Note: we are republishing this story which originally made the news in November 2017.
Ian Trevethan found a note from the Essential Energy employee tasked to read his meter. The meter reader admitted to not completing his job because he encountered an unexpected hurdle.
Trevethan posted a picture of the note on social media, which revealed that the meter couldn’t be read because of the highly venomous snake lurking nearby.
He wrote on Twitter: “Found this note on the meter box this morning. Only in Australia.”
The notice left outside the gate near the meters was titled: “Your assistance is required.” Underneath the title, the meter reader had marked the box that read: “Your meter was blocked by” and an answer filled by hand reading: “brown snake.”
The note further detailed that on the morning of November 7, the meter read had managed to read one meter when the snake slithered out of the grass.
The post garnered over 550 likes in two days, and was retweeted by 215 different accounts.
The comments poured in, with a number of people highlighting the humor in the situation.
Trevethan wrote: “Brown snake scared off the meter reader but I'm certain the bill will still arrive.”
He also joked about using the snake to help him get out of paying other bills.
“I'm going to train him to lay in front of the water meter next. Might be able to hire him out,” he wrote.
Another person echoed Trevethan’s comments, writing: “Sounds like a way to stop the lazy b*****ds driving over my front lawn to get to meter box and save on the power bill.”
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Essential Energy stated that the meter reader did not take any images of the snake because it posed a health and safety risk.