Power Cuts

davidgmmafan

The example you give all the time, DirectLine made a big deal of it in one of thier adverts because they covered people who were hit by uninsured drivers.

I don't get this sense of entitlement lots of people seem to have these days. Its not your fault, its not thier fault, so why are you entitled to thier money?

In the car example you'd be in exactly the same situation, and yes it sucks, but sometimes things happen...

Just to avoid doubt were you talking to the supplier or the distributor?

The supplier has no involement with what happened. If for example you were having frequent power outages and changed supplier because of it that would make no difference.

I think for car insurance they say the discount is a no claim discount not a no blame discount...

vix2000

And if you are hit by an uninsured driver you claim from the uninsured drivers fund that we all contribute to when we pay our car insurance. Nothing to do with my point, however, as I never mentioned an uninsured driver???

I am also not claiming any entitlement to anyones money as you advocate, just that this is their responsibility. I don't get this sense that I pay for an electric supply I havent had for 2 days, and the company can devoid themselves for all responsibility for this. If I lived in a country where they are lucky to have an electricity supply and expected constant power failures I would have a generator, as we had in Bulgaria.

grahamc2003

vix2000 wrote: »

TBH its not so much about the compensation as the principle. I have no objection claiming on my house insurance and losing my no claims discount for something that is my fault, but the assumption that I should do that for something that is not my fault???? ..

So if lightening hit your house and burnt it down, you'd feel miffed when you claimed?

I think you get your electricity supply via 'best endeavors'. You pay a daily charge for someone to use their best endeavors to get a supply to you, with no guarantee of that supply 100% of the time (such a system would be impossible anyway). Nevertheless, I believe you get automatic compensation if your supply isn't available for longer than a certain time.

Was the fault at the substation done deliberately by someone wanting to deprive you of your supply, or was it an unforseen problem which every piece of machinary experiences? Did the engineers dispatched to fix it decide to stay in bed, or did they promptly make their way to address the problem?

As I say, the only reason you expect an unrealistic perfection in your supply is that for many years you've had near perfection, and you simply don't appreciate what goes on behind the scenes, even in severe weather and horrible dangerous conditions, to give you that.

Fortunately, the compensation culture hasn't hit the esi in the same way as the nhs for example. If I were you, I'd hope that situation remains.

davidgmmafan

"Its a bit like if I skid in the snow, hit your car (my fault) and say its not my responsibility, claim on your car insurance, thats what you've got it for."

Perhaps you meant on a bike? In any event its a similar situation. I have to pay or claim on my insurance (if you have none). It sucks but that's life.

"I don't get this sense that I pay for an electric supply I havent had for 2 days, and the company can devoid themselves for all responsibility for this."

The company you pay are not liable, I've explained this several times. If you changed supplier it is still the distributor that gets the electricity to your property. That is why it is not thier responsibility, and if the supply is off you aren't paying for power as most companies don't have a standing charge.

davidgmmafan

Maybe the term power supplier is the problem? I can't think of anything else that would fit, but basically they are buying power at the best price they can and selling it on to hopefully make a profit (in simple terms).

When you turn on an appliance this power comes from the national grid and the power supplier pays back the national grid. If thier forecasts are wrong then they could lose money.

breezeblock

i think you all seem to be reading between the lines and assuming vix wants to claim money.
i seem to think vix is complaining that because the electricity company has not supplied her power for now what seems 2 days, and paid for at a very high price in this country, and food etc might be wasted when the power company was approached they said they are not liable.vix seems to be annoyed that if needed to replace anything it must be a claim on her own insurance policy not the power companys.
why should her own insurance pay for damages caused by some other companys mistake.

davidgmmafan

"i think you all seem to be reading between the lines and assuming vix wants to claim money"

At this point I am just trying to explain that the supplier doesn't actually supply the electricity to the OP's home. That is the local distributor, still not sure if thet OP has even spoken to them.

The OP doesn't HAVE TO use insurance, it is a choice. Just as it is if somebody hits my car and !!!!!!s off. I have to decide whether to pay for it myself, or lose (or reduce) my no claims bonus.

Compensation is kinda relevent, it is the only alternative to using insurance. If the latter option is unacceptable then what remedy is there other than compensation?

All we know is there was a fault at the substation, maybe it was dangerous. In that situation I don't think they should be liable. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Maybe they should've left the station on and killed people?

I had my gas cut off in a rented property as it wasn't safe, I didn't sue the letting agent as it had to be done.

breezeblock

why would a power cut be an alternative to killing someone, and why would your last statement have anything to do with the fact they expect vix to either claim on her own insurance or pay herself?

backfoot

I would add to the advice given so far.

The normal line taken by the Electricty Distribution Company (Network), for Freezer Claims is to direct you to your own insurers. That is probably your easiest and quickest route. Some insurers may ignore such claims for no claims purposes.

Claims for other losses caused by supply interruptions will depend on the circumstances. Sometimes,fault situations arise along with the interruption causing voltage variations. In simple terms, a power surge can affect sensitive electrical items,particularly those without modern protection. They can be damaged irreparably.

The Distribution Company will often view such cases sympathetically and our local one employs a third party intermediary to investigate claims and source replacements or offer compensation. The reason they do this is because they want to avoid bad publicity and secondly they may well be liable,in many cases in law. That arises from negligence,faulty equipment,faulty maintenance or third party damage.

It is invariably cheaper for them and the most responsible thing to do, to settle quickly and avoid prolongued claims and consequential loss.

We had three supply interruptions in a short space of time. Two of them also caused equipment damage to neighbouring properties. All damage claims including freezer contents were settled.They arose from faults on the underground mains cable.

I think in principle, there is no difference between a freezer contents claim and a TV that burns out but in practice the Companies now try to push the former away.

There is also the question of taking steps to save freezer contents.Could they be moved to a friend or relative? Or even left outside at the moment. For a relatively small claim, arising from a supply interruption alone, I would suggest the insurance route.

vix2000

Thanks Backfoot.

Thats all I was trying to say. I'm not in the business of trying to screw the company for massive amounts of compensation, and I never mentioned compensation for loss of service for more than 2 days. I was just a bit annoyed when they told me quite curtly that any damage or loss is not their responsibility but I should claim on my contents insurance. The damage is probably only a couple of hundred pounds, the linkstation over £100 of that, and probably not worth claiming for on the contents insurance, but a bit annoying when its not down to me and I could do without the expense just before christmas.

The fault is the same as yours, an underground cable, we have now been told. The expected time for re connection is now 8pm.

The analogy of the nhs is not quite the same in my opinion, as the energy companies are profit making businesses. It would be different if their status was on a par with the nhs.