Repossessed house- turning utilities on?

cjez_2

Hi there, just a quick question if anyone has any experience on it- we've bought a repossession property and get the keys on Thursday.:j
We have arranged for a friend of a friend who is a gas technician(?) and qualified with electrics to turn everything on. I know then that I'll need to contact the council and utilities companies myself but wondering if this is the best way to go about it? To get someone qualified to check it all out first? It's our first house so don't want to spend loads on things we could do ourselves. I'm in Scotland btw- re water bills.

molerat

All depends on the state of the house, if it is in pristine condition and has been recently lived in then no problem in just turning everything on. If it has been left empty for a while or needs a bit of attention probably best to get a pro to check everything out first, someone may have nicked a bit of gas pipe or nicked some electric fittings and left the wire touching a water pipe . :eek: Remember to take meter reads.

spacey2012

As long as everything is sound, you need photographs of meter readings, with that days paper as well if poss.
The gas and Electricity board are only responsible up to the meter and beyond the meters is your responsibility.
You create a contract with the last suppler by using, so it may be a good idea to switch to new accounts before turning it on.

cjez_2

Very helpful and quick advice. Thanks. It's been empty for a few months but not in an awful state! Not all boarded up like some. Might be best to have him round then. Problem is not knowing who the supplier was before!
Thanks! I'm just getting a bit stressy. Will probably be much easier than I'm imagining right now.

Wywth

cjez wrote: »

Hi there, just a quick question if anyone has any experience on it- we've bought a repossession property and get the keys on Thursday.:j
We have arranged for a friend of a friend who is a gas technician(?) and qualified with electrics to turn everything on. I know then that I'll need to contact the council and utilities companies myself but wondering if this is the best way to go about it? To get someone qualified to check it all out first? It's our first house so don't want to spend loads on things we could do ourselves. I'm in Scotland btw- re water bills.

From about 500m away whilst your "friend of a friend" sorts it, or himself, out :eek:

Wywth

cjez wrote: »

Very helpful and quick advice. Thanks. It's been empty for a few months but not in an awful state! Not all boarded up like some. Might be best to have him round then. Problem is not knowing who the supplier was before!
Thanks! I'm just getting a bit stressy. Will probably be much easier than I'm imagining right now.

Oh dear, what a nightmare! :eek:

cjez_2

It was totally a nightmare! Turned out the gas meter had been taken away by the national grid.
It was Eon who did both supplies but they were just a bunch of "oh, we'll phone you back" and don't types.
It's all sorted now and going to change from Eon when we're settled! Not sure if I have to change before they send me the first month statement and before they start the direct debit up or after but will find out soon I guess.
The plumber only cost £60 to reconnect everything after national grid and scottish power done their bit. I now know all about how to sort this stuff out if anyone has any questions. Well, not all but enough. Thanks for the advice!

lemontart

right gas meter gone . this is what you need to do is arrange for national grid to come and do a live or dead check on the incoming pipe work, this can be done with 2 working days notice but not on weekends or bank holidays, Ask for the reference number when booking it in.

Once done if the pipe is live the call supplier of choice and ask for meter to be installed and give them the reference number from National Grid.

If the pipes are dead if you wish to use gas you would have to look into getting a new supply to the property either from National Grid or another company licensed to work on their pipe work. A new installation is a chargeable job.

ic

spacey2012 wrote: »

you need photographs of meter readings, with that days paper as well

I don't understand how this proves anything - what's to stop somebody taking a photo of today's meter reading with a paper from two months ago (thus writing off two month's worth of usage)?

cjez_2

ic wrote: »

I don't understand how this proves anything - what's to stop somebody taking a photo of today's meter reading with a paper from two months ago (thus writing off two month's worth of usage)?

Yeah, that's true. TBH, when they reconnect you they take a note and you take a note of it. A new gas meter puts it back to 0.

chanz4

cjez wrote: »

Yeah, that's true. TBH, when they reconnect you they take a note and you take a note of it. A new gas meter puts it back to 0.

unless its a reconditioned