I broke the main fuse seal

[pete01]

their personal safety

Why, is it dangerous?

 

[JohnW2]

Why, is it dangerous?

Replacing a CU whilst it was still connected to live tails might be considered a little dangerous

 

[pete01]

Replacing a CU whilst it was still connected to live tails might be considered a little dangerous

Taking a fuse out under no load is pretty safe in my opinion...

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Goodness, have you got nothing better to do with your time this afternoon?

I could point out the same John


You want safety, the DNO offer an entirely risk-free method.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Taking a fuse out under no load is pretty safe in my opinion...

Whereas, deliberately shorting the tails in an attempt to blow the 100amp fuse, is potentially very risky. Likely the flying, burning hot copper, might well blind you.

 

[JohnW2]

Taking a fuse out under no load is pretty safe in my opinion...

Quite so - and provided one knows what sort of cutouts 'to go nowhere near' (which may also be true of DNO personnel!), an awful lot safer than doing things with live tails!

 

[JohnW2]

Whereas, deliberately shorting the tails in an attempt to blow the 100amp fuse, is potentially very risky.

Indeed. I don't think that anyone has suggested otherwise, have they?

 

[JohnW2]

You want safety, the DNO offer an entirely risk-free method.

Entirely risk-free for the electrician/"electrician"/DIYer, yes - but not without any risk to the DOO's personnel. Indeed, if there were absolutely no risk to their personnel, then nor would there be any risk to anyone else ('competent') who did it.

 

[morqthana]

I wanted to fit another electricity meter, just to check on the company's one,

Out of interest, why didn't you trust theirs?

 

[morqthana]

my thinking was there is a conspiracy to defraud the unsuspecting British public...

 

[morqthana]

Hmmm. Your friend seems to think differently from us, since "...appear rare or not widely documented..." seems to imply that he thinks that there have been at least some prosecutions.

The AI is doing what any sensible person would do if asked, formally, to answer the question. Remember - absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so not finding any evidence of prosecutions doesn't mean there haven't been any, so saying there have never been cannot be the answer. The proper response is to say what it did. Presumably it's been trained not to respond "don't ask me - I don't have a scooby".

I still think that, particularly in the absence of a 'smart' meter, a successful criminal prosecution (for just pulling the fuse) could be very difficult to achieve (lack of adequate 'proof' to satisfy the criminal burden) and this may be part of the reason we don't see such prosecutions. Quite apart from the matter of cost (in terms of time, effort and money),

Indeed. I'm pretty sure they would have to be private prosecutions, as I doubt the CPS would be interested.

 

[morqthana]

A friend of a friend *Both Electricians) had the idea to deliberately short the fuse (cut out) then quickly change the consumer unit, then report a "Power Cut" and get a DNO fix and therefore they would be unaware a new CU had been fitted.

Whether or not he ever went thru with his madcap plan I have no idea.

If you didn't hear of death or serious injury you can probably have quite a good idea.

 

[JohnW2]

Yes, because the two meters agree 100%, my thinking was there is a conspiracy to defraud the unsuspecting British public...

Do you hink the same about your gas and water etc. usage - and, if so, do you have a way of 'checking' the supplier's metering of that?

... and do you perhaps have some way checking the volume of fuel delivered to your car by a 'petrol pump' - and, indeed, do you weigh all the items you buy from supermarkets/wherever?

 

[JohnW2]

The AI is doing what any sensible person would do if asked, formally, to answer the question. Remember - absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so not finding any evidence of prosecutions doesn't mean there haven't been any, so saying there have never been cannot be the answer.

No, so the honest answer (if such were the case) would presumably be that "I/we have not been able to identify a case", or something like that, wouldn't it? To say that something "appears rare" (without qualification) surely implies that the person saying it knows that the answer is non-zero, doesn't it?

Indeed. I'm pretty sure they would have to be private prosecutions, as I doubt the CPS would be interested.

Quite - although there appears to be uncertainty as to whether it would constitute a criminal offence, anyway. Furthermore, as I've said, even were there potentially a criminal offence, and even if the CPS authorised a prosecution, I think (for reasons I've explained) that a criminal conviction would be difficult to achieve - and, as I said, I imagine that the last thing the DNOs would want to risk happening would be a reputation for having a string of unsuccessful criminal prosecutions to their name

 

[morqthana]

Does anyone know exactly which law makes it illegal?

ESQCR

25.—(1) No person shall make or alter a connection from a distributor’s network to a consumer’s installation, a street electrical fixture or to another distributor’s network without that distributor’s consent, unless such consent has been unreasonably withheld.

Even if that doesn't catch removing the fuse. replacing it is making a connection.