Edf right of entry

[Dee1966]

After getting behind with payments to edf I spoke to them on their website via a online chat aadvisor
i asked for a prepayment meter to be fitted to pay off the debt they stated this was fine they would send a request and an appointment would be sent to me this was on the 18th June.
todAy I get a phone call at work to say some men had changed the locks on my front door after rushing home I had to ring a lock smith who told me he had left my new keys with my neighbour, there was a letter from grosvenor legal services regarding edf to say they had fitted a prepayment meter .
I promptly rang edf who told me they had applied to court to fit a prepayment meter i informed them about the conversation I had on the 18th June and they said they had that on record but unfortunately the chat advisor couldn't see all details on my account they apologised and then said why didn't I get in touch to ask why my appointment had come through so basically it was my fault.
are they allowed to change my locks and distress my 2 dogs who were inside my house if they had informed me I would have gladly let them in as I was under the impression I was waiting for an appointment ......any advice greatly appreciated as I am fuming

[Lowry123]

Re: Edf right of entry

perhaps this might help....
I used to do this job but no longer.
Agency staff go to court to get a warrant. the warrant is granted for rights of entry in a mag court...

then the agent, lock smith and engineer turn up at the address

normally then they remove the METER. if somebody is present a pre-pay meter is fitted.

the cost for court engineer and locksmith is added to the debt on the meter and its paid off at an agreed rate.

you should have had a court letter that you can go to court to stop this.....

i have done this when dogs have been in the house and we called for police assistance because of the dogs

i hope some inside info helps...but i am unsure you can do anything about it.

thankfully i gave up the job! i have seen people have gas and elec supply taken away

[bluebottle]

Re: Edf right of entry

EDF are talking total rubbish. You say that you asked them to fit a pre-payment meter (aka a Key Meter) and they agreed to do so and to make an appointment to fit it.

However, it would appear someone within EDF decided otherwise and went scuttling off to a magistrates court and obtained an entry warrant without, it would seem, any grounds in law for doing so. Trying to blame their action on you is, in my opinion, a red herring and a rather ham-fisted attempt by EDF to deflect attention away from their questionable and potentially unlawful actions.

EDF need to explain why they obtained a warrant on what appears to be no grounds in law whatsoever, damaged your locks and trespassed on your property. I would suggest you seek a free half-hour consultation with a solicitor as there may be grounds for seeking damages from both EDF and Grosvenor Legal Services.

[Dee1966]

Re: Edf right of entry

Thanks you both for your replies

[ploddertom]

Re: Edf right of entry

Did you not receive notification of the Court application?

[bluebottle]

Re: Edf right of entry

perhaps this might help....
I used to do this job but no longer.
Agency staff go to court to get a warrant. the warrant is granted for rights of entry in a mag court...

then the agent, lock smith and engineer turn up at the address

normally then they remove the METER. if somebody is present a pre-pay meter is fitted.

the cost for court engineer and locksmith is added to the debt on the meter and its paid off at an agreed rate.

you should have had a court letter that you can go to court to stop this.....

i have done this when dogs have been in the house and we called for police assistance because of the dogs

i hope some inside info helps...but i am unsure you can do anything about it.

thankfully i gave up the job! i have seen people have gas and elec supply taken away

I am a retired policeman. An energy company that has gone to a magistrates court, lied to the court in order to obtain an entry warrant and then attempts to recover their costs from some poor householder is committing perjury and fraud. On the civil side, they are committing trespass as any warrant obtained by perjury would be invalid. If the court that issued the warrant finds out that an energy company has lied to them and, as a result, the warrant is invalid, the engineer, locksmith and persons responsible for obtaining the warrant will be in serious trouble, that I can assure you. The locksmith is the one who has the most to lose. If he/she is a member of the Master Locksmiths Association (MLA), they could face expulsion from its membership and may never work as a locksmith again. It may also result in any future applications by the energy company for entry warrants being more closely-scrutinised.

[Lowry123]

Re: Edf right of entry

you also need to question how much charges have been added to your meter? if your bill was running up....try pressing your meter
see how much debt is on the meter
the debt will be for outstanding elec if any money is owed
and all charges for court warrant, engineer, locksmith
agency guy swears in court....statement
each address is read out and the amount
it takes time for it to get to court and before it goes before a court....you should have had some visits from the agency to collect the debt...they will have posted letters its DCA who do this kinda of work.
i have had to call the police out when they refused to let us in and the Police would support us.
I went to one address and it was summer time and the lady had a baby (this was for scottish power)..they told us to take out the gas meter........thankfully the engineer was a good guy and made some excuse we couldnt get to the meter,
i have also had to attend where people have been stealing gas (10yrs in prison).....
Thank god I dont do this work and only did it short time.....not for me....
but the courts see it differently
if you go to tesco you dont eat the bread and then pay later....we pay after using gas/elec....
also cost of gas and elec has gone up so much...people used to pay 20% more on a key meter which was WRONG as they were paying first and others had a credit meter...but that has now changed....
hope this will help in some way.
challenge the bill for warrant,etc
ask for dates when somebody called to visit property as they normally have to do that to see if property is empty....if its empty and there is a debt on the meter...the meter is taken away

