Warrant for Entry! - british Gas

[emrose]

Hi - My parents (elderly) own a flat that has been vacant for nearly 2 years, they want to do it up to let it but health issues have prevented them so far from doing this.

All utility bills go to their home address. British Gas requested to read their meter for "safety" reasons last July which they did. Luckily my father got the meter reader to sign the appointment card with the meter reading on it.

On entering the flat today my father (74 yrs old) finds a letter addressed to the occupier and one adressed to himself stating that British Gas are going to the magistrates court to gain a warrant for Entry as Entry has so far been denied to them ??? No previous communication has been received from them ... other requests in previous years have been sent to my parents home address.

However there was also another note saying that the warrant had been issued by the magistrate but that they had failed to gain access as the mortice locks prevented them!

On calling the number provided the phone was picked up and answered "debt collections" ... No gas has been used at the flat for 18 or so months ... no bill is therefore due ....

Which letter should I believe the letter stating that they need entry to check the safety or the letter clearly stating it's a debt issue?? Personally I feel BG simply don't believe no one is living there and that somehow we are obtaining the gas for free!

Does anyone know what British Gas have to provide to the magistrates court in order to ask for a warrant?

My Parents are, understandably, upset by this, never having to have any dealings with court or authorities in the past .. What should be our next step?

Thanks for any and all advice
K

[dx100uk]

i would be inclined to contact BG themselves.
their customer service is, despite reports, very good [so i have found]

i am sort of in the same boat, i have a property whereby gas is connected but not used.
now, dont forget there are standing charges even though no gas is being used.
i wonder if this has been paid since last july? you dont make that clear.

i would also offer to meet them at the property if they so request on a mutual date, if they know what is going on.

if they have no knowledge of why the entry warrant has been issued, they should try and help you find out.

my 2p anyhow

HTH

dx

[noggsy]

British Gas have the right to inspect their meter upon request and if they cannot gain access due to vacant properties or not being allowed access for whatever reason will if necessary apply for a Warrant which Magistrates will grant. The card you will receive will state "an urgent safety inspection is required" which to an extent is true but is also to establish that the supply is being correctly used or not being used. My advice is to phone either BG or the Company who posted the card to arrange an appointment. Hope this helps.

[emrose]

Hi - thanks for your replies, I have made an appointment for them to gain access ...

I do think however that they need to request access via the bill payer address and not by dropping one card through a door of a known vacant property! Surely this wastes the courts and their time/money?

Still havn't gotten down to whether they think it's a safety issue (meter was read last July) or a billing issue (phone number on letter answered "debt recovery" - though they also say no monies are due !?)

I wonder what evedence for need to enter a property they have to present to the court? The property has had it's meter read certainly 3 times in the last 2 years .... so I doubt "safety" can be the reason, and they say they are owed no monies, so billing can't be the reason either ? all very strange ...

BUT who pay's for the damage to the door they couldn't get through? especially as they made no attempt to contact the known key holder prior to the warrent being requested.

K

[noggsy]

O.k ,to answer your question, as you may have gathered I have some inside knowledge of this situation.
From a BG point of view your case is known as a "Must Read" and is raised because of a number of reasons, yes, could be a safety issue (which is always the official line, and is the reason a warrant WILL be issued by a Magistrate) but, is because access has not been gained recently. I am suprised that if they gained access last year they are chasing again, as normally it is when a meter has not been seen in over 2 years. Normally in the case of Credit Meters they need to check for theft (which happens quite often) or in the case of Pre-payment Meters it can occur because people use the wrong card or just not use the supply at all, as in this case.
As far as breaking into the property is concerned locksmiths are used and in, I would say 90% of cases access is gained without any damage. Where locks are broken they will be replaced and normally the locksmith will hold the keys(details of which are left at the property). This is at BGs cost.
Importantly before it gets to this stage, BG are legally obliged to send to the property in question a "Human Rights Letter" as required under the Rights of Entry Act 1954 Section 2. You will be given (normally 14 days but must be a minimum of 7 days) notice of the Warrant Action and will detail which Court the application will be made and at what time. You will have the right to object infront of the Magistrates. In these circumstances what tends to happen is that if you arrive at court notify the Usher who will notify the Warrant Officer and it will be resolved without involving the Court (ie agreeing an access date).
Yes the system can be a pain but to be frank the system will help not just BG but all Utility Companies.
Hope this gives you a bit more insight.

[pelham9]

If I am going to visit anyone I pick up the phone and ring first as it saves a great deal of effort and time. In this case they know the billpayer/owners address and should know or can obtain his telephone number. How absurd to go to all the trouble of obtaining a warrant of entry and break in rather than make a phone call to arrange a mutually convenient appointment. You wonder at the quality of management that can allow this nonsense.

That said BG staff seem to have an aversion to using the phone - how often say they will ring and do not so and they are hardly experts at keeping appointments.

[noggsy]

I agree Pelham, it is a regular complaint that customers make appointments for meter reads and no-one turns up but BG seem happy for this to happen.
The irony is that most of this work is carried out by outside agencies and it is their interest not to keep appointments as Warrant work will generate more money for them, to my knowledge they are charging between £260 and £350 per Warrant Action, thats big money when there are approx 6 million meters not being accessed, on average.
You could question why our utility bills are so high hmmm, perhaps all these hidden operating charges.