Almost guilted and threatened into allowing a smart-meter to be installed

I just bought a new house about 2 months ago, and just a few minutes ago a guy from the gas company shows up to check our meter and install a new one. My husband works from home, and I am not currently working, so we see him walk down the driveway and let him in the back gate which stays locked. At that point he says he is not just here to check the meter, but to also install a new "smart-meter".

I ask him if it is mandatory, and he says "pretty much". Then I go on to tell my husband, who is standing next to the guy, that I think that is not true and it's an option. The guy then says that the government is pushing the smart-meters and that if we decline, they then have government permission to break into our back yard or even house (if the meter was located there) to change it out.

I tell him that I've read plenty about them emitting wayyyy too much radiation and that I know there are litigations going on involving them. While all this is being said, he is taking a part our pool equipment to disconnect the heater or something. I ask him to stop, and he said, "Fine, I won't waste my time, but someone will be here once a month or more to check if you are not home. When we know you aren't home, we will jump your fence to retrieve our property (old perfectly good meter). Then when you get home, all your pilot lights will be out, and you will have to call us back to turn everything back on, which could take days or longer." (Insinuating that by saying no I'm screwing myself later).

My husband then points out that we have a wrought iron pointed fence around our property that is difficult to jump. The gas guy then says, "They will find a way in somehow soon". What the heck? It got to a creepy level! This guy is threatening to put our house under surveillance to see when we leave to trespass and install this thing.

Here are a few key points on why they are dangerous and a threat to our security:
-It has a memory that can store data for data mining
-It emits high levels of radio frequency radiation which causes cancer and infertility
-It can be hacked since it is connected to the internet and personal information can be stolen
-Hackers can create large blackouts
-It can track when you are home, what devices you may be using at certain times etc.
Link
Link

It is already bad enough that there is already one smart meter on the house from when we bought it. I might try out this member's recommendation for "defeating" it.

Has anyone else felt threatened like this? I know that this country and others are turning into a surveillance state, but I have never been personally threatened before. I guess it just hit close to home, literally.

Wow...how scary! Not sure how I would have responded but he would have been off my property asap!

Last census: I am rural,my mail goes to a PO for pickup. I was leaving the office with an armload of mail going to my truck.Some chubby guy in too short pants with a bad haircut gets out of a white car and starts walking towards me...I don't let "strange men" get too close,LOL!

He asks me if I know "who lives in the house/ranch over there..." and proceeds to describe it.He then asks where I live. I simply say "I'm a local but I don't know my neighbors well, we're pretty spread out." Very politely but all the while he is advancing towards my truck...

He asks AGAIN where I live and I pretty much go on full-alert at that point and tell him to "Please step away from my truck" and that I have NO intention of sharing info with him...he gets ALL puffed up and says," Well I'm a US CENSUS TAKER" and "I work for the GOVERNMENT and I can ARREST you or have you PUT IN JAIL for failure to comply!"

Not smart on his part: I hold out my wrists and say," Have at it because either you step the **** away from my truck (I"m sitting in it now) or you and I are going to have a VERY meaningful conversation and you will NOT like the outcome!" By now, a few of the local cowboys who recognize me are heading my way...he looks like a sweaty little bully compared to them and I guess he finally decided it was not the place or time to exercise his "authorit!y" because he muttered something that sure sounded like "b*t*h" and stomped away.

It's becoming more common and frequent than we realize, you are right, I hear MANY stories lately...we need to be on guard and to NOT give in to BULLIES no matter who the hell they work for!

Wow,I wish I had something intelligent to say, but at least you handled it well.

I'd have got in a fist fight, I'm not real suave a with words in situations were I feel threatened, and that was as threatening as an encounter with a meter man as you can get.

reply to post by irishchic


Gosh that is crazy. If he was from the census, he would have knocked on their door and left a note. I'm sure simple internet searches would pull something up. I wonder what he really wanted and who he really was.

What I hate is that everyone uses the government to threaten us. The government is supposed to PROTECT us, not feel threatened to comply. It will definitely only get worse, and I cannot imagine what this world will look like in even 30 years. It will be like prison.