[bluebottle]

Re: Edf right of entry

you also need to question how much charges have been added to your meter? if your bill was running up....try pressing your meter
see how much debt is on the meter
the debt will be for outstanding elec if any money is owed
and all charges for court warrant, engineer, locksmith
agency guy swears in court....statement
each address is read out and the amount
it takes time for it to get to court and before it goes before a court....you should have had some visits from the agency to collect the debt...they will have posted letters its DCA who do this kinda of work.
i have had to call the police out when they refused to let us in and the Police would support us.
I went to one address and it was summer time and the lady had a baby (this was for scottish power)..they told us to take out the gas meter........thankfully the engineer was a good guy and made some excuse we couldnt get to the meter,
i have also had to attend where people have been stealing gas (10yrs in prison).....
Thank god I dont do this work and only did it short time.....not for me....
but the courts see it differently
if you go to tesco you dont eat the bread and then pay later....we pay after using gas/elec....
also cost of gas and elec has gone up so much...people used to pay 20% more on a key meter which was WRONG as they were paying first and others had a credit meter...but that has now changed....
hope this will help in some way.
challenge the bill for warrant,etc
ask for dates when somebody called to visit property as they normally have to do that to see if property is empty....if its empty and there is a debt on the meter...the meter is taken away

Unfortunately, police officers these days seem to be clueless as to what they should do in cases such as this. I am what is known as "Old School". I was a copper in Central London and then with a national police force. If we had any doubts about a warrant, our instructions were to stop the locksmith, etc., from entering and check with the court. This was, mainly, in cases where a debtor had vacated a property and a new occupant was in situ.

[Dee1966]

Re: Edf right of entry

Did you not receive notification of the Court application?

No I haven't received any notification I thought I was waiting for an appointment

[Dee1966]

Re: Edf right of entry

There ŵas no police here they called a dog handler out I understand they locked one of my jack Russell's in a room and let him out when they left

[bluebottle]

Re: Edf right of entry

Then it is clearly evident that EDF have mislead a court in order to obtain an entry warrant. That is serious and they need to be challenged. You need to speak to a legal professional about this.

[bizzybob]

Re: Edf right of entry

Yes do as BB suggests, get an initial free consultation with a solicitor/legel professional. there may be one around who does pro bono cases for people in need I would also lodge a complaint with those rubber toothed muppets at OFGEM, and for good measure BBC Watchdog.

EDF are totally out of order

[charitynjw]

Re: Edf right of entry

EDF Energy is the most complained about of the 'big six' gas and electricity firms

EDF Energy was the most complained about of the ‘big six’ energy firms at the end of last year, according to figures demanded by regulator Ofgem.

The gas and electricity supplier received 8,072 complaints for each 100,000 customers in the final quarter of the year - more than double the 4,001 logged for the second most complained-about firm npower.

Britain's biggest energy supplier, British Gas, said it received 2,285 complaints per 100,000 accounts, while E.ON posted 3,023, SSE 1,435 and Scottish Power 1,359.

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/b...#ixzz2ZNMUbogH
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[bluebottle]

Re: Edf right of entry

EDF Energy is the most complained about of the 'big six' gas and electricity firms

EDF Energy was the most complained about of the ‘big six’ energy firms at the end of last year, according to figures demanded by regulator Ofgem.

The gas and electricity supplier received 8,072 complaints for each 100,000 customers in the final quarter of the year - more than double the 4,001 logged for the second most complained-about firm npower.

Britain's biggest energy supplier, British Gas, said it received 2,285 complaints per 100,000 accounts, while E.ON posted 3,023, SSE 1,435 and Scottish Power 1,359.

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/b...#ixzz2ZNMUbogH
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

That is nothing for EDF to be proud of it. In fact, it is disturbing. We need the watchdog to be given teeth that bite and a bite that hurts. And quickly.

[enquirer]

Re: Edf right of entry

Bluebottle is right in every respect.

Inveigle EDF into a written admission that they knew of your request for a prepayment meter and appointment to fit it. Get that and you can thrash them.

Do you own the house?