Utility Meter Readers, do you have to let them in?

[reduk054]

HI there, just a quick question.

I am currently going through a spate of meter readers who keep knocking and asking to read my gas meter (the electricity one is outside). I check their ID, and although they are not from my supplier as such, I still let them in. To be quite frank though, I am getting a little peeved with this now, as I have had about four in as many months.

At least my gas bill is not estimated though! LOL

Where do I stand about letting them in? Do I have to? Any help appreciated, thanks

Its not as though word has got out that they all get offered a cup of tea when they come to read the meter (because I am mean!!) LOL

RED

[mree]

You don't have to let them in every time, but by law they do have to read the meter at least every 2 years, mainly to check it's still safe and secure. Why not call your supplier and ask if they run a self-read scheme? EDF do, and you can ask them to instruct the meter reading company to only call once a year (they need to send a 'dataflow' to do this, it's a D05 something, can't remember off the top of my head, will check when I get to work tomorrow night). You get a discount on your bill for doing this too.

 

Meter readers will rarely/never actually work directly for your supplier, since deregulation it's just not practical. Instead, companies such as ECS will read all the meters in a particular area then divvy up the readings between the companies aupplying the properties.

[reduk054]

mree, thank you for your advice and input, I will check with my supplier, and see if they run a self-read scheme.

All I see the Meter readers do is to simply read the number, so i think that I should have satisified my criteria of visits!

Thanks again

Red

[compman]

Meter readers will rarely/never actually work directly for your supplier, since deregulation it's just not practical. Instead, companies such as ECS will read all the meters in a particular area then divvy up the readings between the companies aupplying the properties.

 

 

Error

[compman]

Meter readers will rarely/never actually work directly for your supplier, since deregulation it's just not practical. Instead, companies such as ECS will read all the meters in a particular area then divvy up the readings between the companies aupplying the properties.

 

I work for an Electric Company and we ONLY use our own meter readers.

 

You will probably find that the people who want to read the meter out of sync, are the salesmen from competiting companies out to win contracts through stealth. We see it all the time.

The usual meter readers will always carry a hand held device, whereas the contract hunters have paperwork.

[Clare_L]

I work for an Electric Company and we ONLY use our own meter readers.

 

You will probably find that the people who want to read the meter out of sync, are the salesmen from competiting companies out to win contracts through stealth. We see it all the time.

The usual meter readers will always carry a hand held device, whereas the contract hunters have paperwork.

 

 

 

Not entirely true. I also work for a gas/electric utility company and we DONT use our own readers, but the likes of Siemens and Accuread.

 

If you use an online tarriff with your supplier, you may find you will get a bigger discount if you pay by the dreaded FDD. By doing this you get to supply your own reading quarterly and bills emailed to you. That wont necessarily stop the meter readers coming to pay you a visit though as they still have to check your meter at least once in 12 months now.

 

Clare

[compman]

Not entirely true. I also work for a gas/electric utility company and we DONT use our own readers, but the likes of Siemens and Accuread.

 

If you use an online tarriff with your supplier, you may find you will get a bigger discount if you pay by the dreaded FDD. By doing this you get to supply your own reading quarterly and bills emailed to you. That wont necessarily stop the meter readers coming to pay you a visit though as they still have to check your meter at least once in 12 months now.

 

Clare

 

This is why we have a lot of satisfied customers, because the face that reads their meter, actually works for the company and can readily answer any questions.

[Clare_L]

This is why we have a lot of satisfied customers, because the face that reads their meter, actually works for the company and can readily answer any questions.

 

 

Which is the best way to go. Siemens and Accuread cause us so many problems, I name them as they are probably the worst, which is why the company I work for have now started recruiting for their own DC's.

[patrickq1]

report to your gas and electricity company that you must receive written notification before any home visit you have the right to refuse entry without it

[mree]

report to your gas and electricity company that you must receive written notification before any home visit you have the right to refuse entry without it

 

Most of the time, this is correct, however the meter MUST be seen by an operative at least every 2 years, I have known energy companies actually get a warrant to come in and inspect the meter where there's been no access for longer than this.

