British gas accusing me of theft please can anyone give any advice?

[is ther ny justice?]

Hi. This is my first post, my story is a long one therfore i will try and highlight bits for you to get the picture

 

in May 2010 a 'man' from BG knooked on our door and asked to see our meter, we opened the garage for him and left him to look at it!

 

20-30 mins later he was still there so i asked my husband to see whats happening as meter readers do not take that long taking readings?

 

my husband came back inside laughing that he is from the revenue team and they are accusing us of meter tampering

 

the BG guy said he was going to take our meter to be tested in bristal we said go ahead we'v got nothing to hide

 

previous to this no letters or contact from BG,

 

we moved into the property in Dec 2006

 

the meter was not sealed in front of us and they put a different meter on

 

2 weeks later we received a letter from BG saying we have been stealing gas and that the meter has been tampered with there are scratches at the back of the meter and the index seal has been replaced?

 

the bill they gave us was £3, 500 calculated over the 4 years we have been there and looking at our neighboring properties size etc and their bills

 

i wrote to the chairman, the revenue protection team to explain that we both work full time, once we are back we spend a lot of time at my parents who provide us with childcare, the only time we use gas is when we put central heating on for 2 hours in the night and an hour in the morning, our shower is electric, our cooker is electric how can our bills be so high but they do not listen.

 

it is now Dec they took our meter away in July when i refused to pay their made up bill, they said the police will be over as we have been accused of theft no police has yet arrived, i receive a letter every few weeks to say pay or we will take you to court but nothing happens, i get a phone call every week form debt collectors threating me to pay or else but again at a standstill

 

now it is very cold we do not have any hot water or heating we have electric heaters but it is so cold, my youngest child is 9 months old she cannot maintain her body heat and i am so scared she's going to get poorly.

 

my electricity is with n power i asked them if they could take over the gas a while ago they said not until you pay BG,

 

I am desperate now, i have tried everyone, consumer focus they said because BG have got evidence they cannot help, the ombudsman refused to get involved as it is a police matter even though police haven't even been!

 

a week ago i emailed the ombudsman again and they have said to complain to BG and then they will look into it, i'm worried we all going to freeze to death by the time this is sorted!

 

If anyone has any advice i will really appreciate it.

[rebel11]

Hi is

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will advise as soon as they are available.

[rebel11]

The first thing I would do is send British Gas a Subject Access Request, with £10. They have 40 days to send you all the details they have on the meter. All the bills etc. You need details of reading before you moved in. You need to contact the Council

as well as your MP to see if they can help.

[postggj]

Ill add my bit as it helps having a brother who is ex british gas

 

now if british gas suspect fraud, the police will be informed.

The meter will be tested in london at a place called watson house

 

these old, pre electronic meter are normally reversed so the coggs work backwards to commit this type of fraud. The seal can be removed to get at the coggs to wind back manual.

 

In every instance if british gas suspect fraud, the police will be involved

 

there must have been a catalist for the revenue chap to call

 

 

did anything happen at a previous address

now i would be demanding the following

 

1/ demand what evidence british gas have on tampering

2/ have the meter indapendantly tested

3/ ask what police station is dealing with this and the crime reference number (call theire bluff)

 

now gas meter can break down and under record gas usage

 

theire is a law that states that britishgas must produce a bill for the usage within 12 months of usage, if they dont and its because the meter is faulty, that 3.5 k down the drain

 

its getting them to addmit that or through an indapendant test

[rebel11]

Post, Excellent advice.

 

Ill add my bit as it helps having a brother who is ex british gas

 

now if british gas suspect fraud, the police will be informed.

The meter will be tested in london at a place called watson house

 

these old, pre electronic meter are normally reversed so the coggs work backwards to commit this type of fraud. The seal can be removed to get at the coggs to wind back manual.

 

In every instance if british gas suspect fraud, the police will be involved

 

there must have been a catalist for the revenue chap to call

 

 

did anything happen at a previous address

now i would be demanding the following

 

1/ demand what evidence british gas have on tampering

2/ have the meter indapendantly tested

3/ ask what police station is dealing with this and the crime reference number (call theire bluff)

 

now gas meter can break down and under record gas usage

 

theire is a law that states that britishgas must produce a bill for the usage within 12 months of usage, if they dont and its because the meter is faulty, that 3.5 k down the drain

 

its getting them to addmit that or through an indapendant test

[is ther ny justice?]

