British Gas Smart Meter - Beware

Tangible

I can't explain why British Gas have done this to me or why, as I am actually in credit on my account and my health is very bad and can do without the hassle I'm getting.

So that I don't repeat myself, and it's not something I normally share with others, but I had a kidney removed due to a 'giant' kidney cancer. I'm glossing over the details but it was a horrific experience and my health has been appalling since then unsurprisingly.

I received a letter from British Gas stating that they wanted to replace my gas meter with a Smart Meter, telling me how beneficial it would be for me. If only I had known what was to follow.

I rang and made an appointment as requested for July 26th. No one ever turned up and the effect of preparing for the visit put me in hospital for the following week. Yes. I am that bad.

On the day following return from hospital a National Grid workman knocked on my door and said he needed to replace the pipe supplying gas to my property. I agreed that he could 'cap' the supply that day for which he told me he required access to my property and that he would complete the work the following day, without stating what that work would be. I mentioned that I would be out on Friday and agreed Monday as the day to complete the work.

He told me that I had to move a car that had not been moved for years that was blocking access, which would be a good way to get me back in hospital.

Again - he didn't call back but had managed to cut off my gas supply irrespective of access and he stated on a note through the door that he's call on Friday to complete the work, which is not what we'd agreed. I left a note informing him of this and tried to discover what was happening by phone without success.

More workmen arrived on Monday and I was told that they couldn't do the work then and Wednesday was agreed as the day to complete it. That morning it sounded as if the house was being demolished as it shook with the sound of a pneumatic drill digging up the concrete path adjoining the house.

As I will collapse under physical or mental stress I had to leave the house, but rang British Gas to warn them that any further unauthorised work on my property would prompt me to call the police. On the appointed date another set of workmen turned up and the one who was apparently going to complete the work looked at the work already done in a perplexed manner as the previous workmen had apparently put the new connection in the wrong place. More surprisingly, the new Smart Meter I had booked to be installed indoors would now be installed outdoors but he started detailing preparatory work he required me to do before he could start work, because of Health and Safety.

I am suspicious that there never was any intent to install the Smart Meter indoors as it would only have been removed days later and it was used as an excuse to complet the major works which were notproperly surveyed or carried out.

I am now left without a gas supply, heating or means to prepare hot food with my property trashed and British Gas scratching their heads over the bungled job their workmen have done.

National Grid's website was down when I tried to register a complaint and their server was rejecting mails, and the mail address I obtained by phone was returning an 'autoreply' stating that it was not the correct address.

Irrespective of my ill health their behaviour has been utterly disgusting and if this is an example of how they operate, I strongly recommend housholders take steps to protect themselves from British Gas workmen working on your property.

Once they get your gas disconnected it appears that they feel that they have the perfect lever to persuade you to accept anything they do. Though I rarely eat, soup is one thing I try to have but British Gas have removed that alternative.

I will make them suffer for this, and we both hope my health doesn't suffer over this, as now British Gas want to send a surveyor to work out what the previous workmen have done. I mistakenly believed that the NationalGrid workmen knew what they were doing, and so did they. If I do end up back in hospital the NHS then won't be able to return me to a property without basic heating facilities or ability to heat food.

Nice one British Gas and National Grid. Be warned.

I've contacted Consumer Direct and will also be contacting my MP. Next will come local media and with luck it'll stop this tactic being used. Meanwhile a cold and hungry Christmas awaits.

spiro

BG and National Grid and two completely different and unconnected companies.

It sounds like BG wanted to swap your meter because it was due to be swapped and they would therefore replace it with a smart meter.

Seperately from that NG have obviously turned up to do some work on the property. This is probably part of the their gas main replacement programme which is going on all over the country. From what I have heard, when they do this the new meter point is always outside.

Tangible

You are correct spiro. Apparently I could never have had a Smart Meter because my electricity is provided by a different supplier, but because the original mail is full of 'Smart Energy' references it appears otherwise.

No matter - it was a regular meter replacement appointment that they didn't bother to turn up for - Strike One !

I am also aware that Britsh Gas and National Grid are separate companies but British Gas are handling the complaint because National Grid's complaints procedure wasn't functioning when I tried to use it (Strike 2) and this is rapidly turning in to a disaster of significant proportions.

I am now informed that the attempted installation is a complete disaster anyway and I have a trashed property with a pipe sticking out of the wall next to the house that would require another 20 feet of concrete being jackhammered up to attempt a connection to its far-away connection point.

I have complained to Ofgem on the basis that National Grid don't have a functional complaints procedure as two sets of e-mails have been returned to me as undeliverable. I presume that doing so is a statutory duty. I have made it clear that re-connecting the gas supply is the urgent and prime necessity or the consequences could be disastrous for us all. British Gas appear to accept this, and that they must undo all they've done and return my property to its former condition. In spite of National Grid nd British Gas being separate companies, they appear to operate in unison - or not.
At no point have appointments ever been met, and no idea of what work was involved explained to me or between themselves and separate workmen have arrived at different stages to advise me what was wrong with the work of the previous lot.

They mentioned that they still wanted to replace the meter, but that will only happen after they have completed remedial work to correct the damage they've done so far.

All this to fit a replacement gas meter. :T (sarcastic).

