British Gas suddenly cut off gas supply and accused of tampering meter

[Hammy1962]

Do you have any news on this Emily?

 

H

[Emily1234]

Hi,

 

We've been going through the ombudsman process.

Not great at the minute - think BG are being quite entrenched in their opinions even to the ombudsman.

 

The initial report reads as if he agrees that my parents didn't intentionally do anything wrong but the full amount still stands and we should sign up with them for a year to monitor usage and BG can reconsider after a year.

 

Obviously that doesn't work for us.

We've talked to the ombudsman who is very sympathetic but doesn't feel he has enough ammunition to go against BGs business decisions in calculations.

 

We had given a calculation based on turnover and meals.

BG used 4 hours of gas per day and when questioned apparently it's a "business decision".

 

We have two weeks to come up with additional evidence to help the ombudsman justify our point of view more.

 

I think I need to find some information that

 

1. Some third party information which shows what an "average" takeaway makes in sales. So I can turn their calculation of 4 hours back into turnover to show it's not reasonable.

 

2. Definitions of legality.

BG says theft of gas is illegal and therefore 6 years does not apply.

Everything I've read shows there needs to be intent in order to be theft.

Everything he's written in his report seems to say he agrees there wasn't an intentional act but he doesn't seem confident enough to limit it back to 6 years.

 

So back to the question of what is illegal vs shipperless supply.

But it seems like I need to help the ombudsman to make his view.

 

After the preliminary report both BG and us have 2 weeks to review and appeal and then final decision is made and is binding.

 

I guess at least the saga is coming to an end soon.

[ericsbrother]

you are letting them do all the running,

 

you need to provide some figures of your own to counter their assertions.

 

As for shipperless supply,

get researching as it isnt theft,

you didnt tap into the pipework

so that is a false statement designed to make whatever they say next more palatable