[compman]

report to your gas and electricity company that you must receive written notification before any home visit you have the right to refuse entry without it

 

 

Most people know when their utility bills are due.

NO utility company will inform their customers when a routine meter reader will call, unless it is a non-routine call. This is when a customer calls their supplier and asks for a special appointment to read their meter at a date and time were the customer can provide access at a time to suit.

 

Everybody has the right to refuse entry to their home.

 

Continuous refusals could lead to a warrant being issued under The Electricity Act 1989 which states that under your contract of supply,The meter must be inspected at least once a year.

[reduk054]

Thank you for the advice above, I know have to understand why my bills are so high even though my meter readings are up to date, and accurate.

I am paying about £150 p/m in gas and elex with the same company for a 3 bed link detatched house!

Red

[newton]

Hi

 

How old is your meter and when was it last calibrated, there is a facility available to have your meter independently checked for inaccuracies and if it is found to be inaccurate then any corresponding overpayment is reclaimable including the cost of calibration.

 

If it is not inaccurate then you will be liable for the costs incurred in calibrating i believe they are in the region of £60-70 but you are better of having this cost checked and verified.

 

Most new meters are inherently accurate but even still temperature variations can have an impact on their calibratings

 

Most older meters are inaccurate (in the utility companies favour though) and can mean you have been overpaying your bills

[Weird Al Yankovic]

I work for an Electric Company and we ONLY use our own meter readers.

 

You will probably find that the people who want to read the meter out of sync, are the salesmen from competiting companies out to win contracts through stealth. We see it all the time.

The usual meter readers will always carry a hand held device, whereas the contract hunters have paperwork.

 

Actually, EON salesmen use a pc device called a pen tablet and no paperwork.

 

Also, the meter readings of a property are of no interest to a salesman. A property simply being supplied with energy is all that is required to be known by a salesman to try and get your business.

 

And as most homes have gas, electric or both anyway then nothing really needs to be researched.

[lookinforinfo]

I am not sure that you can refuse entry to a meter reader.

The suspicion if you did refuse access could be that you had tampered with the meter.

[mattlamb]

With respect, what is the problem with letting a meter-reader in to read the gas. It probably takes less than two minutes!Have you got skeletons lurking in your cupboard!!

[lawrence2011]

I know this is digging up an old thread but its the nearest I could find to my query;

 

Just had a visit from a G4S meter reader, the second time in 2 days as I didn't get to the door in time yesterday. I noticed on his first visit that after ringing the bell he proceeded to try and open the front door (thankfully I always keep it locked). I was a bit peeved about this as I saw it as being a bit too bloody cheeky for my liking but as he had gone by the time I opened the door there seemed little I could do about it.

Imagine my delight when the doorbell rang today and before I had even had chance to grab the keys, the cheeky sod was trying the door again. When I finally got the door open he had decided he would have a look round the back of the property. When he saw me at the door he announced himself as the meter reader, and what followed was a rather unsavoury disagreement about the merits of helping yourself to someones property, with the man firstly admitting he had tried the door but then backtracking and claiming he had merely knocked on the door. The next thing he's stood there claiming I had threatened him with physical violence and that he had witnesses (there was no one else around!). After further 'discussion', which did only just stop short of becoming violent (more on his part than mine) he backed down and left.

I immediately went online and have lodged an official complaint against their employee and begun what I hope to be a full investigation into the matter.

Just wondered if anyone can shed any light, not so much on the legality of requesting to read a meter but on actually attempting to gain access to the property on what would be 'without the owners consent'. Would or could his actions be seen as an attempted 'illegal entry'?

Does anyone know if this practice is condoned or condemned by the companies they work for?

Or am I simply trying to brew a storm in a tea cup?

 

Awaiting reply from G4S, but would welcome anyones views.

[2Grumpy]

A meter reader without a warrant has no right of entry. He might have just called out when he opened the door, he might have read the meter but for all you know he might have made off with your TV & laptop.

[lawrence2011]

Received a rather pathetic response from G4S a few days ago, stating they had spoken to the employee concerned and gave his version of events which bore little resemblence to actual events. Really annoyed as no one from G4S had even attempted to contact me to discuss the matter. Their explanation of the incident conveniently omitted the part where their employee threatened to "flatten me" if I didn't "shut the f*ck up".