We can fight and fight it, but too many people are compliant simply because of this "fear". Sickening.

Originally posted by terriblyvexed
Wow,I wish I had something intelligent to say, but at least you handled it well.

I'd have got in a fist fight, I'm not real suave a with words in situations were I feel threatened, and that was as threatening as an encounter with a meter man as you can get.

When the guy said the bit about jumping our fence my husband replied to him saying "I bet that is dangerous because it warrants the property owner to pull a gun out". The guy calmly replied "Yeah, I've had a gun pulled on me once or twice".

It was like he didn't care what happened to him as long as he did his job. If I were him, I'd definitely get a new job because there are plenty around here. I wonder if they get some sort of commission for every smart meter they successfully install or something.

When I clicked the second link to find out more concerning your claim of increased radiation risk related to smart meters, I read this...

One of the most informative reports written on the subject is the Bioinitiative Report of 2012. Authored by 29 independent scientists, researchers and health policy professionals from 10 different countries, this report clearly documents evidence that numerous health problems are created by exposure to RF, including DNA breakage and cancer—and this, at levels far below the FCC standards. The report is recognized by the European Parliament, the European Environment Agency, and the Breast Cancer Fund, among others.

If the European Parliament, European Environment Agency, and the Breast Cancer Fund, are relying on the Bioinitiative Report of 2012, then why is there a 404 page not found reply when clicking the link?
Bioinitiative Report for 2012

Anything with the word Smart in it's name, is pretty stupid.

See:

Smart Phones
Smart Cars

If the European Parliament, European Environment Agency, and the Breast Cancer Fund, are relying on the Bioinitiative Report of 2012, then why is there a 404 page not found reply when clicking the link?

reply to post by totallackey


That is very strange. To me, that means that the government is trying to get rid of all studies and claims that prove them harmful so they can go on with installation. There are plenty of other doctors who have studied the effects of radio frequency radiation in depth and have found similar results. Without at least some studies proving them harmful, there wouldn't be litigations in process. The government can say they have the right to invade our privacy all they want, but when health is involved, it becomes another issue.

Much respect for the way you handled it. As soon as he said "i have permission to break into your yard" I would have reminded him that I have a legal right to protect my property, and closed the door on him.

reply to post by fictitious

That is very strange. To me, that means that the government is trying to get rid of all studies and claims that prove them harmful so they can go on with installation.

Well, there certainly is contradiction present here...If, on the one hand, your cited source claims the government recognizes the report, yet on the other, they are squelching the report...

I do not get it...

Not sure where you are locatded but hopefully this helps.

sites.google.com...

I have on opt out sticker on mine. I had to fight for it and pay $20, but I am not letting them instal one on my house.

Originally posted by totallackey
reply to post by fictitious

 

That is very strange. To me, that means that the government is trying to get rid of all studies and claims that prove them harmful so they can go on with installation.

Well, there certainly is contradiction present here...If, on the one hand, your cited source claims the government recognizes the report, yet on the other, they are squelching the report...

I do not get it...

Sure you get it. Google another study that has no broken links. My apologies for not clicking all the links on a page. There are certainly many others out there. I'm not here to argue over a broken link and your state of "confusion".

Originally posted by calstorm
Not sure where you are locatded but hopefully this helps.

sites.google.com...

I have on opt out sticker on mine. I had to fight for it and pay $20, but I am not letting them instal one on my house.

Thank you for the link. I'm in Texas, and from what I have quickly gathered, it looks like they are still trying to give us the choice to say no and ban them altogether. I should put my own sticker on there just in case though.

Sounds like you have a Natural Gas Line and they want to put the meter on that.

Easy fix. Cancel Natural Gas and get a big Propane Tank installed. Buy the $40 conversion kit to convert your Natural Gas water heater, to propane. The kit for your Stove will cost about the same.

No more Smart Meter.

Say goodbye to Natural Gas.

Originally posted by fictitious

Originally posted by terriblyvexed
Wow,I wish I had something intelligent to say, but at least you handled it well.

I'd have got in a fist fight, I'm not real suave a with words in situations were I feel threatened, and that was as threatening as an encounter with a meter man as you can get.

