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We got BLAMED for Tampered Meter by B Gas


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Hi, am new to place, wish you all well.

 

My problem happened weeks ago,

the B Gas Revenue Protection Team lock pick in to my shop and took my meter away and said i am suspicious for Tampering their meter.

 

The Meter was outside the shop front behind the counter table, when they come to get the meter reading, i always let them in straight away.

 

What i had in mind was

"Since i haven't done anything to the meter, it shouldn't be a problem with it anyway, if they want to check, let them do it."

 

The reason they think i tampered the meter is because the gas usage in my shop is lower than the average usage around my shop.

(My shop is new takeaway in the area, only opened less than 1 year so not many business going on, that's why the usage was lower than other shop.)

 

BUT They come back today with the test results which said

"The test results shows Diaphragm Has Not Been Tampered."

but in their Conclusion it said

 

"In My Opinion, The Meter Has Been Programmed Reverse."

(They said there is some wearing in side the pinion this is why they think the meter has been reversed before. though i still have no idea how this works... how can a meter reverse and still working?)

 

(I had been ask them if they know when the reverse happened, the Company who did the check said they don't know when it happened but the guy who brings the report said it happened after i took over the shop, no roughly information of month)

 

and now they took my meter away and asking me to pay 5300 before they can reinstall the meter back if not they will call the police and bring me on court.

 

i have called British Gas to ask what is really happening and why i got accused for it when i have no idea about it. but they always passed me through to the guy who took the meter away.

 

I HAVE NOT done anything to the meter, and I CAN'T Afford to play 5000 now to get my business back on running... and the business is my only income... they stopped it now which means there is no way i can make 5000.

 

I really need some advice of what i should do.... i don't want to take this blame since i actually haven't done anything to the meter. and now my only income, my business has been closed because of this....

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previous owner tampered with it..

 

tell them

 

sadly very common

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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I think this is going to be a very difficult problem. Of course it is outrageous that they have gained entry to your property and that they have accused you of fraud without giving you an opportunity for independent scrutiny. By this I mean that the police should be involved and there should be a prosecution and you should be allowed to present your case. In the meantime, it is really acceptable that they effectively deprive you of your livelihood.

 

Do you rely on gas to produce the takeaway food? Or do you rely on electricity?

 

Of course if the meter has been tampered with then on the basis of what you tell us, it must've happened with the previous occupant of the shop. What kind of business were they in?

 

I can imagine that this could take many months to sort out and that by that time your business will be destroyed. Presumably you have obligations under a lease and also business rates to pay.

 

The quickest route I can think of to sorting this out is to begin a court claim for breach of contract and then to seek an emergency interim injunction requiring them to install a meter in the shop to allow you to continue your business until the matter has been settled in a court.

 

I think you are entitled also to know if they have informed the police and if so what is the crime reference number. The fact that you have been visited by the police yet sounds to me as if they haven't called the police – and strange as it may seem, these companies generally speaking don't bother. They prefer to wreck your life by taking extraordinary measures but falling short of beginning a criminal investigation.

 

Please could you tell us whereabouts in the country you are. What kind of takeaway are you running. Would you be prepared to have your story told in the local newspaper? I think that if the local newspaper were to take an interest then this might put some pressure – but I still expect that you would need to get an interim injunction to make anything happen quickly.

 

The alternative is to make a formal complaint and then have it moved to the energy ombudsman – but then you are looking at anything between six months and 12 months and by that time I can imagine that you will be in so much debt that your business will be ruined.

 

By the way, I would install a recorder. Read our customer services guide. Make sure you keep a complete record of all conversations and any visits which are made to you. Make notes of everything which is said and questions which are asked.

 

You should make a note of the conversation which they had with you in the shop asking you to admit it. If they were asked you this then it is clear that they are not sure of themselves and this is further evidence of the fact that they have acted rashly and unfairly. I understand they gained access to your property with the help of a locksmith. Are you aware that they made any application for a court order?

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Thx for all your reply. and yes it's a Gas Meter. as a takeaway we use gas to cook mostly.

 

I don't know if they do have a man from court who have the authorized to force enter the property. they said they have, but i didn't receive any documentation of the Authorized person.

 

I Contacted them earlier today to negotiate the situation. and yet my business is still closed. they said the only way we can go around this is by paying the bill of 5300.30. i have told them all i had in my bank is just round about 500, and they said they can only accept the full amount or they won't put us back on business. they won't set up any thing like monthly plans or yearly plans for me to pay.

 

Am struggling with my life right now, i can't afford to pay 5300.

 

this is how they charged me...

They said we are responsible for the fee of them hiring the Lock Smith and the Inspection on meter.