The first thing I would do is send British Gas a Subject Access Request, with £10. They have 40 days to send you all the details they have on the meter. All the bills etc. You need details of reading before you moved in. You need to contact the Council

as well as your MP to see if they can help.

 

Hiya!

Thankyou . I will send for that request first thing mon am.

I will also see if i can locate the reading before we moved in.

Sorry for sounding a bit thick but what department in the council? I actually work for my local council as a social worker, my managers are aware of this 'problem' and have given me their support.

I will also contact my MP too.

Thanks again

[is ther ny justice?]

Ill add my bit as it helps having a brother who is ex british gas

 

now if british gas suspect fraud, the police will be informed.

The meter will be tested in london at a place called watson house

 

these old, pre electronic meter are normally reversed so the coggs work backwards to commit this type of fraud. The seal can be removed to get at the coggs to wind back manual.

 

In every instance if british gas suspect fraud, the police will be involved

 

there must have been a catalist for the revenue chap to call

 

 

did anything happen at a previous address

now i would be demanding the following

 

1/ demand what evidence british gas have on tampering

2/ have the meter indapendantly tested

3/ ask what police station is dealing with this and the crime reference number (call theire bluff)

 

now gas meter can break down and under record gas usage

 

theire is a law that states that britishgas must produce a bill for the usage within 12 months of usage, if they dont and its because the meter is faulty, that 3.5 k down the drain

 

its getting them to addmit that or through an indapendant test

 

Hi.

Thanks.

 

Like i said before i am still waiting for the police to visit so that i can tell them my side of the story.

 

the meter was not tested in London but in Bristol by Scienco Ltd? Supposed to be independent?

 

Nothing has ever happened before, at my previous address i was with bg no problems when i moved here they were supplying gas and i just stayed with them. I have never been in any kind of trouble with anyone in my life!

 

i got a minimal 1 A4 sided report from scienco

 

"initial examination: the ministry seal was non-standard and had no border and a badly impressed manufacture's number".

 

"Conclusions: in my opinion this meter has been fitted with a non standard ministry seal to enable it to be removed and replaced, allowing free access to the index mechanism. The scratching on the index mount bracket is indicative of the index being repeatably removed and refitted".

 

my husband found the bg guy with a screwdriver messing with the meter when he asked what he was doing he said checking it! it was not sealed in front of us.

 

yes i think it might have been faulty because there is no way on earth it has been tampered with not by us anyway! i really have no trust in bg anymore i just want it all sorting as it is so stressful, whatever door i knock on no one can help.

 

let me know more about the law u mentioned if you can that will be useful

 

thanks again

[Surfer01]

BGAs need to prove that you tampered with the metering. You could ask when physical readings were taken previously on the metering and if it was long before you moved in, BGAS will have a difficult time proving that yourselcves interferfed with the metering.

[rebel11]

Is there a social welfare department. Your 9 month could develop health issue's, thats just not on.

 

Hiya!

Thankyou . I will send for that request first thing mon am.

I will also see if i can locate the reading before we moved in.

Sorry for sounding a bit thick but what department in the council? I actually work for my local council as a social worker, my managers are aware of this 'problem' and have given me their support.

I will also contact my MP too.

Thanks again

[is ther ny justice?]

BGAs need to prove that you tampered with the metering. You could ask when physical readings were taken previously on the metering and if it was long before you moved in, BGAS will have a difficult time proving that yourselcves interferfed with the metering.

 

Hi.

Thanks.

we moved into the property 4 years ago we bought it off an old couple he was a technician at the local college.

since we have been there we have always had meter readers come in and take readings, very rarely we send them readings sometimes they would send me estimates. we have never denied them access to the meter.

this is what i cannot understand if there was a problem the meter readers would have guessed right? would you wait 4 years to investigate if you thought someone was stealing from you? it does not make sense

[Surfer01]

If you have had regular readings over a period of a year surely any tampering should have been picked up previously? I am not sure if they will oblige but I suppose you could ask them for all historical data concerning the meter in question as you need to see this before answering any further questions etc.

You will then be able determine when estimate and true reads were done and to work out the average consumption for evey quarter. This will allow you to determine a trend and se if there were any abnormal flucutations in any period. It will also show the date of actual visits to the property and you can then query why it was not picked up before.