I've just had an interesting talk with a National grid workman who tells me that he won't re-connect me under any circumstances and that they never intended to run the pipework under the ground, but internally though my property. :money:

If what I see outside is an example of their skils I would have to be insane to let them practice on the interior of my property as well, not that I believe what they're proposing is even possible.

spiro

What others have posted is when they move the meter point outside NG run the pipe around the wall of the house to the point were the meter was inside and then just come through the wall.

Given you health problems have you registered on the 'Priority Services Register' of both of your energy companies?

British_Gas

Hi Tangible

As Spiro says, it's very unlikely that the National Grid work had anything to do with the meter swap. It just sounds like unfortunate timing that the two were planned so closely together.

British Gas are an entirely separate company from National Grid, but we do have some official points of contact and escalation routes with them. It sounds like the complaints agents that you have spoken to are using these to try to sort out the issues as soon as possible. Hopefully you'll have your supply restored soon.

For the mix up over whether you can have a smart meter and the engineer failing to turn up I apologise. That was our mistake and nothing to do with National Grid, so I'm very sorry about the confusion and the distress that it has obviously caused you.

Tangible

I dread to think what effect National Grid could have on someone fit and working as this whole experience appears to entail consumers taking a week off work and enjoying cold food, or microwave meals whilst they disassemble your property with jackhammers.

They don't adhere to appointments, they do the work to their own timetable and won't let on how extensive the proposed work is. Now I'm told they won't have to lay pipework internally through the house, which would have created chaos where chaos exists already.

You might hope someone could survey the proposed work and inform the householder of what work is planned so that appropriate arrangements and appointments can be arranged but it appears to be the cynical tactic to cut off your gas supply and leave the consumer in a position of enforced acquiessence.

The only certainty is that I'm going to be without hot food and heating and the National Grid 'Time Team' intend to excavate inside and outside my property to their hearts' content.

An engineer rang a short time ago stating he intended to call round and he couldn't tell me the purpose of his visit, so as politely as possible I let him know that his visit would serve no useful function. I could have added that was unless the holes had become a visitor attraction.

As Victor Meldrew would say - "I don't believe it". I sense that I'll be back in hospital a lot quicker than the NHS had hoped.

Tangible

I thank you for having the courage to come on to the forum British Gas Company Representative to respond to my complaint, but the meter replacement letter came from British Gas, so I have no problem in blaming you for failing to honour that appointment. Whoever you delegate that work to, or employ as contractor, I am fully entitled to hold you responsible as you initiated that work.

I had to make the complaint over the National Grid problems to British Gas as the National Grid website and e-mail weren't functioning thereby rendering their complaints procedure non-functional. I was not aware that British Gas would pursue it so I had already written to Ofgem on the basis that National Grid were in default of their statutory duty to provide a functioning complaints procedure.

I will give you credit for attempting to resolve the matter, though I'm not hopeful of a speedy solution the way things are progressing. I don't have a lot of human contact and it should be understood how fragile I am. It may be that this train of events has an inevitable conclusion and should never have been begun, but I have a note on my front door giving some idea that disturbance is not what I seek.

I have no wish to push my medical problems into the face of others (not that you could cope) but when I go into shaking mode it's a medical crisis. I'm just stunned at what has happened.

I've already contacted Ofgem and will contact my MP and local newspapers today, and will be careful to put the blame for those areas in their sphere of responsibility at the door of National Grid who have not made any contact with me at all in response to my calls to them.

Tangible

spiro wrote: »

What others have posted is when they move the meter point outside NG run the pipe around the wall of the house to the point were the meter was inside and then just come through the wall.

Given you health problems have you registered on the 'Priority Services Register' of both of your energy companies?

That's something I'll look into spiro as I didn't realise such a thing was available, but then my GP never bothered to tell me that I was entitled to free cancer prescriptions.

The problems relate to failing to honour appointments and agreed timetables and failing to warn me what work they intended to do and then trying to lay off work on to me. If I had any clue as to what they intended to do I could let them know the problems, if any exist.

If they tell me that Health and Safety Rules prevent them doing work, then it's absurd to think I can do it when lifting paper off the floor put me in hospital for a week. If the work was impossible to complete without my active participation it would have been simpler to reach the conclusion at the outset and avoid the mess I'm in right now.

eurmalian

Tangible wrote: »

I thank you for having the courage to come on to the forum British Gas Company Representative to respond to my complaint, but the meter replacement letter came from British Gas, so I have no problem in blaming you for failing to honour that appointment. Whoever you delegate that work to, or employ as contractor, I am fully entitled to hold you responsible as you initiated that work.

Thay haven't denied that part is their responsibility. That's the part that they apologised for...

Tangible

Residents will be notified in advance when this will be happening in their street. Supplies will only be disrupted during that day. Where appropriate, alternative cooking and heating appliances will be made available.

An interesting quote from a National Grid website that bears no relationship to anything that actually happened.

I'll look more deeply in to this.

Tangible

Funnily enough eurmalian they haven't mentioned the compensation they are obliged to pay in respect of missed appointments but I note this from another thread on this forum.

As you can see its £20 per missed appointment plus another £20 if they have not paid the 1st £20 within 10wd, by 'paid' this can include a credit on your account.

If I appear to be unsympathetic, put it down to hunger. As long as I am stuck at home I can't visit the doctor, let alone fetch food.