How do you know if a 'meter reader' isn't a criminal pretending to be one?

wild666

daveyjp said:

What's a meter reader?  Haven't seen one in over ten years.

I haven't seen one in over 20 years and the meters for my place are inside the property. 

Swipe said:

The OP should get a smart meter if they are that worried. Also they could ask the reader to confirm which electric/gas company they are with. They only have about a 1 in 5 chance of being correct.

Just ask for ID then phone the company they claim to be from and ask if Mr/Miss/Mrs A is genuine. Most meter readers now have duel purposes and tend to be delivery agents for TV licensing posting cards that they put through letterboxes and do a runner

Apodemus

Swipe said:

The OP should get a smart meter if they are that worried. Also they could ask the reader to confirm which electric/gas company they are with. They only have about a 1 in 5 chance of being correct.

Nice thought, but the old and vulnerable are much less likely than the rest of the population to have ever changed their supplier, so in most regions, an initial guess at the legacy provider would be quite likely to hit the nail on the head.

The answer is, of course, to get a smart meter...but to do so means allowing someone into the house to fit it, so I can see the Catch 22 here!

rp1974

elsien said:

Was this not covered the last time you asked the question? 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6339886/can-you-refuse-entry-to-meter-readers/p1

Didn't return to their post with anything further so no idea if anything in that thread was helpful or not.
Hasn't the ability to use a password for meter readers been available for many years?,my Grandparents had one and that was over 10 years ago,I've had 1 meter reader in 13 years,not a common occurrence.

SAC2334

Swipe said:

The OP should get a smart meter if they are that worried. Also they could ask the reader to confirm which electric/gas company they are with. They only have about a 1 in 5 chance of being correct.

Yes, that is a good question, but we do read smart meters . They also have details of your meter/s  serial numbers  , metric or imperial. 

I have only been asked for the telephone number on my ID once in  all my 20 years and that was from a Neighbourhood Watch leader who wanted to test the system. I came back later and he confirmed it worked .

Prob best bet for someone concerned is to get a password installed for any future callers to use 

Sapindus

400ixl said:

You do it the same way it has been done for decades.

 you call your supplier on their public helpline number to validate them. 

And half an hour of Vivaldi and "your call is important to us" later...?

dil1976

theoldmiser said:

I would expect an electricity company to allow you to set up a password on their website, which a meter reader would have to tell you when you answer the door, that way there is no risk to the homeowner, but I presume none of them do this.

What's to stop a meter reader being mugged by a criminal then obtaining your password then coming round to rob you when they have this info 

SAC2334

dil1976 said:

theoldmiser said:

I would expect an electricity company to allow you to set up a password on their website, which a meter reader would have to tell you when you answer the door, that way there is no risk to the homeowner, but I presume none of them do this.

What's to stop a meter reader being mugged by a criminal then obtaining your password then coming round to rob you when they have this info 

Mugger would have to rob the data collector from the meter reader which switches itself off after a set time, then needs a password to start up.
 I was once stopped by the Police ( In Retford ) who was nt convinced that I was real even after looking at all my addresses in the same street I was visiting in my Data Collector and showing the suppliers I was working for. There had been a break in that morning .He called the ID check number 
 
Its a real event though that con men have pretended to be meter readers to gain access to properties.This year my local community Facebook  posted photos of an attempted intruder posing as a meter reader. 

eastcorkram

Swipe said:

The OP should get a smart meter if they are that worried. Also they could ask the reader to confirm which electric/gas company they are with. They only have about a 1 in 5 chance of being correct.

We have smart meters for gas and electric. Still had a meter reader call to take a reading a few weeks ago.

Chrysalis

ariarnia said:

if you feel vulnerable you can sign up to the priority services register for your energy supplier. one of the things that will do is let you set up a password for anyone the energy network sends to your house (meter readers or if theres a problem) 

you dont have to be a pensioner or disabled to qualify. one of the ovo questions is just if you feel anxious about opening th door to people you arent expecting or dont know. 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/register-for-priority-services

Thats probably another thats PR only that should be standard, I think the OP has a very valid point its just a huge scam waiting to happen if it already isnt happening.

Uber eats and co already use pins for authentication.  Very easy to get up and running, but the energy sector in terms of managing meters seems so under funded and backwards at the moment.

Alnat1

What's to stop a customer mugging a meter reader? They have to enter stranger's houses all day and hope they are safe. There's lots of strange people out there 😉