Eon Energy issue warrant to get into Vincent Road home

Tom Bayliss, who lives with his wife Alma, was threatened by Eon Energy with a warrant to strong-arm into their home, in Vincent Road - off Plumstead Road - in order to fit a smart meter because they allegedly couldn't access the property.

However Mr Bayliss, director of Highbury Recruitment agency in Upper King Street, claims no one turned up after either he or his wife had been at home.

He said: "Eon called me a couple of weeks ago about fitting a smart meter and we arranged for someone to come around last Monday to fit it.

Tom and Alma Bayliss, who live in Vincent Road (Image: Tom Bayliss)

"An engineer came out but because it was an old meter and there was some wiring sticking out, they said someone else had to fit it.

"My wife had Tuesday off but no one showed up, so I called Wednesday and was told someone would come later that day.

"I came home from work but still no one arrived, so I called again and was told they were in the process of getting a warrant to enter my home because they couldn't get in.

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"I had to take the rest of the week off because I didn't want them to break my door down.

"It's been an absolute nightmare, I've not known anything like it because it was just this back-and-forth when it could've been sorted so quickly."

The Eon Energy smart meter, which was at the centre of Mr Bayliss' week-long ordeal (Image: Tom Bayliss)

On Monday morning three employees from Eon came to Mr Bayliss' home with a warrant where they were let in and a smart meter was fitted in just a couple of hours.

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An Eon spokesperson said: "We've acted quickly to resolve this situation after an engineer noticed an issue with the wiring at the property.

"It's normal practice in cases where there's a safety risk to the customer and their home for us to issue a warrant if we're unable to gain entry – as was the case here despite us visiting and trying to contact the customer by phone."

Eon Energy claims it couldn't get into Mr and Mrs Bayliss' home in Vincent Road, while the husband and wife say they were there all week (Image: Google Maps)