Some people are quite literally dying to lower their energy bills.
With a growing number of people renting in the UK and energy prices escalating, utility meter tampering has become far more common and culprits are often unaware of the dangers involved. It is the cause of one death or injury in every 10 days in the UK.
Both Echo Managed Services and Grosvenor Services Group carried out research and found that one in ten people in the UK are either killed or injured from manipulating energy meters and that 14% of people have noticed a tampered energy meter.
Crimestoppers UK supported the research that was undertaken and Director of Operations, Roger Critchell, stated: “Given that it is under-reported, it’s understandable that the dangers of this crime are not fully understood by members of the public in the UK.”
Risk of death, burns or shock to individuals
The dangerous practice involves bypassing the meter so that gas or electricity usage is not recorded accurately and therefore tenants don’t pay for all of the energy consumed. There is a high risk of experiencing a severe electric shock or burn, as well as increasing the chance of electrical fires, gas leaks or explosions within the property.
In fact, Scottish Power have revealed that a son was charged with the death of his mother after he caused a fire in their flat due to bypassing the electricity meter. An electrical spark resulted in a fire and his elderly, housebound mother was unable to escape.
Not only does the practice endanger the lives of the criminal and those living in the property, but it is estimated that approximately £400m in energy is stolen annually in the UK. 150,000 cases are investigated a year, however, only a small percentage are actually charged; believed to be around 1,500 people a year.
Concerning statistics
Managing Director of Grosvenor Services Group, Lloyd Birkhead, said: “These figures make for uncomfortable reading. Despite more than seven million UK adults saying that they have spotted the signs of a – potentially fatal – energy meter tamper, in reality the volume of actual reported incidents is far below this level. A significant amount of ‘spotted’ instances may therefore be going unreported, causing a huge threat to households across the country.”
Both Echo Managed Services and Grosvenor Services Group believe the problem will only be set to get worse with the ever expanding private rented sector in the UK.
