be capped off or else people face being under suspicion of gas theft, as this is all what it is really about. I am still left stunned by it all as sounds crazy to me that just because you do not use a supply you get put under suspicion of such a thing. Questionable how a total non user would be deemed high on the radar for this tho . Same as single mother and child, who fall under their vulnerable category. The blatently refuse to adear to their governing body to. This says it all really . I just feel for those even more vulnerable than me out there.

I may as well bring you up to speed about usage with a prepayment meter if the meter displays "call help " or " off ". Prepayment meters can carry on supplying gas when this display happens. The old type analogue gas meters will still record usage as will the digital newer ones if the battery is nt flat 

Its one of the big fiddles with old type prepays when more times than not the meter does not shut down the valve and it remains open so it changes a prepayment meter into effectively what is an unbilled credit meter. 
When this happens occupiers are obliged in their Terms and Conditions of Supply that everyone accepts to inform the supplier the meter is faulty 

People do try to  get the meter to get this display  "call help "/ "off "or will remove the battery to see if it shuts down but still delivers full supply of gas .The valve should be closed but sometimes it stays open. Even the new gas smart meters will do this when the batteries flat sometimes. 

What is more important to you is how much usage are they claiming. ? Seeing as you don `t have a start reading from them and have not got the reading from the meter when they removed it , it sounds like you are in their hands regarding the truth.

So have you asked them exactly how much usage are they claiming ? How many metric units used ? this converts to kwh s by multiplying by 11.2 to reach gas kwh s then you can work out how much they think you owe in back billing .

This is the sort of information that Citizens Advice won t know about .They are volunteers and maybe have not got inside information like this which stays private within the industry so as not to promote meter tampers .

I am not implying that you have engaged in meter tampering or have actually used large ammounts of unbilled gas , but just letting you know what can happen with a prepayment meter even if it says £0 credit on the meter .
I m surprised that they have nt let you know what their re billing amount is sooner as it must be  very worrying to you. 
There will be defintely no courts involved with this which in my view is a minor problem compared to what I ve seen .
I know of meters where its been tampered for years and they have simply rebilled the amount , mostly up to £5000 but one I found was rebilled £9000 .
Occupiers usually then move out and away from the large gas debt 

Thank you for this ,as I have been left petrified all weekend to point I have barely been able to sleep,as been so concerned of the vulnerability of being forced now with this new meter within my home. I have even started looking to move and places to stay. As 100% know I have not used that meter and been concerned that by having this new meter in my home just leaves me open to further aligations. If this is the case,then surely within their investigations they should of had a duty to checked if there was a supply of gas, before they removed the meter. I am they type that person the only way I knew it would of needed topping up, is because nothing was working as just unwell most of time. I only have a gas boiler everything else is electric. The boiler is a worcester geenstar 28i junior. They could not test it at first with the new meter as there was was turned off by a switch down stairs. I have tried to look the boiler up to see if there is a pilot light like you said,but have no idea, I not managed to be able to find that information unfortunately. I will write to the company to ask them. They can evidence my knowledge of boiler as very very limited as I keep saying and worrying that the battery was flat on the little box on the wall. They had to tell me that this would not effect the water heating. Am I free to go to another supplier if I disconnect? Can they stop me ? Thanks I do really appreciate all this information as it really does help as they are not really releasing any thing I ask for. They actioned the data release as have to, as I asked for everything, I could think of, they were quick to respond and say they not going to release it all. I have thought that I know I told somebody about the card not working and meter and could get a statement wrote up for court or as if they would appear as a witness. We no longer really bother as they moved away out of the area but it maybe worth asking. I am going to phone the old supplier to see what reading was given to them as I am sure I would of had to of given a reading to them. When a switch over happens does the meter get cleared of the old reading from the old supplier ? Is this something they are able to do online ? The usage has to be from when the meter was in use and under the old supplier, unless this boiler does have a gas light light like you are saying. I have been trying to wrack my brain what else could it possibly be but there is only that as I have nothing else gas. They have confirmed the meter was not tampered with, so doesn't this mean it could not of been leaking at all to?I need to question, if I have some kind of leak in pipes or something somewhere. As not sure what e ok see it could possibly be. They have to prove tho without reasonable doubt that there has been usage and this usage has been whilst with them.

Gas prepayment meters record the total reading from when the meter was installed and they always started at 99998 or 99999 ( so the system would use some gas when first purged ) .  This reading would be on screen " G " total units  used since it was installed . 

