Annual gas service: tenants' rights (Scotland)?

Contains_Mild_Peril

I know that landlords are obliged to have gas appliances serviced annually with or without the co-operation of the tenant, but does anyone here know what the rules are about appointments, forced entry, complaints procedures etc?
I live in a local housing partnership (basically a housing association which took over from the council) flat, and the company which carries out the gas servicing has been messing me around. They do not normally give even an approximate appointment time: the tenant is expected to wait in all day. Is this normal?
The first appointment they sent me was for 2 June, and the letter said to contact them if the appointment was not convenient. Since I would be at work in the afternoon on that date, I told them this, and they said they could make it a morning appointment. I said that would be fine, but I thought it only fair to mention that my son had chicken pox at the time, in case the gas engineer hadn't had it and wanted to avoid infection. The telephonist then suggested changing the appointment to 10 June, and I agreed.
Unfortunately due to unforeseen family circumstances I had to ask them to reschedule, and arranged an appointment over the phone for 14 June (unspecified time). I waited in all day on 14th but heard nothing from them. I later received a recorded delivery letter saying I'd had at least 2 letters or cards but had failed to respond (the only letter/card I'd received up till then was the one with the initial appointment), giving me another appointment for 24 June and threatening to make arrangements for forced entry if necessary should I miss the appointment. Again, I waited in all day, listening for a knock at the door or (more likely I thought) the loud buzz of the entry-phone for the block's security door. I was flabbergasted when I found a "sorry you were out" slip had been put through my letterbox: whoever put it there was very quiet and made no attempt to let me know they were there.
I then received a hand-delivered letter from my landlords on Tuesday with an appointment for today, stating "If you fail to give us access on the date specified we will have to force entry into your home, and you have now incurred a standard recharge cost of £50.00".
Since another matter came up requiring my attention, I phoned the contractors yesterday and asked if they could give me an approximate time so that I could fit in with other arrangements, but they said this would not be possible, nor would an alternative date be possible. I'm quite angry at having to wait in possibly all day again when this should have been done and dusted weeks ago, and it's extremely inconvenient for me to avoid scheduling anything else today.
Are they really entitled to expect people to take days off at the drop of a hat? Is there any limit on how many times they can do this?
When I phoned the gas service company I was told they have no record of the appointment being changed from 10 to 14 June, and that an engineer called on 10th (when I was out). If that's true why didn't they leave a card? They allegedly sent a letter with an appointment for 17th but I did not receive it, and again, no card was left when the engineer allegedly visited. I now feel I'm being penalised for having the consideration to warn them about my son's infectious chickenpox in the first place.

Jowo_2

Shelter Scotland should be able to advise. As an owner I've experienced similar missed appointments from gas contractors where they claim they have called but have not.

Be aware that the following links may perhaps only apply to England/Wales (not sure if these are national guidelines) so do verify this

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/gas_safety.htm

When complaining to the HA of the poor service, including their gas contractors, do it in writing and keep a copy. Make sure you stress your cooperation and emphasise their administrative failings, such as not giving notice, date mixups, missing letters, etc.

In case you are not aware, landlords face severe penalties for not complying with gas safety regulations, including criminal prosecution and civil penalties and will presumably take a dim view of tenants that expose them to this risk?

What does your contract or tenant handbook say about gas safety visits and access?

Contains_Mild_Peril

I don't know where I put the handbook and contract, but as far as I recall they were pretty vague about it. I'll see if I can look them out later.