When the guy said the bit about jumping our fence my husband replied to him saying "I bet that is dangerous because it warrants the property owner to pull a gun out". The guy calmly replied "Yeah, I've had a gun pulled on me once or twice".

It was like he didn't care what happened to him as long as he did his job. If I were him, I'd definitely get a new job because there are plenty around here. I wonder if they get some sort of commission for every smart meter they successfully install or something.

Doesn't seem worth if he dose, for him to talk like that blows my mind.

I've know people to talk anyway they want to people, and they're not even big! But for some reason no one ever puts them in their place, if I talked like that I'd expect nothing less than to be popped in the jaw.

We have gas here and are looking for a house in the okanagan, which will probably have gas. But we won't be keeping it as gas.

First thing is to change the hot water tank over to electric. And put in a heat pump electric furnace, if you have the extra, otherwise, start with baseboard heaters.

Why go propane when you can go electric.

And then consider preparing for power outages with some generators and or/devices.

Originally posted by Unity_99
We have gas here and are looking for a house in the okanagan, which will probably have gas. But we won't be keeping it as gas.

First thing is to change the hot water tank over to electric. And put in a heat pump electric furnace, if you have the extra, otherwise, start with baseboard heaters.

Why go propane when you can go electric.

And then consider preparing for power outages with some generators and or/devices.

The thing is, is that we like having gas. It is cheaper than electricity (at least here), and if something were to happen, we could still cook and have hot water and start our fireplace. We have a water well (just got done battling with the city water that makes it mandatory to use only city water in the house) which can be rerouted to our house and not just yard, and having the gas, especially living in a place where hurricanes put the power out all the time, is beneficial.

Sometimes I wish that show Revolution would be real life. Turning everything off sure would set us back, but it would definitely solve a lot of problems too.

Originally posted by Pervius
Sounds like you have a Natural Gas Line and they want to put the meter on that.

Easy fix. Cancel Natural Gas and get a big Propane Tank installed. Buy the $40 conversion kit to convert your Natural Gas water heater, to propane. The kit for your Stove will cost about the same.

No more Smart Meter.

Say goodbye to Natural Gas.

I wish I could do this. My husband and I were building a house before we bought this one, and it was going to have propane because it was out in the sticks. My husband works from home and needs a ridiculous amount of internet upload speed, and that area couldn't support it, so we ended up buying a house on a couple acres in the city. It was a steal and a find because no one has acreage here. The drawback is city water, no propane, no nothing.

We got lucky that the house was built in the 70s and has had a well maintained water well that got grandfathered in. Many were capped off, but the previous owner fought for it, and we can still use it, only for outside purposes. I wish we were somewhere more off the grid and could have propane and a water well for everything, but it wasn't an option at the moment. But hey, I got a pool with the house, so it sort of makes up for not building that new house of ours.

reply to post by fictitious


If its cheaper that is one thing, but here its more expensive than electric even though we're providing the US with some of its gas, and our government sold it out to American companies to charge us more. So our gas bill is cost averaged at 289, our electric at 105. if it was only electric at 200-225, I'd be happy. But heat pump furnaces have really low costs to operate and are cool in the summer, no need for air conditioners, so they're the best price going.

When our governments sold off tax paid for utilities to foreigners, many complained and the courts ruled that politiicans are not hired as salespeople for the countries resources, a good decision. Then our government made new illegal legislation that allowed it, and weren't challenged again apparently.

It's like owning a house outright, and your government steals it from you, sells it to a foreigner, who charges you high rent! I call it treason actually!

reply to post by Unity_99


Wow that is interesting. I don't exactly keep up with information like that, but thanks for sharing. I would be outraged too. It's funny how your electricity is so low though. My bill is already at $175 for this month, and it has a week more to go, so it'll be above $200 for sure.

I really hate how all governments seem to be involved in so many sects of our daily life. We all know that privatized companies usually do a better and more efficient job at pretty much anything. The government keeps taking over more and more though. If it isn't the actual company/industry, they put into act some new legislation that gives them more power over it somehow.