Recently I recieved a notice from my electricity supplier stating that bogus personel was attempting to offer prepayment keys to npower customers, the letter read as follows.
We've recently been m ade aware of criminal activity, which is currently targeting customers with types of key electricity meters.
customers throughout the country have been offered the use of a prepayment key at a discounted rate of £20 or £25. The bogus salesmen often claim to be energy compony employees and say they need to access the meter in the home to top up the credit. Their illegal devices adds £50 credit to the meter, but also wipes off any credit already on the meter.
What they don't say is that customers will effectively have to pay twice for this discounted credit-first to the bogus salesmen for no benefit and second to npower for electricity used.
When the power compony next recieve readings from the meter and send a statement, the credit purchased using the npower key won't match the amount of electricity used, so they will expect the difference to be paid.
We're here to help you, we want to remind all prepayment customers of the following,
Prepayment keys and cards can only be topped up at authorised payzone and post Office outlets
No employee or agent of npower would ever sell credit door to door or outside a payment outlet.
for your safety you should never let anyone into your home without carefully checking their identity (call their compony first if you have any concerns)
If you have been offered discounted credit you can call the dedicated phone number 0845 672 0077.
Tens of thousands of electricity customers are being ripped off by criminals using a sophisticated meter key scam.
Doorstep salesmen offer victims the chance of illegal half-price electricity, according to watchdog Consumer Focus.
An estimated 85,000 households have so far fallen victim to the scam since the start of the summer.
Con: An estimated 85,000 households have fallen victim to an electricity meter top-up scam where doorstep salesman offer a cloned key for half-price
Customers are offered a £50 electricity meter top-up key for a cash payment of just £25.
The salesmen then push the cloned key into the householder's meter to add the credit and the extra electricity is added.
However, since the card has been cloned it is illegal and therefore customers have to then pay their energy supplier all over again.
A national campaign was launched today, urging electricity pre-payment meter customers to buy top-ups only through official channels.
HOW THE SCAM WORKS
Doorstep salesman offers householder a £50 electricity meter top-up key for £25
Salesman pushes the cloned key into householder's meter and the extra electricity is added
Energy supplier can tell key is an illegal clone and charges customer for electricity again - at full-price
Christine McGourty, director of Energy UK, which represents all the leading energy companies, said: 'This is a serious and widespread scam and we're launching the Top-Up Safe campaign to urge customers to steer clear of the criminals behind it.
'Just like when you buy something fake online - like a ticket for a football match or a music concert - you're the one who'll end up losing out in the end.
'Energy companies can detect the fraud and you'll end up paying twice for your electricity, first to the criminal and then again to your energy company, who can always detect when electricity has been used, but not paid for through the proper channels.
'Energy companies are determined to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice and are working closely with the police at a local and national level to stamp out this illegal activity.'
Mike O'Connor, chief executive of Consumer Focus, said: 'This despicable scam is putting cash in the pockets of criminals and defrauding thousands of people who are already hard pressed in this economic climate.
'Consumers must be on the alert for anyone who comes to their doorstep claiming to sell electricity credit. Any customer worried that they may have been affected should call their energy supplier or Consumer Direct to seek advice.'
Dave Cording, Crimestoppers' Director of Operations, added: 'If anyone knows someone selling illegal electricity top-ups, please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or Crimestoppers-uk.org.
'The public can play a vital role in helping to catch criminals, simply by taking a few minutes to pass on any information they may have.'
We've recently been m ade aware of criminal activity, which is currently targeting customers with types of key electricity meters.
customers throughout the country have been offered the use of a prepayment key at a discounted rate of £20 or £25. The bogus salesmen often claim to be energy compony employees and say they need to access the meter in the home to top up the credit. Their illegal devices adds £50 credit to the meter, but also wipes off any credit already on the meter.
What they don't say is that customers will effectively have to pay twice for this discounted credit-first to the bogus salesmen for no benefit and second to npower for electricity used.
When the power compony next recieve readings from the meter and send a statement, the credit purchased using the npower key won't match the amount of electricity used, so they will expect the difference to be paid.
We're here to help you, we want to remind all prepayment customers of the following,
Prepayment keys and cards can only be topped up at authorised payzone and post Office outlets
No employee or agent of npower would ever sell credit door to door or outside a payment outlet.
for your safety you should never let anyone into your home without carefully checking their identity (call their compony first if you have any concerns)
If you have been offered discounted credit you can call the dedicated phone number 0845 672 0077.
Tens of thousands of electricity customers are being ripped off by criminals using a sophisticated meter key scam.
Doorstep salesmen offer victims the chance of illegal half-price electricity, according to watchdog Consumer Focus.
An estimated 85,000 households have so far fallen victim to the scam since the start of the summer.
Con: An estimated 85,000 households have fallen victim to an electricity meter top-up scam where doorstep salesman offer a cloned key for half-price
Customers are offered a £50 electricity meter top-up key for a cash payment of just £25.
The salesmen then push the cloned key into the householder's meter to add the credit and the extra electricity is added.
However, since the card has been cloned it is illegal and therefore customers have to then pay their energy supplier all over again.
A national campaign was launched today, urging electricity pre-payment meter customers to buy top-ups only through official channels.
HOW THE SCAM WORKS
Doorstep salesman offers householder a £50 electricity meter top-up key for £25
Salesman pushes the cloned key into householder's meter and the extra electricity is added
Energy supplier can tell key is an illegal clone and charges customer for electricity again - at full-price
Christine McGourty, director of Energy UK, which represents all the leading energy companies, said: 'This is a serious and widespread scam and we're launching the Top-Up Safe campaign to urge customers to steer clear of the criminals behind it.
'Just like when you buy something fake online - like a ticket for a football match or a music concert - you're the one who'll end up losing out in the end.
'Energy companies can detect the fraud and you'll end up paying twice for your electricity, first to the criminal and then again to your energy company, who can always detect when electricity has been used, but not paid for through the proper channels.
'Energy companies are determined to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice and are working closely with the police at a local and national level to stamp out this illegal activity.'
Mike O'Connor, chief executive of Consumer Focus, said: 'This despicable scam is putting cash in the pockets of criminals and defrauding thousands of people who are already hard pressed in this economic climate.
'Consumers must be on the alert for anyone who comes to their doorstep claiming to sell electricity credit. Any customer worried that they may have been affected should call their energy supplier or Consumer Direct to seek advice.'
Dave Cording, Crimestoppers' Director of Operations, added: 'If anyone knows someone selling illegal electricity top-ups, please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or Crimestoppers-uk.org.
'The public can play a vital role in helping to catch criminals, simply by taking a few minutes to pass on any information they may have.'
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