 

i also realised the unit charge they put on the 5000 pound bill is much higher so it's the wrong price they giving from the previous bill.

 

Another thing is, i took over the shop at April last year, and the shop is due for decoration until August so before august last year, our shop are totally, the shop is officially opened after august, but on the 5000 pound bill, they charged us from when we took over the shop til now.

 

shouldn't the price of the bill be reduced since the unit charge is wrong and the date of the when we start to use gas are also incorrect?

 

Guys... i appreciated for any advice and help from your guys. but i literally think this is so unfair on me.

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I'm sorry but your explanation of the discrepancies in the figures et cetera is rather unclear.

 

I be grateful if you could explain it again a little bit more carefully. I understand that you've been told that there was some kind of warrant – but you haven't seen it. Do you know which court might have issued it?

 

Also I don't understand what you mean when you say that the shop is due for decoration until August….

 

I can assure you that however unjust the whole thing is, now that they have stopped your supply, you will find that it is pretty well impossible to move them or to reason with them or to settle with them other than absolutely on their terms and then you would have to try and sort it out later. This could be the fastest way to get your business working again – but of course if you don't have the money then I don't know the answer.

 

If you wanted to sue them then we could help you but you would have to be very careful about the way you did it. You still haven't explained what the previous business at the shop was and who owned it?

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as a temporary measure you could find out if the jet on your burners can be converted to propane or MAPP gas and use a bottled supply.

the manufacturer will know this.

 

Was the shop a take away before you took over the running of it?

If so what were the previous bills like?

 

the person you took over from would know and if they are very cagey about telling you then suspect that they may have had something to do with the faulty meter. their accountant would know the figures and that should have been made available to you when you took on the lease.

 

It will be a nightmare getting them off your back, i bought a house that had previously been squatted and i had problems with my electricity meter being tampered with

Edited by dx100uk
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Hi, the shop was previously a fish and chips shop which was also bad on business and closed for 2 years. then i took it over at april last year and changed it to chinese takeway.

 

what i mean by due for decoration is (If they going to charge me from April to now, the usage of gas would be different during April-August, this is because the shop was shut and getting decorated for almost 4 months after i took it over.)

 

and about the Court for Warrant, i have no idea about them, they have not showed me any details about the warrant and i have no idea which court they are coming from.

 

and about law sue, idk anything about it, i was try to get help from solicitors but most solicitor i know, they doesn't have any Experience to deal with dispute problems.

 

if you have any place where i can find a solicitor who's dealing with this type of stuff, is it possible to let me know?...

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Are you saying that before you took the shop over, it was empty for two years?

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BTW, i always wanted to ask, what does it mean by reverse gassing? i asked the guy from B Gas and they kept using technical term and i can't understand half of it.

 

what i understand from what they try to say was "Someone has been Turn the meter AROUND, so the pipe was connected reversed this will slow the meter down." ???

 

but when i took over the property, the meter was always facing front, never got switched around.

 

Before i took the shop over, it was a chips shop, but they are closed for 2 years, all their equipment are still in the shop when i took over.

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hi, since we sign the contract with B gas, and since this is the business contract, we can not cancel the contract with them. the other supplier would not accept the new contract with me if they know i was already on contract with B gas because this goes against the rule between each company. (this is what they told me)

 

and yes, i did take the meter reading when i take over the shop, the meter reading was also signed by the previous owner.

 

and about taking B Gas to court, that would be my Final option.... i don't want to do this but they basically forcing me to pay for something i have not done.

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They mean that the inlet and outlets were swapped round and this ha the effect of making the little turbine that drives the meter run slower and thus gives lower readings.

 

the meter reader would have noticed this so it makes me wonder when this could have occurred and I suspect that it was a long time ago if at all.

 

they refer to wear on parts that would be obviously new if you had done it

so getting BG to allow an independent expert person to inspect the meter is a must.

 

BTW, i always wanted to ask, what does it mean by reverse gassing? i asked the guy from B Gas and they kept using technical term and i can't understand half of it.

 

what i understand from what they try to say was "Someone has been Turn the meter AROUND, so the pipe was connected reversed this will slow the meter down." ???

 

but when i took over the property, the meter was always facing front, never got switched around.

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you can still use bottled gas if the burners are suitable and then you can take all the time in the world to fight with BG as you will be making some money and they wont be holding you to ransom. The contract with BG is for the supply, not using your own kit so look into it as a temporary measure

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They mean that the inlet and outlets were swapped round and this ha the effect of making the little turbine that drives the meter run slower and thus gives lower readings. the meter reader would have noticed this so it makes me wonder when this could have occurred adn I suspect that it was a long time ago if at all. tehy refer to wear on parts that would be obviously new if you had done it so getting BG to allow an independent expert person to inspect the meter is a must.

