About meter readings for next door..

[Becca19962014]

Today an engineer called and demanded access via my bedroom into the back garden so he could get in the corridor between my property and the one next door.

He refused to show me his ID, instead rolling his eyes saying he is in uniform, has a truck and was obviously genuine, when he showed me it only had his first name, no reference and no picture. I refused access and he had a go at me, demanding he had the right to access as he saw it when putting the meter in and he had every right to use it. I said there isn't access. There is a door but only access is via my private bedroom on the ground floor at the back of the property, it's private and not for access, there are a few steps to the garden as it is sunken, and full of rubble after a lightening strike a few years ago (it didn't effect the building I live in), I cannot use the door due to disability and it certainly it is not a access route or fire exit.

The building has been checked by the fire brigade.

He than said he had every right to come in and I was unreasonably blocking him doing his job. If the door was not fire exit then he would get the building condemned as unsafe and make me homeless and made comments about me burning to death trapped in a fire. That is a phobia of mine having been trapped before, whilst he wouldn't know that, I was upset by that.

I rang the electricity company to complain and they couldn't see what the problem was they said it's the best place for meters between properties (I live in a terrace) as there is a greater chance of reading the meters. Having got someone to go and look it turns out the corridor is almost blocked by these meters on the floor so no one could get out via it anyway.

Am I unreasonable to send a complaint letter to the company and demand they do something about him, and their stupid policy of putting meters in access corridors? The building next door is to be for severely physically disabled people who move in august (I know that as I applied to live there but was too late).

[droitwichmummy]

Parsing under the Gas and Electricity Acts the utility companies have the right to go through a 3rd party's property to read someone else's meter and if you don't let them do that they can ask the court for a warrant.
It doesn't excuse the attitude of the meter reader here though.

[specialsubject]

no legit meter reader would object to showing their ID. And it would show their name and proper contact details that worked.

sounds like a crook and you did just the right thing in refusing access!

[Icelollycraving]

Outrageous behaviour,report report report.

[ParsingFlatly]

Exactly, droitwich. And in these circumstances, the court would be very unlikely to issue that warrant.

This is one of the major reasons the electricity company is required to apply to the magistrate's court in the first place: to put a stop to nonsense like Swalec have tried to pull here, purely for their own convenience.

[Becca19962014]

Droitwichmummy

I'm concerned about you mentioning warrants, can they get a warrant to go through my bedroom to get to a property that can be accessed via a third party until it is occupied and after then via third party and tenants and carers living there. Why is it my responsibility? Shouldn't there be a warrant against the council or the people who live there, not me? There are numbers clearly displayed on the door itself for access (both office and out of hours numbers). How could they legally get a warrant under that circumstance? If there are people available to let them in 24 hours a day, and when they move in tenants and 24 hour carer in an office so why would they be given a warrant to access via my bedroom?

I'm asking as I'm worried by what you have said (I'm not blaming you or anything it's just worried me). Maybe this is why they said I was being unreasonable and unfair. Can you provide a link about this please? I want to be sure before sending my complaint and I'm worried about it, it'll help put my mind at rest.

Thankyou!

[Becca19962014]

I'm a bit confused now, so can they get a warrant against me for access or not?

[EthicalPickle]

If the guy had booked an appointment, been polite, had proper ID, had the password and had been happy for you to check his details with Swalec would you have minded him coming through the house?

If so, then you are not refusing access and they would not need a warrent anyhow.

[ParsingFlatly]

The company can ask the magistrate for a warrant. And the magistrate (unless they are the rubber-stamping type) will laugh in their face.

For all of the reasons you give.

But it won't hurt to mention in your complaint letter exactly what you have said here: that the council numbers for access, in and out of hours, are clearly displayed on the door.

[ParsingFlatly]

EthicalPickle, I'm sorry, I don't think that's right.

I don't think the OP ever has to give access here, except in the face of a warrant. A warrant which the magistrate will not grant because there's just no reason to use the OP's house as access.

"I couldn't be arsed to call the council number" does not count as a reason.

[EthicalPickle]

Sorry, I don't think I explained that properly. I was just trying to establish whether the OP would be happy for Swalec to access the meter if they followed the correct procedures. I hadn't commented whether Swalec should or shouldn't be able to get a warrent.

[ParsingFlatly]

Well, the OP posted this:

"they know they won't get access to my bedroom without someone else being present even if they have photo ID (these are personal reasons I won't go into in a public forum so likely look unreasonable to people here)"

So I think she's probably not keen!

And, you know, why should be jumping through these hoops anyway? Next door's meters, accessible from next door, are nothing to do with her.

[EthicalPickle]

She certainly doesn't sound keen and I can't blame her after this incident but she hasn't actually said she wants to completely refuse access (unless I've missed it).

The fact she asked for his ID etc implies she might have let him in had he been a bit more professional about it.

[ParsingFlatly]

I don't understand what you're looking for here, Ethical?

At the risk of talking for the OP, it sounds like she's prepared to allow access when it's necessary (accessing her own meters and maintaining safety of her supply).

And not prepared to allow access when it's not necessary (accessing next door's meters).

She clearly has personal circumstances that make letting people in quite hard work, which explains why she's not going the extra mile for Swalec.

But actually she'd be entitled to take exactly the same position if she there were no such circumstances.

There is nothing reasonable about Swalec's behaviour installing meters with the intention of accessing them through a third party's house, unless there is literally no other way. Which is not the case here - and indeed I imagine the planning dept would have had something to say about the conversion if it were the case.

[EthicalPickle]

No worries, I completely agree with you. I wasn't sure what I had said that that you thought was wrong in my earlier post but it really doesn't matter.

Back to the thread....

[Becca19962014]

To clarify I would not have let him into my bedroom. Swalec know this, as do others who may require access, they know details as to why. I'm aware that likely sounds unreasonable to people here without explaining more but I won't do that in a public forum.

[ParsingFlatly]

You absolutely don't have to justify yourself, Becca.

Ethical, sorry, we've probably been at cross-purposes or something.

[EthicalPickle]

PF

Becca You certainly don't have to justify why you don't want strangers coming into your house. .

It's good that you have kept all the details about what happened. I would be amazed if SwaLec don't treat it seriously.

[Becca19962014]

I sent the complaint and got a standard reply, thanks for complaining etc, we'll write to you in 10 days. I know my useless landlord also rang and wrote to complain about lying regarding giving permission for access at anytime. The landlord is livid. Though that's got nothing to do with me, it's because of damage inflicted on the property by the builders when they were sorting the building out.