Quizzes & Puzzles6 mins ago
Meter Reading Job. A Con?
I've just filled out an application form for employment with a gas/electric meter reading company (Meter-U). I have just read their employment information and the company are expecting successful applicants to hand over �520, which would then be re-imbursed weekly over the first three months of employment. I would have to 'beg, borrow or steal' this amount of money! Does anyone else on AB have any experience or advice about this company? Many thanks in advance.
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my messages are being ignored by both meter u and the agency. so not looking to good . im still in contact with others that were at the training and they are in the same boat, so looks like you were right to say its a scam
Have to say, M-U seemed pretty legit - no hidden surprises from them, although the amount of work that came through in the the 3 weeks was around 2-300 meters a week, so no great money to be made there.
BMSL (Beaver Management Services) on the other hand... some sound advice, if you happen to get an interview with these guys, please ensure you get an honest and open answer as to realisitic take home pay, because you will be given a payment-per-metre figure for your area. BEWARE! This might seem attractive but it is a GROSS figure, before deductions:
even though you are technically self employed, they will force you to use an umbrella scheme for PAYE. (unless you have a limited company set up, in which case they will pay you the gross directly, leaving your accountant to do the rest) This will remove £10-20 in costs from your nett pay immediately.
Then your gross will have employees AND employers PAYE and NI conts removed.
You can file expenses of up to £117 per week - to clarify, these will not be reimbursed , but are tax deductable. In my first week, I read 227 metres at £1.32 = £299 gross. I filed £100 of fuel and meal expenses, so £100 of gross pay was tax free, then you have the personal allowance (according to your tax code). The umbrella company then deducted holiday pay 'layaway' of £30. After PAYE and NI, I then took home the grand sum of £180, for a 38 hour week, at roughly 78p per metre, having forked out 60 quid on diesel!
Added to all of this is the insult of spending 2 days classroom based training 60 miles from home, plus 2 days on the job training - with NO PAY for any of these days. Again, BMSL were less than forthcoming with this info, promising at the interview that these days would be paid at 'a training rate of £50 per day'. (To be fair to M-U,
M-U did pay £50 per day 'down time' money whilst we waited for equipment to arrive.
In summary, M-U seem like an up front and genuine company. This is a good job for those who are self motivated and like being outdoors. Watch you joblist, because the rural ones will leave you potentially out of pocket. Fuel costs are high, and wear on your car will be considerable even in urban areas.
BMSL were less than open in their recruitment, and in the rush to bank their fees, did certainly not tell any of the 3 of us at the interview how much we could realistically expect to take home. Whilst they were honest about the rigours of the job, they skirted around the umbrella scheme, (in fact, did not even tell us how to join such a scheme, or indeed which company they used) only gave gross figures, lied about training payments and were less than helpful in the following week when we were all left in limbo awaiting equipment. Approach with caution!
Further to this, can anyone clarify weither accomodation is provided or weither I would have to pay for this?
Also, is there any deposit for the data unit's for recording the meter readings on.
Thanks and best wishes,
Tony.
I'm still goign to attend the interview as if nothing's wrong, but if I hear nothing, i'll know why. I have an unspent conviction on file, but unsure how it'll effect me.
I'm now very wary of agencies, as most of them require special terms imposed on working with them.
I would have avoided this like the plauge if I had known, but for the right people, this job COULD be a fantastic money earner. I'm unfortunatly not one of them.
I have read with interest all the comments that everyone has posted. I found this job through my local jobcentre (Sutton - South London/Surrey), and I have an interview this Friday - 28th Feb (At Croydon Job centre). I would be very interested to hear any up to date comments from anybody who has any recent experiences, especially in my part of the country, and would also love to pick the brain of user 'DTURN' if he/she is still active in this forum, and also still working with Meter-U.
Regards
Joe
I have read with interest all the comments posted here regarding this job/company. I am booked in for an interview with this company this Friday at Croydon Job Centre and would be keen to hear if anybody has any up to date/recent experience of this job/opportunity, especially in my area - Sutton/Morden/Croydon. I would be particularly keen to hear from user 'DTURN' if he/she is still active on this site, and maybe still in the job.
Regards
Joe
After the initial shock of being let go had worn off and considering how much I enjoyed the work, I decided to continue as a meter reader for another meter reading company (Lowri Beck.) Even though I enjoy working for the LB (the money is less,) I was told that I can reapply to Meter-U after a year, which I did, but have yet to receive a response of any kind.
Does anyone on this board think there can be a precedent for rehiring fired personnel and should I attempt to phone the recruitment manager to convince them of the value I can be to them again?
Thanks for any advice.
I would be interested to read from current employees/franchisees what their present status is? Thanks!
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