Meter readings- refuse entry?

[YorkshirePuddingsandPie]

My mum is having her meter read monthly despite entering the readings each month online (I have POA and manage it for her.) I didn't know this was happening until today when the man called to read it. My mum is in her 90s and we have recently had to have a chat with her about not allowing strangers in her home. I was horrified that she is allowing men to enter the house ( they wear a high viz jacket with a company name on but anyone could get one of those.)Presumably we can refuse entry on the grounds she is already submitting readings and it's only needed once a year? This is a new utility provider she's using.

I would call the provider up and speak to them on behalf of your mother, I don’t think they really need monthly readings.

I always refuse entry. I'm disabled and vulnerable and have a smart prepayment meter. They don't need to come and take readings too. Can she just ignore them? I just politely say no thank you and close the door.

To my knowledge, they only need to take an actual reading once every 2 years.

They only need to come and see the meter once a year - they aren't actually really looking at the readings, it's more to check the meter for tampering. You can't deny them access to the meter as the meter belongs to them - but I would assume you could deny them access to every visit apart from the required one a year. My DP works in a call centre for a utilities company and there are many people who think they can just deny access, but ultimately, the utility company can and will get a warrant to enter the property. They aren't going to do this in reality unless they need to replace a meter with a prepayment in the case of non-payment of bills or the like. But people are generally pretty ignorant to what can and can't be done. Obviously, you can't just phone them up and speak on your mum's behalf - they won't speak to you unless you are formally authorised to act on her behalf. You could be any old rando!

I would call the supplier and explain your mums situation. Ithink they can then give you a pre-arranged day in advance when they will visit. (Then maybe you or a relative/neighbour could be there when they come round). My sister phones the readings over to her supplier and they only have to see the actual meter once per year. It may depend on area or supplier, but its worth speaking to them - i'm sure they will understand your situation.

It sounds dodgy tbh. Are you certain it is the energy company?

You need to call the energy supplier and get her account flagged as a vulnerable customer. They can add you as her designated person to speak to also. They do not need to read the meter this often at all.

I refused he last couple of readings due to ill health

When I changed energy companies the old company kept on sending round a meter reader. I explained this to him at the door so he left. I called the old company and told them but it did still happen more than once after that. They were genuine as were in the correct van. So mistakes can occur.I would speak to the the energy supplier and ensure that these are genuine meter readers.

I think some suppliers accept photos as meter readings as well, I think EDF do this, sorry if I gave you the wrong advice about speaking on behalf of your mum, you might find helping her to do things online good because you could do that when you visited.

Can you get a smart meter fitted?

You only have to let them in once a year. For some reason a couple of years ago I started getting monthly (or more!) visits from them. I got sick of it in the end and told them to stop coming. I also called my energy company who couldn't understand what was going on.

They also said that some companies who aren't even employed by them will regularly take readings in areas so that they can try and steal the meter readers contract. So they'll take a load of readings, call British Gas and say "look at how much better than your meter reading company we are, we have got 1000 readings here for you" so that they can win their business.

emz137 I don't even know where to begin with that bullshit... call the energy company OP.

If the energy company have the POA recorded then you’re fine to call them on her behalf. If not you could call when you’re with her, get her to do the security questions and give you permission to speak on her behalf (ideally permanent but certainly on that call). As PP said make sure they have her flagged as a “vulnerable customer” and that all contact is through you except in emergencies. Monthly readings are excessive and unnecessary, especially since she is providing readings herself so it’s not like she’s unco-operative or in danger of building up a big debt from underestimated readings.

You get more accurate bills if you submit monthly readings. Otherwise you over/under pay and then the difference is sorted out at the end of the year.

Never heard of this-monthly readings, wtf? What company is it, please?

As long as the OP is a woman she could probably just pretend to be her mother (considering she could almost certainly answer the normal security questions) if they wouldn't speak to her any other way (yes I realise that this is almost certainly illegal)...

First Utility ask for monthly readings unless you have a smart meter

Legally you only need to allow them every 2 years. If you refuse at that point they can get a court order to force entry (the meter legally remains the property of the energy company and by using it you agree to allowing them entry to read in every 2 years , so the court order is very easy to get). Every month sounds excessive. Call them and inform them of your mother's situation and ask for them to come annually.

Smart meter is the answer

It seems to me to be unusual that the utility company would want to bother with the expense of sending an official for a monthly meter reading Two theories: 1) these are not legitimate people from the utility company but sinister fraudsters or 2) the reading is very low and the utility company suspect tampering. I highlight the second because many moons ago I lived in a property with a faulty water meter which was reading very high leading to high bills. Presumably a meter reading could also err and read too low - I am highlighting this for the obvious reason of a shock bill down the line if the meter has been recording too low for many years.

Gosh do not listen to the smart meter advice.

What's wrong with a smart meter? I absolutely love mine, it's helped us budget better and I can see at a glance what we are spending, as well as what's eating my electricity. I can top up on my phone instead of DH having to go to the shops and my bills are lower.

I'm rarely in when the meter reader comes and was told by the various companies I've been with that they only need to physically see my meters every two years to confirm they haven't been tampered with. In regards to PPs advice about smart meters don't get one at the moment. There are issues with them installing meters that are an older standard, issues with them not being compatible with different energy suppliers and more seriously issues with how some of them are installed putting your property at risk. Instead ring through or go online every month - like I've been doing for years - and give your utility company your meter readings.

With some utility companies you can text your readings if that is easier than online/calling