@britishgashelp Revenue protection team claiming meter has been tampered with - it has not - help!!

[Bilbous]

The shop where i work was visited yesterday by a member of the revenue protection team.

Stating their meter had been tampered with and they have been billed £14402. (13500 is for estimated gas usage)

 

Firstly the reason I am looking into this for them is that they are Malaysian and have a very basic understanding of English.

 

They took over the shop from a previous tenant in 2007 and have had the meter read throughout this period of time.

Last week they came and changed the meter and stated the meter would be sent for forensic testing etc.

 

 

This resulted in the RPO turning up yesterday and dropping this bombshell on them,

he would not give any extra info when asked

 

 

when i arrived he point blank refused to talk to me at all, despite being told I could speak on their behalf.

They have to pay £4400 today or they will have the gas disconnected.

 

I have spoken to them and they are adamant they have not touched the meter or any of the parts.

 

Some info that may help

1, Payments have been made to British gas over the whole time they have had the shop.

 

2, Checking the new meter it shows 280kwh used in just over 7 days.

I checked back at this years bills and over a 4 week period it averages out at around 260kwh over the same period of time

(4 week period divided by 4) so we are talking a similar amount of usage with old and new meter.

 

3, The meter has been read and viewed by meter readers for the last 7 years without anything being said.

 

Not sure what course of action we can take,

the letter states nothing about being able to appeal the decision

and they are terrified they are going to lose their livelihoods.

 

 

I have advised them to scrape together the £4400 today by any means they can

so they can at least keep operating as a business and we can look at appealing this.

 

If anyone has any advice on which way i should go to help them it would be much appreciated.

[unclebulgaria67]

So if the old meter has been sent for testing, there is no current proof it has been tampered with, only a suspicion.

 

Agree pay the £4400 and then start an urgent complaint with BG head office in writing. Not sure there is any current court process that can be used to review BG actions. BG has the right to conduct revenue protection activities, including changing meters with forced entry via court order if necessary and to ask for any amount of underpayment which has been assessed.

 

They need to ask BG what the basis is of their suspicion that the old meter was tampered with and how they have calculated any alleged underpayment. Also to ask for details of the independent inspection of the meter and to be provided with a copy of the report when available. Also if the meter was regularly read on behalf of BG, why have issues with the meter never been mentioned. Then about the new meter showing about the same usage as the old meter taken away.

[Bilbous]

The original meter was removed on the 15/11/2015 and a new one fitted. A week has passed and they came yesterday with a letter stating the meter had been tampered with.

I have now managed to get them to add me to the list of people they can speak to about the matter so when the revenue protection officer rings back (soon I hope) I can put those questions to him.

 

One other thing that I did notice is that when the old meter was in place the water never got properly hot(warm at best) yet it was set to the highest level. I had a gas engineer come and look at the boiler and he said it is all in order. Yet when the new meter was installed the water was hot almost instantly and indefinitely.

[unclebulgaria67]

Perhaps the gas flow into the boiler was not correct and the new meter has resolved this.

 

You need to know how they believe the meter was tampered with, otherwise it is difficult for anyone to identify possible reasons.

 

Is there another business nearby or tenant in a flat that has sneekily connected another pipe to feed their supply, while somehow their usage was not registered ?

[unclebulgaria67]

You have to think that BG might look to take other legal actions e.g private prosecution for an offence. Therefore full disclosure is vital. They should get a Solicitor if needed.

[Bilbous]

You need to know how they believe the meter was tampered with, otherwise it is difficult for anyone to identify possible reasons.

Agreed, this is paramount to how the whole thing proceeds.

 

Is there another business nearby or tenant in a flat that has sneekily connected another pipe to feed their supply, while somehow their usage was not registered ?

No way any other business could get access to the meter, each unit is separated by a brick wall and the meter is located inside the unit.

 

I have told them that they need to be 100% truthful with me so i can help as best as i can. I have even gone so far as to explain that if they or someone they know has tampered with the meter, then pay the bill and move on, because if you or someone else has tampered with it and you know about this you will then face a much harsher penalty if we take it further. (really laying it on thick, prison, deportation etc etc) But they are protesting their innocence in this matter. So I am 99.9% sure they have not touched the meter.

 

Just a waiting game now and see how today/tonight pans out.

 

All your feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Bilbous]

Got a copy of the report and it seems all is in order till the last part. The owners are still telling me they have never touched the meter.

 

Anyway to the meat of the matter the report itself.

 

Initial examination

1. The meter and ministry seal was intact and the meter case was in good condition.

2. In the interest of safety any residual gas in the meter was purged out with air. This was carried out by passing air through the meter in the same direction of flow of gas in normal use.

 

The meter index registered an increase which showed it was capable of working normally.

 

 

On removal of the index

 

1. The meter index was capable of working correctly

2. The dog gear was capable of working correctly

3. There were no signs of tampering on the index.

 

On dismantling the case

 

1, Diaphragm assembly had not been tampered with

2, The valve assembly had not been tampered with

3, The gearbox was dismantled to inspect drive yolk

 

Examination of drive yolk

 

There was wearing on both the forward and reverse faces of the drive yolk

 

Conclusions

In my opinion this meter has been operated in reverse to obtain gas without payment.

 

 

Not sure what course of action to follow after getting the report.

[obiter dictum]

Well it states

 

"In My Opnon"

 

Well that is not good enough if you are going to accuse an individual of a criminal act

 

How about demanding a second report direct from the manufacturer of that gas metre as to his "Opinion"

[unclebulgaria67]

Got a copy of the report and it seems all is in order till the last part. The owners are still telling me they have never touched the meter.

 

Anyway to the meat of the matter the report itself.

 

 

 

Not sure what course of action to follow after getting the report.

 

Ask for pictures of the drive yoke or for the meter to be made available for another independent inspection.

 

Expert evidence is needed, as this has become a technical matter. I don't know whether it is possible to tamper with the part they mention and if so what would be involved if someone wanted to do this.

 

Given the amount involved, i would suggest paying for altenative independent expert advice is worth it. This might have to go down the court route.

[unclebulgaria67]

I have found a link to an MSE thread. Some of the info ring bells. See post #23 from the link

 

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4594115&page=2#topofpage

[Bilbous]

I have found a link to an MSE thread. Some of the info ring bells. See post #23 from the link

 

Certainly rings a fair few bells.

 

Have decided the next course of action is to send a letter to BG head office with a copy sent to the Revenue protection team.

 

Having spoken to the RP officer he states consumption dropped in 2008/9 and the reversal on the yolk proves that it has been tampered with.

 

I will point out that the meter has been in place since before the they took over the property so any reversal of the meter must have happened before they took control of the property as they have not tampered with the meter.

I will also point out that the drop in consumption happens to occur at the same time as the recession hit the UK hard. The usage graph shown to me by the revenue officer also backs this up with usage dropping in 2008/9 onwards before gradually climbing back up and back to pre 2008 (Actually now surpassing those pre 2008 levels)

 

I will also get them to look at consulting a solicitor as i think this could well result in court action which they are quite happy to go to if they need to.