@britishgashelp BG Tampering from September 2009 Comes Home Nov 2012

[PlymouthMike]

I could do with some advice on what is a rather odd incident concerning British Gas.

 

I purchased my house around 2006, but never lived at the house.

 

Over the course of the next few years it was virtually gutted internally and slowly rebuilt.

 

The house already had a pre-payment type gas meter installed.

I had not bothered to get a card as whilst at the house had no need for hot water, this being the reason no GAS was ever drawn.

 

On around 29th September 2009, the house was entered I believe by Transco to exchange the meter for it to be replaced with a newer type Siemens Pre-payment unit.

 

I returned to the house to find that the locks had been changed.

 

It took me a further three days to obtain the keys from a North Devon Company locksmith company.

 

Around November 2012 of this year had the Electricity Meter exchanged for a pre-payment type.

 

In late November 2012 received a letter from British Gas to say that an amount of £640 was outstanding and that this would be added weekly at the rate of £5.

 

When I quered this with Brisith Gas, it was confirmed in an email that this was because The original Gas Meter had been "Tampered" with.

 

The operative also confirmed that no gas had been drawn.

 

So we go from 29th September 2009 until November 2012, this being the first I had heard of these quite crazy allegations.

It is fair too say have never been so annoyed with any organisation in my life.

If any other cheeky *** accused me of theft I would certainly make sure I was in court to represent myself and seek justice over them.

 

From reading this forum and other information on the internet this claim of tampering does

appear to be a quite common modus operandi of British Gas, unchecked with nothing anyone can do about it.

 

If iam to believe the letter from November 2012 then has taken them since 29th September 2009 to

Finally make this charge. By any Companies poor standards is quite simply amazing!

 

Would be grateful of any comments.

 

With regards

 

Mike.

[PlymouthMike]

Slight update, have issued a new Complaint to British Gas with the information the operative had told me, reference my crime of Meter Tampering.

Thanks all for your help and guidance on this. Shall update to hopefully help others.

 

With regards

 

Mike.

[PlymouthMike]

No reply came the reply from British Gas. I think that they don't want to know as are already recovering an illegal fee from the meter. For me knowing that I have done no wrong with regard to the GAS meter to be accussed. Have offered to now remove the Meter and safely cap off the supply. For certain they will seek court action. That might just be one extreme way of getting these people to talk about and explain things in the open.

 

I know that I do get upset when so called procedures and practices do not happen. For two consequtive Fridays have raised the same complaint, with the sleeping souls at British Gas. No Postal reply to register the complaint, since I believe they foolishly consider they had closed the matter when an operative told me in email that I had been fiddling the meter. I feel back at square one totally, and will take some utter extreme action from me to get anyone from BG to either acknowledge or investigate fully my side of things.

 

So no further ahead, apart from British Gas just blanking me now.

 

With regards

 

Mike.

[PlymouthMike]

My last complaint has gone with no reply from British Gas. That to me at least shows utter disinterest in the way run this side of the business.

My complaint of 8th Feb was never acknowledged apart from the self same email back to me detailing what I had said.

 

I can easily see that they do not wish to discuss the matter further. They have found me guilty of the crime.

 

I know never lived here, never used GAS - So I keep fighting them. Would be nice if they bought some proof to the table.

When an organisation just blanks you, sort of difficult to fight them. I shall presume on the behalf of British Gas don't know

how to say sorry now - We got it wrong in this instance. Then can fly in to the non sensical PR mojo stuff.

 

Please nobody deal with these people on the telephone. Just use written letters and emails, also make sure you have copies

of anything that they say.

 

Regards

 

Mike.

[PlymouthMike]

Oh we do have an update, I really hope that British Gas are following along with us. I selected the option to be contacted via email. Oh what do you know getting phoned.

There we can see, the system already falls over. As they might record calls, I don't have this system. We do seem to have some communications, just not the one that I selected via your web form.

 

I find myself in the position of wishing to place the email communication either on here or on my own British Gas tribute site if moderators do not feel this is sensible, and over anything would help others.

 

The exact mode of the call handlers is just that. They seem to say quite silly things in email. The exact reason will never speak with them on the telephone. They have accused me of theft, took them some 3 years to do so. No proof have they provided. But by the very poor standards they employ have been found guilty all these years later.

 

If anyone is stealing Gas, is British Gas at the tune of £5 per week from me.

 

Worth repeating, only use emails and written letters, that way you have some backup.

 

Regards

 

Mike.

