disruption to mains gas supply

izoomzoom

appears leak is under my house, so it is my problem.

trying to get someone out to give me a quote as gas supplier condemned my boiler when they came around.

why oh why ??

Pssst

This seems a little unclear. Are you saying that the leak is on the incoming gas service and therefore they have temporarily disconnected it? If so,this maybe why they have kindly supplied you with heaters and a hob.

Incidentally you are only entitled to one hob and one heater if you have no other form of heating/cooking and you fall within a "vulnerable" group so you were perhaps fortunate to get them !

If the leak IS on the incoming gas service AND that asset is owned by NG ,then no doubt they will arrange to replace it asap ?


National Grid dont condemn anything. They issue warning notices ,turn off or disconnect appliances and or fittings which are actually unsafe or could be unsafe. It is then for the consumer to arrange for a suitably qualified person to assess and suggest remedies.

ex-energywatch_adviser

The following is from:

http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/en/content/cms/Energy_Help___Advice/Your_energy_question/Your_energy_question.aspxTransporters and suppliers are obliged to ensure that wherever possible they identify dangers to public health or property and act on it. Consumers should seek advice from the company that disconnected the supply as to what is required for reconnection. Usually it will involve either an inspection from a Corgi engineer (gas) or a safety certificate from and electrician.
If you report a gas leak, the local transporter will visit your home to find out where the gas is leaking from. If the boiler, cooker, fire or any other gas appliance is found to be too dangerous to use, the engineer will condemn the appliance. It will be turned off, disconnected from the gas pipes in their home and you will be told not to use it again until it is either repaired or replaced. Be aware that the engineer will always err on the side of caution - they are not usually qualified to repair appliances - but will condemn them if they believe there is a problem.
A label will be put on the appliance and you will be given a report by the engineer stating why it has been turned off. It is against the law to use an appliance that has been condemned. If the you do so, you risk your safety and the safety of the homes around you - your house insurance may also be rendered invalid.
If National Grid discovers a gas leak at a property, initially they will try to repair the leak. However, if this cannot be done within 30 minutes National Grid will disconnect the gas, and therefore make the property 'safe'. The National Grid engineer will not carry out any repairs and you should contact a CORGI registered engineer to repair or replace the appliance

soozimay

Hi all,

URGENT ADVICE PLEASE! Like two previous posts, the gas company fixing the road mains needed to run a new pipe to my elderly parents house. When they connected the new pipe to the meter they broke the other pipe running from the meter into the house. The workers just said there was a major gas leak and left without trying to find the problem, so the gas was disconnected for 2.5 days so no heating, hot water or cooker.

An independent Gas safe engineer confirms that the company doing the road works caused the damage, and the company admits liability. They company may agree to pay compensation for the serious inconvenience and distress the whole episode has caused my parents. Does anyone have an idea of what would be fair compensation? the company is coming tomorrow to discuss the situation so would be great to have an idea beforehand. thanks.

Andy_WSM

soozimay wrote: »

Does anyone have an idea of what would be fair compensation? the company is coming tomorrow to discuss the situation so would be great to have an idea beforehand. thanks.

The answer is already in this thread, a few posts above!

ex-energywatch_adviser wrote: »

Information from http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/en/content/cms/Energy_Help___Advice/Your_energy_question/Your_energy_question.aspx

Compensation for gas supply interruptions

If your property is without gas for more than 24 hours, you may be entitled to payment of compensation of £30 under the gas Guaranteed Standards. You would also be entitled to a further £30 for each additional 24 hour period without gas. National Grid (formerly known as Transco) must tell you about their right to compensation and make payment within 20 working days of a claim - either directly to you or through the supplier.

If you are registered with your gas supplier's Priority Services Register you are entitled to receive alternative cooking and heating facilities within 4 hours if less than 250 consumers are affected, or 8 hours if more than 250 consumers are affected.

spiro

Andy_WSM wrote: »

The answer is already in this thread, a few posts above!

Andy, not 100% sure about that. Thje compensation stated is to do with interuptions cause by problems with the pipes etc maintained by NGM. The issue here is their workmen damaged the customers pipework resulting in loss of supply.

Andy_WSM

spiro wrote: »

Andy, not 100% sure about that. Thje compensation stated is to do with interuptions cause by problems with the pipes etc maintained by NGM. The issue here is their workmen damaged the customers pipework resulting in loss of supply.

Sorry, you are right - I misread the bit that says "FROM the meter into the house".

soozimay

Thank both - Spiro you're right, this is different from the standard tariff for money per day without gas etc, that was mentioned in previous answers.

Parts of that will also apply, but the main query is the separate matter of compensation due to their negligence and the distress caused by my parents being told they were effectively living on a gas bomb, and all their floorbards would need to be taken up and the the whole system replaced at major cost!

Stress that neither pensioners - nor anyone else - should have because of negligence. I will share the outcome when known, as there seems to be nothing anywhere on the web to give a guide on what's fair + reasonable. Thanks.

soozimay

Hello - sorry for the delay in posting the outcome. We had a meeting with the company who employed the gas fitter who had drilled through the gas pipe, and then claimed there had always been a leak (!!!!).

As compensation for the STRESS caused by their negligence, and to cover other expenses such as telephone calls, and increased electricity costs, the company agreed to pay £100. They also paid the equivalent of the what the standard tariff sets out when gas is turned off for a few days. So overall it was about £200.
Hope this helps anyone who find themselves in this awful situation, as there really was no indication anywhere on the web on what was reasonable compensation for the distress caused.
Thanks.

kayfur

Hi guys, first post here... yesterday I noticed a gas leak coming from just outside the house, reported it to the National Grid and then the engineer found out that the leak was coming from the meter reading. He then said that because it is a semi-concealed meter reading they can't do anything about it other than cutting the supply and that I had to contact my supplier to get a replacement meter reading. So I did.... didn't get much help from them and today I haven't had much help either, they're just fobbing me off from one place to another and we're expecting now another freezing night without any heating. The most distressing bit is that we have a 15 month-old baby who needs being warm and properly washed. Any help would be forever appreciated. Thank you very much.