npower - gas meter safety inspection

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

stahir786 wrote: »

Hello everyone,

:spam: reported

chanz4

He means hes an onseller via business gas

Paul_Easton

I had a similar email from nPower yesterday - interestingly it appears to have been re-worded as there is no direct mention about a Magistrates Court etc.:


We need you to call us – it’s about the safety of your gas meter

We need to check the gas meter at your property to make sure it’s working properly. It’s a free service, but it’s not optional. We are under a legal obligation to inspect the meter at least once every two years to check it’s safe.

Over the last 18 months we’ve tried to do this several times during our visits for meter readings. Staying at home can be a nuisance, we know that, but there may be a reason why we can’t get to the meter if you’re not there – even if it’s outside your home.

We need to do this work soon because it’s been almost two years since our last visit. Unless you’ve spoken to us in the last week (in which case, thank you), please contact Lowri Beck Services in the next 7 days. Lowri Beck is the team we use to carry out the inspection and, when you call, they’ll offer you a choice of appointment times to fit in with your day as much as possible

Please call Lowri Beck Services, the agent we’ve appointed to inspect your meter on our behalf, on 0845 408 0638 (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 4pm on Saturdays) to make an appointment at a time to suit you.

Safety first

It really is your safety that’s our concern. If we don’t hear from you over the next 7 days, we may have to take additional action to try and access your meter. Unfortunately, if we need to do this then we will also have to pass the additional costs of this on to you. So please, give us a call today.

We want to check that the meter is safe and working properly.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards

Gareth Pickles

Customer Services Director

Warrant of entry: We have the right to enter your property under the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 Section 2.

I phoned Lowri Beck Services who told me that not only had they not received a work order from nPower but they had last carried out an 'inspection' in November 2013 so I was not due one.

I then phoned nPower and spoke with a rather bored-sounding woman who added this info to my account details.

Paul_Easton

I've just had another email from nPower - this time threatening Magistrate's Court action etc.

Customer Services confirmed there is a note on my account but I need to speak with another department to get my details removed. Just called them and they close at 4.00pm!!

whitelabel

appreciate old threadish thread but ive had a similar email on friday .

It's urgent – we need your help

We’ve recently tried a number of times to inspect your gas meter. Our agents left a couple of reminder cards to call us, but unfortunately we haven’t yet managed to speak to you. If you’ve only just moved into the property then we appreciate you may not have received our previous communications, therefore please just call us as soon as possible and we’ll explain the situation.

The reason this is urgent is because every 24 months your gas meter has to be checked for safety reasons – this is a legal requirement. Your inspection is now urgently due, so we’d really appreciate it if you would contact us as a matter of urgency.

It’s for your safety

Gas can be dangerous; we need to ensure that your meter is working correctly and safely. The check doesn’t take long but it’s very important - your safety is our top priority.

Please contact us as soon as possible
Please call us on the number below within 7 days from the date of this letter. We’ll be happy to arrange an inspection for a morning or afternoon on a day that suits you. We’d really appreciate it if you could get in touch straight away, we’re here to help.

Please call us, on: 0800 980 9058 We’re here from 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday, 8am - 2pm Saturday

now, meter is outside the building
there are no "notes" from inspection people asking me to contact them and I doubt anyone has actually been. They have my phone number on account so why not just call me ?
ive been here 5 1/2 years with npower and never had anything like this in my time here, so have Npower failed to meet their legal obligations to inspect every 2 years ? If so, what action can be taken against them
When I called today I was told they had to come in to the property and trace the gas pipes from metre to my appliances and inspect my appliances too ?
Ive not heard of that before, and I dont see why they need to have access to the property and as a rental property, its the landlords responsibility to do gas safety checks on internal appliances not npowers.
they want me to wait in half a day - either a morning or an afternoon, as they cant give exact times, yet they wont pay for me time to do so, im s/e. Yet the appointment people were closed for the day when I rang so have to call again monday
absolute farce

AndyPK

Yeah it's a standard np letter and most of the content is rubbish.

Just ring them or louribeck and arange a time.

If the meters outside I wouldn't bother staying in.

They didn't need to come inside my house.

Is your gas usage low ?

mandsbye

Hi all,

I received my 1st communication from npower in January 2015 to say they had attempted numerous times to gain access to my property for a meter safety check (which is located outside). This was the 1st we knew about that, no cards had been posted through the door. We contacted npower who said they never sent the email, so we reported it as pishing. We've now received a 2nd communication threatening to gain entry forcibly if we do not contact their agent within 7 days. Phone call to npower and after 12 minutes being on hold with the gas safety team, they hung up on me. I've sent them a message asking for a call, which the reply will be within 7 - 10 days (oops, my door will have been kicked in by this time!)

So sacsquacco, where have I been deliberatly denying entry and not being accommodating? After reading this thread it is clear, there is an issue with npower's communication with customers and agents.

[Deleted User]

Hi Mandsbye, having an outside meter box does nt mean we can get access. Its more and more common now for people to have electric gates/locked gates with no call bell. In that case I would consider that a form of refusing access both to the front door or meter box. They spend many thousands on electric gates but make sure thats as far as anyone go s by omitting the £25 on a wireless bell. Npowers callback card I know to be a pokey little card which looks like junk mail, so that may have been overlooked. I dont work for Npower but it does seem that their letters are so threatening they d be losing business hand over fist sending them out with that sort of tone over a 2 year inspection . EDF and ScotPower certainly let it go to more like 5 years from what I ve seen.I think maybe that Lowri Beck, a ruthless little meter reading company ( I used to work for them ) had some imput into these threatening letters. None of the other suppliers act like that
having said that, I ve had a cracking last couple of weeks uncovering many bypassers and tampers around Central Doncaster including getting one local rogues supply disconnected and capped after 7 years free gas ( which he wont pay back ). Expecting him to get around the supply cap I m hoping the supply will be completely dug up from the mains to the house the next time.
These 2 year safety checks are very necessary, not just for the thieving and safety but also for the ones who go out of their way to never read the meters because they re very happy with the £40 a month direct debits when it should be more like a £100.. then they re on here griping and moaning about supplier incompetance and 3k back bill