Someone stealing electricity: how to get Sevillana to help?

This is not our own problem but that of a friend and we are trying to help her.  Maybe Maria can comment on Sevillana's legal obligations.

Our friend bought a village house two years ago. They have always had ridiculously high electricity bills considering that they don't heat water by electricity and have only two small panel radiators that they use modestly in the winter.  Their bills are well over €350 - twice what we pay for a 330sq metre, 5 bedroom house. They have complained more than once to Sevillana and asked them to investigate but they refuse.  They have tried turning off everything in the house but the meter still turns round... somewhat suspicious.

Opposite them is a house owned by Spanish people who are there a good deal.  They have a meter in the wall which is read regularly but in the time our friends have lived there has not moved on BY ONE UNIT!!  There is also a suspicious bulge in the road running between the two houses.   The neighbours were not there for most of the period of the last bill and - what a surprise - the bill went down to €105.

So the questions are:

If someone is stealing their electricity, clearly from their side of the meter, whose problem is it, their's or Sevillana's?  and
Even if it is considered their problem, should not Sevillana at the very least be prepared to send someone to have a look.

We have advised them to put it all in writing, take a photo of the neighbour's meter with its non-existent reading, and take it to their nearest Sevillana office with a request that they investigate it immediately or they will be filling in the hoja de reclamaciones.

Clearly if theft is occurring it is not Sevillana who are the victims and they may well not be interested in the theft itself, which may have to be dealt with via a denuncio, but they need Sevillana's help to investigate the meter as they should not be touching it themselves.

Anyone any ideas - they are a lovely couple who really cannot afford this expense.

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Interesting one!
When you say they've tried turning everything off in the house, have they cut off the supply using the main breaker switch in their fuse box? If the meter still turns, there must be a feed going direct from their meter to someone elses property.
How about getting a (qualified & certified) electrician to investigate? OK, it will cost, but the ultimate saving should compensate for that. I'm not sure that Sevillana would consider it their responsibility to investigate, since as you say, where the electricity goes after the meter is not their concern. If indeed a feed is going out of their meter and across the road, why not just cut it off? What can the house over the road do?

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When the suspected electric robo's are at their property, and your electric meter is going round faster than a washing machine on fast spin, get a electrician to pull the fuse by your electric meter.

This will cut the supply to your prooperty and anyone else with power passing through your meter.

Keep a watch, it will not take long before someone starts looking why there is a power cut, if you have cut them off.

If this proves the point, call the police in.

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Thank you both for that.  We had indeed recommeded that they do as you say Roberto and they say they have tried it, but the result is the meter still goes round. We are going to go and see them - they live an hour or so away so finding the time is a bit of a challenge - to have a go ourselves.  They can of course call in an electrician but that is yet more money and they are interested in getting a refund for the literally thousands of euros they have had stolen from them.  

Pulling the fuse by the meter is a thought.... unfortunately the robbers have not been seen for over two months (hence the suspiciously low last bill compared with previous).

I just can't believe Sevillana are so hard about this.

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This happens more often then one thinks, also with water. As far as the utility companies are concerned, whatever happens after your meter, is your problem. Here is the usual solution: Call an Endesa/Sevillana licensed electrician, easily found on the internet, and really the only people you should be using anyway for every job, and have him do an investigation. With the results, you denounce the thieves at the local Guardia Civil office if in a pueblo, a town a national police office. Of course, you want to claim all moneys back, so you make a proper claim calculated over the time you have been supplying your neighbours, and have it out in the courts, or settle out of court. The same electrician should be able to find the link and disconnect the line straight away.

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Thanks Robert. That's more or less what is now happening, although it has moved on a bit since my previous post.  Our friends were observed by locals photographing the meter which was at more or less zero and had not moved for 2 years.  Next thing they know the neighbours turned up for the first time in months and guess what - the meter started going round!  They are going to be pursuing a claim running into thousands...

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Excellent! Good luck with that.

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