ENERGY FRAUD … do I report ?

[bto35]

Hi. I’m really torn on this and not sure what to do if anything . Someone close to me has a business that uses a lot of gas and electricity of which with the rising costs are now thousands in debt .

They mentioned some time ago about knowing someone who could cap the gas meter for a fee . This would slow down the gas meter and produce a much lower bill but wouldn’t close it off completely.

the person close to me was previously paying about £550-600 a month in Gas and I’ve seen their last two direct debits have now dropped to under £100 a month for gas ( no way this is accurate ) they told me they didn’t get the gas capped because they couldn’t afford what they guy wanted paid to do it but it’s clear looking at the recent drop compared to the last 6 months that they have indeed done something to the gas .

Im annoyed because I too like all of us are paying a lot to even heat our homes and here is someone on purpose committing fraud and I believe it could be dangerous as this is a commercial business surrounded by flats above .

Do I report it or ignore it

Would they even take a report seriously ? Has anyone ever had to report for energy fraud ?

If you think this puts people at risk please report from a health and safety point of view.

If he has employees or customers on site he will have a duty of care to them. He must follow legislation.

www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/gas.htm

If you think they have tampered with their gas meter report it. Tampering with gas meters is illegal and very very dangerous.

I wouldn't report it. Let them crack on because the energy companies are raking it in and they don't care about their customers. Also though, I wonder if the energy company will notice this kind of drop in bills and investigate? It certainly is dangerous so they are taking a big risk.

This!!

I'm shocked you're getting so many people questioning you OP. People could die because of this. That wouldn't make you a 'grass'. It would make you a responsible adult.

I absolutely would. I used to work for the one of the big w every companies. Messing around with a meter is extremely dangerous.

The people offering to mess around with meters, illegally, often don’t care about safety either. Someone who is willing to do this is unlikely to be gas safe registered.

It’s dangerous for people all around them. In my role I have been involved in the in-house investigations around gas explosions. Anyone who has had an engineer at the property always does their own investigation, even if it’s obvious early on that it’s not their responsibility. The potential fall out can be devastating.

I wouldn’t take the risk of it being ok. If the worst happened, I would feel so guilty that I could have stopped it.

@bto35

report it simple

There are a few points here. Business energy rates are not capped like domestic tariffs have been; you also don't know if the business has made an agreement with the gas company to pay less temporarily.
saying that they take 20k a month is not relevant, their profit is the relevant part. 20% is vat to start with, payroll, rent, business rates.
You don't know for certain, and as previous posters have stated the energy company will investigate a sudden huge drop. The best course of action here would be to mention to your friend that energy companies can and do investigate and see if anything changes.

If there’s a debt of £5500 there’s no way the DD is £100 a month for usage and debt recovery. Keep your nose out and ask for the gas man’s number.

A two Yr old was killed in a gas explosion Oct 22,because an idiot neighbour cut a gas pipe. The don't grass brigade, do u still think its OK not to report.

I would ascertain the method that they are using. If it is a non dangerous method i.e. the supply hasn't been tampered with in anyway ask yourself if this is really your friend. Reporting them could end up with them in prison, their business collapsed and possible huge implications for their life - and some of that responsibility would lie on you.

If it has been tampered with intrusively I would underline to them with some force as to the danger they are putting themselves in and others.

I am 99% sure this will be nonsense OP. Gas capping is not a “thing” these days

The energy companies are not stupid . They will question a huge drop in a company’s energy use. In reverse many cannabis farms are discovered due to the increase in bills. I know someone who got their electricity meter “fixed” to slow it down . The meter reader came and could see the meter had been tampered with and the business was fined.

Please report it. Tampering with the gas supply isn't illegal because it might affect profits.

It's illegal because it kills. Have you ever seen a property where there's been a gas explosion because of tampering? A quick google will show what that looks like.

This isn't about money or being a "grass" grow the fuck up to everyone who said that it is massively unsafe.

I’d be concerned about the safety of this tbh

gas supply shouldn’t be tampered with and can be incredibly dangerous

but have you see the actual usage as I could change my direct debit tomorrow and it wouldn’t mean by usage has changed?

I would be raising concerns on the grounds of safety. If someone is hurt or worse, your friend could be jailed.

Exactly this, gas supply is not something to be fucked about with.

I usually fall on the side of keep out of other peoples business on these fraud type threads but would 100% report this as it could be dangerous. I couldn't live with myself if there was an explosion and innocent people died.

Forget the bills.

Find out how to contact the gas board. I'm guessing it's like the electricity distributor. And tell them.

Before it explodes and kills someone.

That’s my own dilemma . I do worry about the safety

Don't believe this for a single second, tell yourself that if it'll make you feel like less of a terrible person but making someone else's life miserable won't make your own any better. This isn't your battle - leave well alone.

If it makes you feel better to destroy another person then by all means- glad you aren’t a “friend” of mine.

1. This could be dangerous and impact the neighbours - yes report. Actually, if it came to light in an inquiry I am not sure where you would standing legally knowing this had potentially happened and not reported. Morally, I doubt any decent person would absolutely despise themselves for not reporting and then it leading to injuries / death.
2. It may be that she has been given a grant of some kind - there's a few around at the moment being offered in addition to the Government COL schemes.
3. The danger of gas is that it's silent - ours leaked and we were very ill (in hospital), we had a Carbon Monoxide alarm which had been moved during building work and not put back into it's correct position. Thankfully, it was our bedroom that was impacted and not the one children sleep in.
4. If she has been over paying then the amount will be credited to her account - she won't be having any money taken off unless she's adjusted her direct debit.
5. It may be that she has stopped using gas appliance hence the drop - a lot of people have.
6. Regardless, of the ifs and potentials it should be reported.

I agree with this. The state is failing and the government appears only to care about awarding contracts to cronies and restricting homebuilding.

I think I would have to report gas tampering as it can be so dangerous.