British Gas Smart Meter - Beware

Tangible

I don't wish to be unfair and to British Gas's credit they do appear to have done something whereas I have been completely blanked by the National Grid which confounds me. How they cannot comprehend the likely consequences of their actions is unbelievable. It's utterly irresponsible to behave this way and will do them untold damage.

What puzzles me is why they insist on getting in to my property to create devastation as all the published material on the web only refers to replacing pipework in the street, with no mention of replacing pipes on consumers' property. Puzzlingly they must be intending to fit above-ground plastic pipes which doesn't sound very safe to me. I'm not an expert and would welcome expert opinion.

This is the description of the programme from the National grid website

"The iron mains are being replaced with polyethylene pipes."

That being the case, why is my property undergoing work usually reserved for the road ?

I'll go for a walk later to stock up on food and see what's happening to other properties in the area.

spiro

Tangible wrote: »

This is the description of the programme from the National grid website

"The iron mains are being replaced with polyethylene pipes."

That being the case, why is my property undergoing work usually reserved for the road ?

Because in some areas they also replace the pipework connected to it which includes the old pipes that run from the street to your meter (service pipe).

Tangible

You must be correct spiro, though that's not what they say on the information on the web and they have utterly failed on their own published commitments.

I must admit that if British Gas hadn't stepped in to attempt to resolve the nightmare a catastrophe would be looming, as National Grid appear impervious to complaint and are uncontactable. Due credit to British Gas but I'm not going to allow the matter to rest there and having contacted Ofgem as National Grid don't follow their own procedures I'll pursue that avenue to the Ombudsman if necessary.

I shoiuld be back in hospital after what has happened as my stomach muscle has become horrifically painful any time I try to use it, and trying to move without involving stomach muscles isn't easy. I realy don't want to discuss what my problems are but when workman are destroying your house around you and cutting off your facilities I have to drop any thoughts of my dignity.

National Grid have never responded to any communication, and I have been dealing with this matter through British Gas and I will commend the gentleman who has been handling the matter but National Grid have behaved in an utterly disgraceful manner, steam rollering over me to achieve their goals and setting me tasks to do without any warning.

My GP will go bananas if I have to be re-admitted to hospital again so soon and I could barely move overnight. National Grid workmen will be trailing inside and out of the house of someone barely capable of movement without pain. It's not a comfortable situation for them, disregarding my own feelings (which they do so easily) but I won't exaggerate or exploit the situation.

I can foreseee chaos if and when they attempt to implement this work more widely where I live, and if they disregard the needs of sick and ailing consumers, they'll put lives in jeopardy.

I reiterate - National Grid didn't give any advice or warning of their work, they didn't survey the projected work beforehand and cut off my gas without warning or planning and then set me tasks as they tried to work out how to carry out the work. All this on the day after I came out of hospital, and never mentioned provision of anything to replace the facilities they had cut off.

To be honest, workmen should be nowhere near me in my present condition and I doubt Health and Safety Rules, they quote so freely allow it, but we know they are merely a means to an end.

I hope I can get through today without drama and perhaps my gas will be reconnected, but we'll wait and see.

ollski

Would the solution to this not lie with your gp / healthcare provider?, it seems the problem is trying to complete essential works around your fragile health and to me it would appear that temporarily removing you from the situation would make things much easier for everyone.

Tangible

I understand that you mean well ollski but a visit from National Grid shouldn't involve the NHS. Even the workmen can't explain why they've embarked on this crazy escapade and it appears that the pipework that they're using is metal as before. A moments forethought would have made them aware of the difficulties and problems.

Make sure you factor in the cost of getting your carpets cleaned and getting your windows re-glazed.

They have no idea when the holes they've made will be filled in and I ought to be considering returning to hospital. If I'm still around I'll let you know how the day ends. I get the feeling that National Grid would step over my body if necessary. It's like getting caught in a stampede.

I'm not being over dramatic but wish to avoid detailing my medical ills as this is not the right forum for that. I'd have believed that they had all the warning that was necessary.

Tangible

I was polite and halpful to the workmen mainly because getting excited and involved in a dispute will only make my condition worse.

I have gas back though the holes and damage done remains unrepaired.

It's as if I have been run over by a stampede and can enjoy some peace and quiet, though as long as the holes remain unrepaired the matter is far from over.

