Do not switch to energy suppliers without verifying emergency repairs policy

eagleeye

I request everyone to think twice before joining any new gas supplier.The billing issues are nothing in comparison to facing emergency situation due to gas leak.

I am sharing my experience as a customer with one of the small energy supplier.

I had a gas leak in the meter and national grid was informed to look into this.The national grid contractor was on site with in 25 minutes of call.The gas leak was verified in the ground meter and they had the replacement meter in there van.They generally install 90-95% of meters in emergency circumstances as they have the supplier pre-authorisation .The remaining 3 % are installed after obtaining authorisation by telephoning the supplier and other cases are dealt directly by the supplier .If supplier call centre is closed then you are stuck.

In my case,telephone request from national grid for emergency work was rejected and supplier call centre informed me that another contractor will arrive on site in next 3 hours . They also informed me that I have to arrange & pay for the connection fees .I disputed the connection fees but supplier was still adamant.

A quick google search revealed the ofgem rules related to gas meters and it was clear that it is the supplier responsibility. If problem is in the home gas appliance then consumer is expected to arrange and pay for uncapping but if meter is leaking then supplier is responsible for the same.

They agreed to this in the end but they had no way to arrange an engineer to connect the gas.I was prepared to call my home emergency insurance to arrange someone to uncap the supply.

Anyway , the meter installer arrived after 3 hours and he immediately informed his office of the ground situation.He was not even meant to install as job was not coded properly.The installation company head office authorised the installation and connection otherwise i would have ended up without gas.

The ofgem need to review the whole system when these companies can't even deal with these situations or not sure how to go ahead with the emergency work. . This is important as vulnerable people can die from cold if supply is interrupted during outside work hours of call centre.The only thing grid can do is cut off the supply or make it safe until the supplier arranges the emergency repairs/replacement.

molerat

Just because your particular small supplier is a waste of space doesn't mean they all are. Why don't you name them ?

wavelets

Times must be tough at British Gas :cool:

Thomas_Edison

Bit of an odd one tbh, not sure why your supplier didn't let national grid do it for you.

You're not at the mercy of suppliers opening times though as your meter can always be replaced and you put back on supply by your distributor in emergency cases. They then bill your supplier and send the details of the exchange.

Though it's normally best to take a photo of your gas meter and the yellow sticker on it to your supplier to confirm the details of the new meter.

Ally_E.

I've never had a problem with a small supplier, have been with them since 2013. I switch regularly to the cheapest deal available and it's always a small supplier.

kev2009

I'm with a small supplier for Gas and one of the big 6 for electric and tbh I've been with them for 2 years and had no issues with the small supplier or large supplied. I submit meter readings when i can and i get bills each month for Gas, Elec is now smart meter so that just takes care of itself, Every so often i check the readings just to insure they not way out etc.

My contract is up March so currently getting ideas of where to maybe switch to and costs but i'm currently suspecting i'll stay with small gas supplier, elec. i'm not sure as ideally want 2 year fixed but they not offering one atm.

Kev

Norman_Castle

eagleeye wrote: »

They generally install 90-95% of meters in emergency circumstances as they have the supplier pre-authorisation .The remaining 3 % [ 5-10% ] are installed after obtaining authorisation by telephoning the supplier and other cases are dealt directly by the supplier .If supplier call centre is closed then you are stuck.

So if you are with a small supplier and are unlucky enough to have a leaking meter, which is fortunately very uncommon, outside office hours your repair may be delayed and you may unfortunately die.



Its slightly annoying the comparison sites don't make people more aware of this.

wavelets

molerat wrote: »

Just because your particular small supplier is a waste of space doesn't mean they all are. Why don't you name them ?

What I sometimes try to do when there is missing information, is to look back at some of the user's pervious posts to see if they happen to include the information.

However, when I look back at the Op's previous posts I see their previous post was

07-10-2018, 6:54 PM

and the one before that

10-09-2017, 5:52 PM

and the one before that

20-09-2015, 8:35 AM


I also note the OP did visit us today at 3.18PM, but delined to offer up any answer.

Either someone is having a right old giggle, or things are getting really bad at British Gas.
- in this case, I now suggest the former.

Thomas_Edison

If there's any danger the situation is treated exactly the same no matter the supplier you're with big or small or their opening hours. Your distributor will make the situation safe and if necessary get you back on supply.

antrobus

On 20/09/14 the OP wrote,

I am with sainbury's energy and direct debit is managed by british gas on their behalf.I do get cashback on it in my 123account.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/66550942#Comment_66550942

Obviously I don't know whether they are still with Sainsbury's Energy - they may have switched to someone else- but Sainsbury's Energy ain't really a 'small supplier'; it's a 'white label' of British Gas – in other words the same company but using a different brand. Or so Martin says.

antrobus

Small energy suppliers have beaten the so-called Big Six in a customer satisfaction survey by Which?....The top five were small suppliers: Octopus Energy, Robin Hood Energy, So Energy, Ebico and Tonik Energy.

Small firms top Which? annual energy survey
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46937497