Please help! Gas leak on my property - who pays?

loubylou

Hi all!
I had to have TRANSCO out to my house last night after my neighbour called me to say that she could smell gas. I made a telephone call and a chap came out to fix it - well I say fix it; he capped off the gas and told me that I'd have to phone my gas supplier to get it fixed. He located the leak as being a join where the pipe then comes into the house.
This morning I phoned NPower and relevant section was closed due to bank holiday:( However, they told me that because the leaking pipe was an outside one (it's the pipe that runs from my meter box into the house) then TRANSCO should have repaired it.:mad:
I'm annoyed that there seems to be some 'buck passing' here - in the meantime, I'll have to take time off work to allow the repair. I also have no hot water. Can someone advise me of who pays for this? If it is my gas supplier can I refuse to pay for the repair, since I had NPower replace a boiler part back in Jan' and he didn't check the system for leaks? (Hence a gas bill for £272.00 last time - no doubt!)

espresso

More info here. Confusion may be due to you having an external meter box. I would say that after the meter is your responsibility.

loubylou

Many thanks for reply - although not the news I was hoping for. Still, if Npower came to service/replace a bit in my boiler a few months ago am I not in a position to haggle over the cost of repair, since the engineer did not check for leaks?

ben500

As the previous poster stated everything up to the meter is the responsibility of TRANSCO anything beyond is the responsibility of the property owner, unless as in some rare cases the supplying gas company have any equipment beyond the meter but these cases are very very rare.

Yogibear

if Npower serviced your boiler the engineer should have checked everything,I would get onto them about this.

good luck

cannymanny

If a Corgi qualified engineer worked on your boiler in january his job sheet should indicate that he tested the system for leaks, check his job sheet, request a copy if you haven't got one. However a test for gas leaks would only confirm the integrity of the installation at the time the test was carried out, a bit like an MOT.

tripled

Central heating servicing contracts are usually on the boiler, they don't cover your gas pipework so I doubt you have recourse to nPower I'm afraid. I know some companies offer a separate cover for internal gas pipes where they cover you for repair (they don't do an annual inspection though), BG cover them free but only if you have their top level of cover (their standard 3* doesn't cover it).

MrCrusher

From what I have been told, the Transco engineer should locate the leak and then fix it, provided it can be completed within half an hour and is not a complex repair. Boilers, cookers and gas fires will only be isolated at source where poss but not repaired. I've also been told that they will not even secure a loose gas pipe leading from cooker point to cooker. Usually, the gas is turned off at the main control valve near the boiler to cut the supply off altogether to make the premise safe.

Pipework from the mains up to and including the gas meter, whether or not the meter is internal or external, is the responsibility of Transco.Any leaks located on the "house" side of the meter is the responsibility of the owner/ landlord.

It is then up to the owner/ landlord to contact a corgi reg'd gas engineer to make necessary repairs where needed, pipes or appliances. Local companies located in the yellow pages would be a lot cheaper than BG engineers.

If you have these Home Cover insurances, make sure you check the level of cover you have as that may cover repairs to gas pipework. Most won't even cover the C.H rads and pipework for leaks unless you pay a higher premium.

MissG_2

Anything after the meter is the responisbilty of the home owner/tenant. I wouldnt be too happy though if NPower had serviced/repaired my boiler and not noticed a leak. As far as i am aware as corgi registered installers they are required to make sufficient checks to ensure tha safety of the complete installation which would mean carrying out a tightness test.

As they were the last qualified engineers to work on the gas appliances, how can you not be sure they did not cause the leak?

I would imgaine they may have noted the leak and reported it on their job sheet. If they have done this and identified the problem prior to commecning work then i would assume the responsibility is passed back to the home owner/tenant. In this case though if there is a smell of gas the leak should have been deemed dangerous and the supply isolated and repaied accordingly either by Npower or corgi engineer.

Best thing to do is check the job sheet and cmplain accordingly, would'nt you think that for tightening a joint and completeing a tightness test that the transco person just would'nt do it and close the job off. This way the heating/gas is back on and everyone is happy!!!!!! Some people take rules to the extreme.

tripled

I'm not sure why people seem to think nPower have caused the leak/should have noticed something was wrong. The leak was outside the property where it comes into the wall. I'm guessing the central heating boiler isn't there. Most cover doesn't include internal pipework, so he wouldn't be wondering around checking it. Even landlord safety inspections to my knowledge only cover the appliances, testing the joints to the appliances and the joints to the meter. Also had the engineer identified a leak while he was working on the premises, aside from the fact it would be grossly negligent to ignore it, I'm pretty sure he would be obliged to either cut off the supply or notify Transco, if not legally then under CORGI. So it is highly unlikely he spotted it, if he did he would have to be incredibly stupid to record it on his jobsheet.

It is after your meter, unless it is where the engineer was working then I'm sorry loubylou but it's down to you to fix.

mprice1988

Pipework from the mains up to and including the gas meter, whether or not the meter is internal or external, is the responsibility of Transco.Any leaks located on the "house" side of the meter is the responsibility of the owner/ landlord.

It is then up to the owner/ landlord to contact a corgi reg'd gas engineer to make necessary repairs where needed, pipes or appliances. Local companies located in the yellow pages would be a lot cheaper than BG engineers.

Thats is excatly correct!