What The .......?

[securespark]

I would be absolutely livid!

How can this sort of mistake happen?

SSE broke into our home and changed the locks - we're not even a customer

A COUPLE say they were left feeling “sick” and “humiliated” after SSE Energy mistakenly broke into their home in a huge billing blunder. Rachael Holgate from Hull isn’…

www.thesun.co.uk

 

[JohnW2]

I would be absolutely livid!

Quite so!

How can this sort of mistake happen?

Mistakes happen in all walks of life, but the perpetrators certainly should correct things very rapidly once the error has been brought to their attention.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Colin Brenton]

Criminal charges and/or private prosecution against the individuals responsible.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Criminal charges and/or private prosecution against the individuals responsible.

Trouble is they are large companies, which makes it difficult to pin the blame down on an individual - says Harry, still owed a large sum by his energy supplier and six months after they went bust.

 

[JBR]

I'd be taking them to court and expect a very generous compensation for all the trouble they have caused.

 

[JohnW2]

I'd be taking them to court and expect a very generous compensation for all the trouble they have caused.

I suspect that their lawyers will already have thought of that possibility, such that they might well offer "generous compensation" without the victim having to take any action!

Kind Regards, John

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

In the real world they offered £100.

 

[JohnW2]

In the real world they offered £100.

Hmmmm !

Kind Regards, John

 

[SimonH2]

And yet, we are expected to trust that the energy suppliers would never ever make such a mistake and remotely disconnect someone in error
Personally, I would be straight onto the phone to the police - criminal damage, trespass*, extortion**, and anything else I could think of. They either did that without a warrant, or they lied to the court.
* Yes, I know it's generally a civil matter, but it can be a criminal matter in some situations.
** Forcing me to pay their pre-pay rates instead of my usual rates to my usual supplier.
And of course, if (as the article claims) I couldn't top up the meter and it ran out, then the house would be uninhabitable and so they'd be on the hook for our hotel bills and loss of food in the freezer, and/or hire of a decent genny.

 

[JohnW2]

And yet, we are expected to trust that the energy suppliers would never ever make such a mistake and remotely disconnect someone in error

If we are to believe what we are being told, it would appear that suppliers have agreed not to use the 'remote disconnect' facilities to disconnect individual consumers for 'commercial reasons'. If that's true, it would be a very big 'error' if they did it!

Personally, I would be straight onto the phone to the police - criminal damage, trespass*, extortion**, and anything else I could think of. They either did that without a warrant, or they lied to the court.

It would be tempting to do that but, from experiences I have heard of, I rather suspect that (even though probably incorrectly) they would probably say that it was "not a criminal matter". However, if the police did take the report seriously, the supplier might then well ('on advice') say or do nothing in relation to the matter until the police investigation had been concluded and any court hearings had taken place!

Kind Regards, John

 

[JBR]

And yet, we are expected to trust that the energy suppliers would never ever make such a mistake and remotely disconnect someone in error
Personally, I would be straight onto the phone to the police - criminal damage, trespass*, extortion**, and anything else I could think of. They either did that without a warrant, or they lied to the court.
* Yes, I know it's generally a civil matter, but it can be a criminal matter in some situations.
** Forcing me to pay their pre-pay rates instead of my usual rates to my usual supplier.
And of course, if (as the article claims) I couldn't top up the meter and it ran out, then the house would be uninhabitable and so they'd be on the hook for our hotel bills and loss of food in the freezer, and/or hire of a decent genny.

I agree, and in that situation I certainly would.
On the other hand, do we still have any police?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Tell them it was a hate incident and you were offended.

 

[ericmark]

I remember my dad being locked out of his home, my sister had died, and my dad was living with my sister, mother of course was distressed by the death, so I travelled the 70 miles to sisters house and collected dad, after a few days he wanted to return as he had doctors appointments and it would take some time to re-register with a new doctor, and he would need to pick up his belongings. So dropped him off as sisters house and started to drive home again, to see him in mirror franticly waving, and returned to find all locks changed, we alerted police, who said if we break in they would arrest us, seems the house had been left to my sisters friend who had engaged a lock smith to change all locks.

We never did get all our property back, and due to not getting hospital letters my dad did not go for an operation in time, which lead to his death, by time all the transfer was done to local doctor and new appointments made, he had reached a point where they could no longer operate.

I was the only one to be left anything in my sisters will, all her jewellery, of which I only got some, the contents of the house were put into a storage container, and house sold, but the point is the police were no help, and supported my dad being locked out of his home. He was looking after my sister so no tenants agreement.

So yes it seems like a case of breaking and entry, and one would have thought the police would help, but I found the hard way this is not the case.

 

[SimonH2]

While a distressing story, it's a very different situation. In the OP there was no doubt about the owner's rights to live there, and questions whether the lecky people had any right to enter.
In your father's case, there would probably have been a case to me made that he had an implied tenancy (esoecially if there was any "consideration" such as contributing to bills) and locking him out was an illegal eviction. Also, not allowing you to get your possessions was clearly theft by keeping.

I've heard a few takes of the police refusing to accept there's been an offence committed - and I've been met with that myself. I have sometimes mused as to what would happen if you were sure enough of your facts to then try and report the officers involved for conspiracy to commit an offence or aiding an offender.
I guess the risk is that you are then a target for every minor infraction - walking on the cracks in the pavement, wearing a loud shirt during the hours of darkness, ... (c.f. Constable Savage, NTNOCN)

 

[johnny2007]

What happened to my diamond ring, £5000 in cash and bag of jewellery worth £30k that were in the house???
They could pay their mortgage off courtesy of SSE.