 

thx for your replay and explanation.

from what they said on the Report was

 

 

Conclusions

In My Opinion this Meter has been operated in reverse and this has prevented the meter from duly registering the quantity of gas supplied

 

does this mean that they are 100% sure that the meter is faulty?

 

and about the wearing in the pinion. is it possible to check if it's the new wearing or the old wearing?

and rough time when the wearing was caused? for example is it possible to check if the wearing is caused this year or last year?

 

also i heard from somewhere else, apparently if the gas supply to the meter was stopped for a period of time (1 years or 2 years), in some old meter it would also make some similar wearing in the pinion. please tell me if this is true. because the shop was previously closed for almost 2 years by the previous owner.

or is wearing can only be caused by reverse operation?

 

sorry for asking so many questions.

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Don't worry about questions. They are very good questions.

 

I suppose what they say is that they are hundred percent sure that the meter has been tampered with. Of course what they can't be sure is that it has been tampered with by you.

 

You say that you have had your shop open for less than a year. How much less?

 

I have to say that the only quick way that you are going to get this sorted is if you pay the money they want and then claim it back. If you have the money to do this then at least it should get your business going because at the moment I'm sure you must be losing money and also losing the goodwill of any customers.

 

If you wanted to do this, then you would make the payment and say that it is without any admission but you are making the payment in order to resolve the situation temporarily so you can continue with your business. You would make it clear that the payment is paid and accepted on condition that your supply is restored so you can continue your business.

 

Once that was done, then we will help you begin a legal action. This could be the quickest. You would bring a legal action for the return of your money and also for some compensation for the disruption to your business. One question I would want to ask them is how long would it have taken to produce that much wear in the opinion or whatever it is they say shows signs of abuse.

 

I would also want to have the metre examined by my own independent expert and I would certainly write to them and tell them that you require the meters to be kept and made available for this to happen. I should warn you that we hear quite often for all sorts of reasons that when meters are removed, they sometimes disappear – apparently destroyed. This makes it very difficult for people who want to query bills.

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thx for your reply.

 

when the Revenue Protection team comes.

i had told them that "We will take further action and asking the 3rd party to reinspect the meter, please tell me if the meter is still available" they said the meter was kept in one of their storage on one of the site.

 

and yes i think i will either pay them the money and tell them what you have recommeneded "I only pay for put my business back on track, this does not mean any admission toward this cause, i will still willing to take further inspection"

 

or get the bottled gas to run the business for the time being, since we are really a small food business we shouldn't use much of gas anyway.

 

and about your question of how much it was less than a year.

 

the business opens at early September last year. any date before that, the shop was remain closed.

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Yes, it can be checked to estimate whether the wear is new or old but unfortunately the cost of getting an expert opinion will be high so really should only be considered if you are determined to recover your losses from BG.

 

You will need a good metallurgist/microscopist to examine the points that show wear and look for the direction of the striations cused by bits of dust being trapped and rubbing between the surfaces.

 

the slickensiding of these scratches wil show direction of movement and looking at oxidation of the new wear surface will give an approximate idea of how long ago this occurred.

 

You need to request that BG make the meter available for microscopic investigation and analysis and then according to where you live try and persuade a university materials science or metallurgy labs to have a look at it.

 

For exapmle Sheffield Uni has some good people, as do Cambridge and Kings Coll London, Imperial College and so on.

The microscopy will cost a couple of hundered quid and the writing of a report probably double that so not a cheap option.

 

My feeling is that BG wont want to go down this road as they will assume that the first thing you will do is sue the pants off of them so that may be a tactic in itself, ie find out if someone will say yes to the work and put this to BG with noises about their unreasonable conduct going to cost them and they might just decide that they cant prove it was you and let the matter go.

 

their alternative would be to seek prosecution and then you will have a crack at getting an expert opinion anyways

 

thx for your replay and explanation.

from what they said on the Report was

 

 

Conclusions

In My Opinion this Meter has been operated in reverse and this has prevented the meter from duly registering the quantity of gas supplied

 

does this mean that they are 100% sure that the meter is faulty?

 

and about the wearing in the pinion. is it possible to check if it's the new wearing or the old wearing?

and rough time when the wearing was caused? for example is it possible to check if the wearing is caused this year or last year?

 

also i heard from somewhere else, apparently if the gas supply to the meter was stopped for a period of time (1 years or 2 years), in some old meter it would also make some similar wearing in the pinion. please tell me if this is true. because the shop was previously closed for almost 2 years by the previous owner.

or is wearing can only be caused by reverse operation?

 

sorry for asking so many questions.

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