To be worried about the man at the door

[lalalalaloo]

Heard DH talking to someone (I was upstairs) and then the door slammed.

I saw the back of a man (older) walking into my dining room with DH, carried on with my business upstairs then when I heard him leave I came downstairs.

DH said he had come to 'read the meter' but we don't get meter readings, we have a smart hub.

Said this to DH and he said 'well he went in the cupboard and wrote something down'

Contacted Ovo they said 'no we didn't send anyone'

DH said he had flashed him some ID and he just automatically let him in the house.

Does anyone know who this could be? I.e some independent meter reader or has DH just let a potential petty criminal into our house?

DH made sure he watched the man the whole time but nothing happened and he left.

He might have been casing the joint for a burglary

Does your smart hub control everything? Water, gas, and electricity?

We had a smart hub but British gas still came out a couple of times a year to check the meters.

Could it of been a Bailiff and DH is hiding a debt from you?

Don’t meters still have to be read with a smart meter to show that they are actually recording usage correctly? We had a smart meter and when we moved into our house and that year still had to provide readings.

Are you sure DH isn’t lying and he knew the man? Is it possible one of them hit the other’s car/squashed a pet/sold something and were settling it in private.

He could have been an opportunistic burglar but it sounds unlikely!

No defo not a bailiff he was in and out within about 30 seconds, not much chatting going on. Also I could tell by the tone of voice that there wasn't much 'chat' going on (you would imagine a bailiff would have to tell the person that they have a debt, verify who they are etc)

And I did see a lanyard and a pad of paper when I looked on the doorbell cam later (doesn't have sound)

Smart meter controls gas and electric. Not water. It was provided by OVO. Apparently he ignored it and looked at the actual gas and electric meters.

We are with Utility Warehouse, and they come and read our meters about once a year. The meter readers don't work for UW, but have been subcontracted.

However, I always get an email from them to tell me that someone is coming.

I would I think it was either a legit visit or he had the wrong address. I wouldn't be suspicious of it though if all he did was look at your meters and leave again.

We have still had our meter readings taken despite having a smart meter. Meter reading guy said they were not always accurate so they did random checks. Husband was pissed off but I was the one having to empty the under stairs cupboard!

We have meter readers from Scottish Gas even though we’re not with them and we supply regular meter readings. It is actually govt legislation that energy providers have to actually check meters at least once a year, so I wouldn’t worry. Maybe you could contact your energy company just to put your mind at rest.

I have contacted the energy company and they said that they hadn't sent anyone out. But maybe it's the overarching gas supplier? Hmm

I'd ring your energy companies aswell but jeez talk to DH about letting strangers into the house just because they have a name badge on.

If your gas, water and electricity suppliers say it weren't them then you need to inform the police. They could be looking for easy targets to break into later.

I wouldn't worry too much, it's not that unusual for a supplier to not know about meter visit as mentioned upthread it's a third party company that does it. They communicate by electronic flows and as with anything like that sometimes messages go astray.

In addition to checking readings, visits are also about checking the safety of the meter, wear etc so a smart meter doesn't necessarily mean noone will ever come to check it again.

None of the energy companies do their own meter readings. There are 2-3 specialist meter reading companies that do the legwork. The person in the call centre for the energy company (probably also not employed by the energy company) wouldn't necessarily be able to see if a meter reading had been requested.

Give it a few days and then ring Ovo back and ask them to confirm the date of the last reading on your account. Give it enough time to get onto the system.

I had this and a slighty uncomforable now , the man we had wore a morrisons fleece and badge , they are the company that do the readings ,and said they had just started up again . He said they were not to touch the doors and I stood over him, all the time . However when I went onto the gas account about two or three weeks later there was still only any estimated reading. I shocked myself at just how easily I let him in without question , and it didn't end up on the local gossip page either , these things usually do .

@Essexgurl Why was your DH pissed off that someone came to read your meters?

elizaaa - because he also thought that the smart meter negated the need to have physical readings.

Once we had the smart meter installed he assumed that there wouldn’t be any more readings and so put a load of junk in the under stairs cupboard. Not that he was the one to have to move it - but I didn’t put it back properly!

I'd have pulled it all back out and told him to put it back himself.

If there is no record of him he could have been an extra terrestrial researching human culture. They usually give themselves away though. Did he doing anything strange like mistake the cat for a relative or let out a scream near a pot plant?

Careful that he’s not from a rival energy company who switch you to them without permission.

We have a smart meter and it’s still read annually, but the guy comes in an SSE liveried car, with uniform and proper ID, which he gives me to look at closely, and then adds the readings to a handheld electronic device. Not a note on a pad!

I’d also step up your vigilance over security.

I no longer let them in following an aggressive man calling when I was looking after a sick child. He kept hammering on my door asking me where various houses were in the area. After the third time, I asked him to stop and he got pretty nasty. He then asked to read my meter and I refused and rang up instead. He even walked around my house looking in my windows glowering at me - he was in my garden.

My Dh also lets everyone in. Once he let a random guy in who said his motorbike had broken down. He gave him the taxi fare home. We have seen him here lots since but he never offered us the tenner back!

Unfortunately I wouldn't have much faith with info from the energy company.

I also had someone turn up to read the meters 3 months after getting a smart meter. He was a subcontractor and said sometimes it does take time for them to be informed.

Three months later I get a card through the door saying they needed to speak as my gas meter needed changing. I ignored it as it had been done 6 months previously. Then another man appears at the doir( with a liveried van & full id) who had been sent to change the gas meter. I explained that it didn't need doing and why and he laughed and said this happens all the time. Departments don't speak to each other and issues like this occur.

Maybe your husband and him a planning a bank heist or having an affair?

No! They were not serious suggestions but are pp's joking with their OTT suggestions?

Maybe he really was reading the meter?