[PlymouthMike]

Actually will lodge a seperate complaint that British Gas have no unnderstanding over own complaints procedure. If someone ticks the email box, one would think that would be the method your customer had selected.

 

Yep another complaint, seems like i'm always complaining. They put the system in place and not me. They decide to change the rules and not me. I feel this is justification for a fresh complaint.

[dpick]

Hi I do not know who you can complain to now but in 2002 I got a transaction bill (transfer of supply to my supplier as a new tenant) BG billed me £256 for a six week period I had meter readings supplied by council when they switched on heating etc. and the bill should have been £56 I ended up complaining to OFGEN may have been another name they fixed BG fast and new bill £56.

 

dpick

[PlymouthMike]

My discovery is this, that does not matter if you have ticked the contact me via email option. Hopefully Tim Copper Digital Director will investigate to find out why then operatives telephone you instead. Perhaps as the Digital Director will ensure that BG do what they say, I don't think would really wait for him to either understand or change the system. Might be easier to suggest to the customers, will just do what we want. On certainly one instance left the own phone number of this organisation. They have and store information on telephone numbers. Oh we have not even gone through the non working (The one they replaced that they claim I had tampered with) meter situation.

Then because sick of dealing with idiots my partner telephoned them. They captured her mobile number and also used this during complaint number 1, which lead to me understanding via email that I had tampered with a gas meter. Interesting to note at least 8 months between the two dates.

 

I presume they would say I was still tampering with the meter, what the new meter they installed that did not actually ever work. The same meter that saw us freezing to death for three or more days. Topped up three different gas cards to the tune of £95. When the engineer finally arrived made a call and got this all credited back to us. Flat meter battery was the issue from memory.

 

Hence my surprise and shock to get a claim from September 2009 from BG for a meter tampering event, have seen no proof of. Obviously they simply have own laws on these matters which appears they do not have to even prove. Probably should be thankfull do not run the Court System.

 

I find it totally hopless that not even able to get very basic things right. Yet these people have found me guilty and are charging me already.

Sadly do not think these people wish to communicate with me any further on this issue. I love seeing all the adverts that they run that claim

"Looking After Your World" in 98% of the things they offer, could get a better deal for over 95% off the structures and prices they use.

Personally I do not believe a word of it. Simply trying to build the business in to other areas.

 

Sure are some really great people working for these people.

 

I might just have to conceed that these people have worn me down to the point of not wishing to fight a totally non functional system.

I fully know not guilty as charged and punished. Does make me wonder how and where they share this information. Might be some

issues there.

 

My advice again, to anyone reading this. Do not entertain any telephone conversations with this organisation. You really must get

everything in writing, and also save a copy. If you get any bills that look odd, save them and keep them safe. They tend to rely on

silver tongued operatives, who just use a script and not as basis of sense and actuall data.

 

I may further seek to take this to ANYONE that actually regulates these people.

 

Regards

 

Mike.

[PlymouthMike]

Small update for anyone that is interested. By the fact of British Gas taking three years and three months to level this claim at me.

 

Disagreed non stop for months on end. Had a result the Revenue Protection Unit did not or could not provide any information.

Hence the illegal £640 was to be removed from our pre payment meter.

 

Great they have not removed the debt, simply added it as a credit instead. Next stop the Director that runs this bunch of....

 

Shall be invoicing for my time at £15 per hour. Have already spent in excess of 3 hours dealing with utter fools. Here is where

it gets very sketchy. I will suggest to him has no control over the data protection facilities within British Gas. They can not

prove I ever did anything wrong, I can easily see they are making very basic mistakes now. I want my name cleared from

the crime they allege, elect to not be able to prove. For me is just about clearing my name with these cowboys.

 

Again would urge anyone, only deal either in email or writing with these people. Never have telephone conversations with them.

 

 

Regards

 

Mike.

[PlymouthMike]

Actually do have sympathy with what they need to do. Some people will and do steal gas. My actual problem is when you have been branded

have been branded. Eventually after me screaming blue murder was sent an Excel spreadsheet. My very quick observation is that they actually

do not need to be honest, or even less use common sense. My British Gas charge sheet as we should call it, stated:

 

Occupied. My version is that was a house non occupied and under heavy construction. The gas engineer would have had to remove building

materials to even get close to the GAS Meter. They got in using a Court order from Plymouth magistrates, that an operative tells me no longer

exists. This is where gets amazing, has taken since September 2009 until 2012 for British Gas to apply, what they have now elected to drop.

 

Regards

 

Mike.