No plastic piping has been laid on my property - so what was it all about ?

Tangible

I must commend the work of Geoffrey Shawe Customer Relations at National Grid in his efforts to remedy what's happened and it would be senseless not to acknowledge his work on my behalf.

However this situation should never have happened. If I'd known what was entailed at the outset I could have mentioned the difficulties. I try to hide the problems I have, though the written note on the door gives more than enough of a warning and I had only just returned home from hospital that I mentioned rto the workman at the outset.

My home is pretty much a scene of devastation already but it was picking paper up off the floor that put me in hospital for a week, so don't fault me for not being houseproud or being lazy.

Surprises and unplanned physical activity will have dangerous results. I can perform some activities with no sign of ailment but my body lets me know when I have overstepped the mark in a very painful way.

What I want to know now is whether or not this work is necessary as it's not what is described on their websites which don't mention moving meters about and digging up gardens and concrete on consumers property. It's made to sound like an effortless job with minimal inconvenience - which is far from the truth.


Why is there no survey done at the outset so that planned work can be detailed and agreed with the consumer ?


Riding roughshod over consumers is not acceptable, and trying it on me in my condition is ludicrous.


My thanks to Geoffrey but this should never have happened.

Tangible

Very curious. I have to go for a daily walk just to confirm that I can, and I surveyed the affected properties which appear to number no more than 10, which is incomprehensible if they're replacing a mains pipe and, of those, very few have suffered the property demolition service I have endured.

They can either tell me now what went wrong or answer through Ofgem and/or my MP but the fairy story I have been told doesn't make any sense.

If every consumer is going to suffer what I have, which is what they're telling me is the case, then they might as well pack their bags and go home now.

I may be as sick as a dog but I remain with a functioning brain, for the time being.

I've also raised it as a complaint with the local council for good measure as their site came up when I was searching for contact addresses for local media. All I seek is to be left alone and to misquote the expression - 'Let sick dogs lie' - it seems appropriate.

.... and I'm also pursuing British Gas over the 'no show' appointment, and I can't help but feel it has a relevance to this whole disaster.

Tangible

An interesting link concerning the misreporting of pipeline replacement work

http://profeng.com/news/national-grid-fined-8m-for-misreporting-gas-mains-replacement-work

I know that it doesn't relate directly to my circumstances but the whole matter has been a mystery as there is no mention of work being carried out in my area on the web, and yet other places are mentioned in such detail as to mention particular roads. It also appears that only a small section of mains has been affected in the road and nowhere is work on consumers' service connections and movement of meters mentioned. As it happens, the meter is now more inaccessible to a meter reader than it was before.

I can't even face looking at what they've done outside as I'm rather fragile at present and National Grid have done enough damage already.

I gave them every opportunity to undo what they'd done, and not having taken the opportunity, I have no option other than to report what they did.

C_Mababejive

A lot of NG mains replacement work is handled by contracting companies.

There is a lot of work nationwide to replace cast iron mains. This is a big catch up excercise on work which should have been done years ago but OFGEM,the industry regulator,has been throttling the amount of money that NG can spend for years,thus delaying such essential works. A few years ago,they let the brakes off and allowed more essential spending. Its a difficult job and unfortunately is often messy and leads to much disturbance. We often are not aware of or take for granted the buried utilities and infrastructure which delivers gas/water/power/telecoms to our homes.

When large mains in the road are replaced,it is necessary to disturb/cut off/reconnect the individual services to each property since the service must be cut off the old main and reconnected to the new plastic main. Depending on the condition of the individual services,they may be reconnected or renewed. This explains why some have been easier than others. For example,if a neighbour already has a plastic service,it will simply be reconnected with no disturbance. If its older/metal,it may be replaced with plastic.

In order to minimise disturbance, an insertion technique is often used in which a new plastic pipe is inserted into the old metal pipe to your house. This works fine as long as there are no sharp bends.

Where there are bends and the insertion cannot take place,unfortunately it is often necessary to dig more holes and sometimes re-site the meter for example,from inside to an outside box. Most people find this advantageous as it gets the meter out of the house and out of the way.

One of the issues here seems to be one of poor communication.

Hopefully this has now been corrected.

There is no point in writing to OFGEM as they do not interface with end users and indeed,they have created a lot of the issues by starving the industry of investment.