If the occupier switched supplier then it started registering units also  used with the new supplier on screen "H " as well as screen G . some suppliers wanted reading from screen H reading but mainly they requested screen G total units used. If my memory is correct EDF wanted screen G readings 

So there is another question they must answer " what was the reading on Screen H when they took away the meter " 
This reading would show how many units used from when you joined EDF.. This is the reading you want 
 if they cannot supply that reading on screen H then they have no case to answer about usage as they can t prove any usage is from EDF. in this case screen H is the most important reading to find out from them 
  .Its very important this question as screen G reading is nt much use as it dates back to when it was first installed which could have been as long as 20 years ago for the older analogue type gas meters around back then.
Maybe  Citizens Advice advisors  would not  know this so keep it in mind when you visit C .A. B . 

Your point about the meter showing £0 vended so therefore no usage is correct but as I have said a lot of the time the valve shuts off and remains open and allows full usage of gas without ever having to top up. Many people accept this and carry on using the gas thinking everything is fine  . EDIT if this happens suppliers do not consider this as theft of gas as the meter itself was faulty to allow this .
 I would find a lot of these with old prepay meters and would not get my £10 bonus for finding a gas fiddle unless they had deliberately taken the battery out . 

Surprise surprise, the refusing me copies of the photos done during the investigation. They won't supply me with the meter readings. I have tried all ways. How do I get a reading of the G screen and H screen on this new meter, as I have tried and tried but I only manager to get certain screens up under 01,-24 but nothing is showing G screen ? My index meter tho is not set to nothing and is showing a reading of considerable fingers and obviously that is not my use. Why would that be ? As panicking as can see they just can not be trusted unfortunately

Lisi299

The H and G screen are for elec meters so I think people commenting are getting confused. It’s the meter index you are looking for with a newer type gas meter. In your case with the ombudsman you need to be clear and have your facts correct.

When you move in to an address you need to register with the company supplying you and make them aware of health issues. They would have no idea if this is not done (I am unsure if you did this). If you registered you would of received yearly bills showing the standing charge debt was raising. If you didn’t, other letters should have been sent asking you if there is an issue with your meter and to call. If you received these and did nothing you could be at fault. If you called to let them know and they did nothing then EDF is at fault.

If the meter is not working you need to let the company know so they can fix the issue.

The meter sounds like it was in free flow which means it could be used without topping up. It was not tampered with it just had a fault which meant it didn’t need topping up. If they say the meter advanced then this is what they charged you along with standing charge.

The simplest way to fix this is to show the ombudsman evidence that you didn’t use gas. This would be from your electric usage. This would certainly be a lot higher in winter then summer. If your usage is the same all the time then a 3rd could argue that gas was used.

What are you using to heat your home and water??

sugerplum2

Lisi299 said:

The H and G screen are for elec meters so I think people commenting are getting confused. It’s the meter index you are looking for with a newer type gas meter. In your case with the ombudsman you need to be clear and have your facts correct.

When you move in to an address you need to register with the company supplying you and make them aware of health issues. They would have no idea if this is not done (I am unsure if you did this). If you registered you would of received yearly bills showing the standing charge debt was raising. If you didn’t, other letters should have been sent asking you if there is an issue with your meter and to call. If you received these and did nothing you could be at fault. If you called to let them know and they did nothing then EDF is at fault.

If the meter is not working you need to let the company know so they can fix the issue.

The meter sounds like it was in free flow which means it could be used without topping up. It was not tampered with it just had a fault which meant it didn’t need topping up. If they say the meter advanced then this is what they charged you along with standing charge.

The simplest way to fix this is to show the ombudsman evidence that you didn’t use gas. This would be from your electric usage. This would certainly be a lot higher in winter then summer. If your usage is the same all the time then a 3rd could argue that gas was used.

What are you using to heat your home and water??

Thanks for your help. This has made seek to explore matters further and this has proven very productive. The fact that they are refusing to work in a manner that is fair or amicable and a refusing me access to the evidence to which they are trying to use in the aligations towards me, is being noted, as I have highlighted the damage this is doing to my health. Also there are factors here to which in doing so they can be evidenced as failing also in their duties to me as a customer too. I have highlighted I seek re address for it all, as these matters have been in no way delt with in any kind of adequate professional manner as they should of been and there is simply no need of it at all . There is obviously an issue here to which does need resolving and addressing in a fair and lawful way, not aligations thrown out that can never ever be 100% proven as accurate. Their the service provider so bigger ownus is upon them her as they are govern bound far more than myself. It's been awful trying to deal with them sadly .