Immediately after the incident happened I contacted North Yorkshire Police and an official statement was taken. On their advice I awaited a reply from G4S but as I am far from happy at their flippant response to such a serious matter I have now referred the matter back to North Yorkshire Police for them to handle.

 

As if to justify my concerns we received in the post yesterday a warning leaflet from North Yorks Police regarding bogus callers operating in the area, with several people already being robbed in their homes.

[zidey]

Received a rather pathetic response from G4S a few days ago, stating they had spoken to the employee concerned and gave his version of events which bore little resemblence to actual events. Really annoyed as no one from G4S had even attempted to contact me to discuss the matter. Their explanation of the incident conveniently omitted the part where their employee threatened to "flatten me" if I didn't "shut the f*ck up".

Immediately after the incident happened I contacted North Yorkshire Police and an official statement was taken. On their advice I awaited a reply from G4S but as I am far from happy at their flippant response to such a serious matter I have now referred the matter back to North Yorkshire Police for them to handle.

 

As if to justify my concerns we received in the post yesterday a warning leaflet from North Yorks Police regarding bogus callers operating in the area, with several people already being robbed in their homes.

 

 

Sorry for bringing up a old topic, thought you may like to know that companys like G4S and ACCUREAD are being phases out slowly for stuff like this.

 

I work for a supplier and we have many complaints about this kind of thing.

[2Grumpy]

Received a rather pathetic response from G4S a few days ago, stating they had spoken to the employee concerned and gave his version of events which bore little resemblence to actual events. Really annoyed as no one from G4S had even attempted to contact me to discuss the matter. Their explanation of the incident conveniently omitted the part where their employee threatened to "flatten me" if I didn't "shut the f*ck up".

Immediately after the incident happened I contacted North Yorkshire Police and an official statement was taken. On their advice I awaited a reply from G4S but as I am far from happy at their flippant response to such a serious matter I have now referred the matter back to North Yorkshire Police for them to handle.

 

As if to justify my concerns we received in the post yesterday a warning leaflet from North Yorks Police regarding bogus callers operating in the area, with several people already being robbed in their homes.

 

Might be worth contacting G4S & letting them know that the info provided by their employee does not match up with the statement that you made to the police. Give them the crime ref no & let them know that you are taking this seriously & expect them to be doing so too.

[georgepopovic]

Cheeky buggers!!. The reason we paid a lot of money to place the meters outside is so that they could read them at will. Now they phone and ask you to do their job for them. Don't do it.

Edited May 23, 2012 by georgepopovic
Typo

[orphean]

a meter reader trying the front door is totally out of order.I have been a meter reader for 12 years now and would nt dream of doing such a thing.The only excuse I can think is that it was a front porch door and he was just trying to knock on the inner door to get your attention. Accuread has nt been in existance for about 3 years now and has been taken over by G4S, the countrys largest employer.Claire, if you work for EON as I suspect, G4S actually shipped over their worst performing meter readers to EON, it was a chance to offload our rubbish for the krauts who are a pretty poor bunch in their bright orange fleeces.I work for British Gas who have never employed their own meter readers for donkeys years. The original post, do I have to let him in.,No, not on a quarterly visit, if you havent had your meter visually safety checked in a year,B.G.will try and get access.over two years and if you still wont allow access they may get a warrant to get entry.This is a last resort and should nt get this far.If a warrant and a locksmith is required the occupier will have to pay the costs. A visual safety inspection is part of our job, not just logging the reading.We are looking for faults and tampers on the meter.Bypassing meters is now much more common and getting worse, I find a lot more now than I did a few years ago, although most meter readers have absolutely no idea how to spot meter tampers

[geeeezer]

Here is an incredible reason not to let them in. To be honest this really worries me as my meter is in the cellar and the stairs are very steep. Should we ask them to sign a dissclaimer before entry???

 

If they slip it can cost you £2000 as in the case a poor lady more than 35k in total when the gas man slipped on the step in Preston. She now faces loosing everything as reported by the mail online.