Invalid Warrant Forced Entry

TisInNeedOfHelp24

My energy supplier didn't remove an outstanding warrant when I informed them I had moved into the property and created a new account with them. A mistake, granted.
I have been told that the warrant was for an empty property.
Despite numerous calls and emails to both the energy supplier and the company that forced entry into my home on their instructions, I have still not seen a copy of the warrant. A warrant was not left in my property when they forced entry - merely a letter with a box ticked saying they had a warrant. This was August 12.
The energy supplier are saying that because it was dealt with by a third party (the company instructed to execute the warrant) they are having difficulties getting a copy of the warrant.
The company that executed the warrant on behalf of the energy supplier are saying they are a Data Processing company and cannot give me a copy of the warrant and that I need to deal with my energy supplier.
Surely calling yourself a data processor cannot absolve you of legal duties and responsibilities when executing a warrant?

The main issue I have with the company who executed the order is that they knew the property was occupied when they forced entry on a warrant for an empty property. The persons who forced entry said to my neighbour, 'but this property is supposed to be empty', upon which my neighbour informed them that a new tenant had move in the previous month. The house was fully furnished and decorated, it has a ring doorbell at the back of the house which they chose not to ring even though I have them on camera going to the back of the property to have a look...

The police came but said because the company say they have a warrant it is a legal entry in their book. That I should obtain a copy of the warrant and may be able to take it further then.

My energy company have admitted their mistake.
However, surely the company who executed the warrant are at fault too?
How can neither company supply me with the warrant?

What legal recourses do I have and how should I proceed?

Many thanks

MeteredOut

What was the outcome of their force entry? What did they do once inside? Did they cause any damage and did they rectify it if so? Did the leave then they realise the property was empty?

What outcome are you looking for? An apology? Money?

MP1995

I feel like some youtube warrant magna carta responses is where this conversation would go if on Facebook.

In the"real" world it wasn't a warrant where they rifle through your smalls it was just a warrant to get to an internal meter. Surely if it had been tampered with you wouldn't want the risk of an electrical fire or gas leak?

Did it really affect you that much?

You should raise a complaint and get some sort of goodwill gesture through that complaint or escalating to the ombudsman service should you wish.

TisInNeedOfHelp24

Hi, thanks for posting.
Firstly, I want a copy of the warrant which should have been left in the property and which I am entitled to?
As far as I know they thought a previous tenant was tampering with the meter, but I haven't seen the warrant and have had nothing confirming what they were doing in writing.
I'd like an apology of course. The energy supplier have apologised. But I also want to take this further because the company who forced entry did so knowing the property was occupied and the warrant was for an empty property.
Lastly, I guess some form of compensation. You can't go around breaking into people's houses like this surely.
Thanks again

TisInNeedOfHelp24

And no, they walked through a fully furnished and decorated house, went about their business, and left a tick box letter on the kitchen counter. You could tell it was clearly occupied from the outside too. 

MP1995

But you would of course be pleased they did check for tampering as that could have endangered you, your furnishings and the new decoration.

Just take the energy supplier goodwill and get on with your life. 

TisInNeedOfHelp24

MP1995 said:

I feel like some youtube warrant magna carta responses is where this conversation would go if on Facebook.

In the"real" world it wasn't a warrant where they rifle through your smalls it was just a warrant to get to an internal meter. Surely if it had been tampered with you wouldn't want the risk of an electrical fire or gas leak?

Did it really affect you that much?

You should raise a complaint and get some sort of goodwill gesture through that complaint or escalating to the ombudsman service should you wish.

Still illegal. You can't go around breaking into people's homes with invalid warrants? 

TisInNeedOfHelp24

MP1995 said:

But you would of course be pleased they did check for tampering as that could have endangered you, your furnishings and the new decoration.

Just take the energy supplier goodwill and get on with your life. 

Why would I be pleased they broke into my home without asking me? Nothing was wrong with the meter, that was checked when I moved in.

MP1995

TisInNeedOfHelp24 said:

MP1995 said:

But you would of course be pleased they did check for tampering as that could have endangered you, your furnishings and the new decoration.

Just take the energy supplier goodwill and get on with your life. 

Why would I be pleased they broke into my home without asking me? Nothing was wrong with the meter, that was checked when I moved in.

Oh they smashed your door in then?

It's annoying but really just raise the complaint, follow the process and get some money for the inconvenience 

MattMattMattUK

TisInNeedOfHelp24 said:

MP1995 said:

I feel like some youtube warrant magna carta responses is where this conversation would go if on Facebook.

In the"real" world it wasn't a warrant where they rifle through your smalls it was just a warrant to get to an internal meter. Surely if it had been tampered with you wouldn't want the risk of an electrical fire or gas leak?

Did it really affect you that much?

You should raise a complaint and get some sort of goodwill gesture through that complaint or escalating to the ombudsman service should you wish.

Still illegal. You can't go around breaking into people's homes with invalid warrants? 

I think you are making a leap in claiming that it is illegal and that the warrant was invalid, especially as you have not seen the warrant.

The warrant as issued is very unlikely to say "Only if the property is unoccupied", or similar. Most likely it grants permission to enter dwelling X between two dates, possibly with a time stipulation (eg. the access must be between 08:00-18:00). Now it may have been granted on the basis that the dwelling was unoccupied, but that does not impact the validity of the warrant. It will also usually state a purpose, eg. check supply, change meter, options relating to energy supply etc. 

doodling

Hi,

There are several parts to this:

Criminal Law:

It us against the law to break into people's homes without valid authority, at the very least, the offence of criminal damage may have been committed if the warrant was invalid (noting that minor errors on a warrant would not render it invalid).

The way to get the criminal law enforced is (generally) through the police. If they won't help then you are stuck, unless you have substantial money to mount a private prosecution.

Civil Law:

If the actions of people breaking into your house caused you a financial loss (e.g. you had to pay to replace a lock) then you can sue those people for your loss.  Unless you have suffered substantial medically certifiable harm then those losses will be limited to financial loss only, not compensation for your time or any mental anguish.

To get recompense this way you need to formally claim against your energy supplier and/or whoever it was who actually broke in through the courts.

Industry Schemes:

Energy suppliers like to keep on the good side of regulators and to be seen to be addressing complaints.  There is also an industry ombudsman who has some power to award compensation.

To claim this way, you need to start a formal complaint with your supplier and then escalate it to the ombudsman if you are not satisfied.  The amount will be a small sum in recognition of the error, perhaps in the low hundreds of pounds.


The third of the above approaches will be by far the easiest.