I would go back at least six years so that the previous owner's consumption and yours can be analyse. A bit of a slog but may help clear you of any wrong doing otherwise you could be facing criminal charges with police involved.

 

PS Chain of evidence has been broken as the meter reader should have called you across and pointed out the different seal and scratches on meter box prior to doing anything. Perhaps the meter reader did it to get a promotion, who knows? It is now up to them to prove the meter reader did not tamper with meter. It is very usual for a meter reader to have the skills to change a meter so something does not smell right!

[rebel11]

Good Post, Surfer:-)

 

If you have had regular readings over a period of a year surely any tampering should have been picked up previously? I am not sure if they will oblige but I suppose you could ask them for all historical data concerning the meter in question as you need to see this before answering any further questions etc.

You will then be able determine when estimate and true reads were done and to work out the average consumption for evey quarter. This will allow you to determine a trend and se if there were any abnormal flucutations in any period. It will also show the date of actual visits to the property and you can then query why it was not picked up before.

I would go back at least six years so that the previous owner's consumption and yours can be analyse. A bit of a slog but may help clear you of any wrong doing otherwise you could be facing criminal charges with police involved.

 

PS Chain of evidence has been broken as the meter reader should have called you across and pointed out the different seal and scratches on meter box prior to doing anything. Perhaps the meter reader did it to get a promotion, who knows? It is now up to them to prove the meter reader did not tamper with meter. It is very usual for a meter reader to have the skills to change a meter so something does not smell right!

[is ther ny justice?]

If you have had regular readings over a period of a year surely any tampering should have been picked up previously? I am not sure if they will oblige but I suppose you could ask them for all historical data concerning the meter in question as you need to see this before answering any further questions etc.

You will then be able determine when estimate and true reads were done and to work out the average consumption for evey quarter. This will allow you to determine a trend and se if there were any abnormal flucutations in any period. It will also show the date of actual visits to the property and you can then query why it was not picked up before.

I would go back at least six years so that the previous owner's consumption and yours can be analyse. A bit of a slog but may help clear you of any wrong doing otherwise you could be facing criminal charges with police involved.

 

PS Chain of evidence has been broken as the meter reader should have called you across and pointed out the different seal and scratches on meter box prior to doing anything. Perhaps the meter reader did it to get a promotion, who knows? It is now up to them to prove the meter reader did not tamper with meter. It is very usual for a meter reader to have the skills to change a meter so something does not smell right!

 

Hey! yes their meter readers have been coming for the past 4 years! if there was something wrong they would have said something?

 

AT LAST!!! someone agrees with me! yes the evidence has been broken if not tampered with!! he was not a meter reader he was a revenue protection officer in a tie, suit and a flash car! he had people with him to take the meter and reconnect so what was he doing with the meter for 20 -30 mins on his own? i think he did it too but bg don't believe me.

[rebel11]

You would have thought so, but if the units increased on each visit, the meter reader would have been none the wiser, if the reading was the same as the last visit

then the alarm would have been rasied.

 

'Hey! yes their meter readers have been coming for the past 4 years! if there was something wrong they would have said something?'

[Surfer01]

The only way that I know that a revenue officer would make an appearance is when the meter reader reports tampering. A revenue officer will not pitch up randomly out of the blue so probably within the last month a meter reader has visited the property and made a report. Can you confirm whether this did indeed happen?

My father who is 85 does not use the gas heating on in his flat (I kid you not) and they have never sent a revenue officer around to check as the only gas he uses is when he cooks about once or twice a week! Oh and for hot water.

[is ther ny justice?]

The only way that I know that a revenue officer would make an appearance is when the meter reader reports tampering. A revenue officer will not pitch up randomly out of the blue so probably within the last month a meter reader has visited the property and made a report. Can you confirm whether this did indeed happen?

My father who is 85 does not use the gas heating on in his flat (I kid you not) and they have never sent a revenue officer around to check as the only gas he uses is when he cooks about once or twice a week! Oh and for hot water.

 

i dont think a meter reader had come within that month only because when the officer came i would have thought why have they come to read the meter again. it was out of the blue no letters no warning no meetings etc. we had had a bill and we paid it twice! i paid it then my husband paid it too! we thought never mind we in credit will come handy for next bill little did we know we were going to be presented with a bill to cover all bills

[AngB]

I know this was a while ago but was wondering if there was any conclusion to this? Thanks.