threatened disconnection by E.on

DAVELEEDS

Has anyone else had this problem? My gas meter failed and a E.on engineer came and fitted a new one. When he had finished he said he had to test my appliances, he passed my boiler and cooking stove but failed my gas fire as he said it had signs of "spillage". He then put a "Do not use notice" on it and said we could not use it.  We agreed to this and said we would call our engineer.  He then asked for permission to turn our gas supply off!   We refused as this would leave us (2 pensioners) in a house with no heating or cooking in mid-January. He then left and returned very shortly with another man who said he was from the "Gas Police" and if we refused to have our gas turned off at our meter he would turn it off in the road and we would be fined £10,000! At this the E.on engineer left!! Luckily our local gas engineer was able to come quickly, he capped off the gas fire (which has subsequently been repaired) and reconnected our gas supply.  However the whole process seemed very stressful and heavy handed.  I have complained to E.on, but they keep saying that they are obeying the "law"!  I have read all the legal documents I can find and nowhere does it say that they have to turn the whole property off just because of a suspected faulty appliance that is not leaking.  I am now going through my MP but has anyone else come across this?  Thanks

JJ_Egan

Turned mine off at the mains for a similar problem last year .

Likewise circa 1977 .

Smodlet

That is news to me.  I know engineers can and probably should condemn faulty appliances and render them unusable but was under the impression this can be done without disconnecting the whole gas supply.  Sounds a little like backside-covering gone mad to me but I admit I am not au fait with current practices.  The last time this happened to me was in 1998, I am happy to say.

The boiler was fine; the flue vented into a covered lean-to (open at either end, mark you) and our engineer told us he should condemn the boiler but, if we increased the ventilation to the flue, he would not need to.  Five minutes up a ladder with a hammer bashing this perspex stuff and behold!  Ventilation.  Of  course, that was back in the days of (relative) common sense.

matelodave

Could the fire be isolated separately from the rest of the supply

DAVELEEDS

Yes, easily. That is what my engineer did but E.on refused to do it.

matelodave

How was the fire isolated - was it disconnected and capped or is there an isolation valve/tap. If there was a valve, then Eon could have have closed it and possibly sealed it (with a label or wire), but I doubt they would have disconnected and capped the pipe.

jefaz07

matelodave said:

How was the fire isolated - was it disconnected and capped or is there an isolation valve/tap. If there was a valve, then Eon could have have closed it and possibly sealed it (with a label or wire), but I doubt they would have disconnected and capped the pipe.

You aren’t allowed to just close off the valve. In an ID situation the appliance has to be physically disconnected from the gas supply. 

So it depends on the fire, perhaps an inset fire where the fire would needed to be removed to be capped, and he may not have been qualified to do that, hence going to the meter. So his ‘refusal’ was perhaps down to him not being allowed!  The ‘gas police’ or more likely Cadent,SGN,NGN etc are a last resort on your refusal. And unfortunately it’s not his fault he’s had to do that, he has followed the regulations set out in front of him. And your road will have been dug up and disconnected in the street, I’ve seen it!! 

There is no £10,000 fine though. 

jefaz07

And you may have found it heavy handed as you refused. This is no joke and in the event one of you gets hurt, you know who they will be looking at? The last engineer on site. Would I be willing to risk prosecution/jail to keep your gas on for a few hours? Absolutely not!!! 

PennineAcute

12 years ago, I had the landlord from hell.  I was classed as vulnerable at the time and needed somewhere to live.  Had a look at the place and accepted.
When I moved in properly, I thought where are the radiators.  The only heating was a gas fire in the lounge.  As autumn came, the place was freezing and managed to get a grant for central heating to be put in - my landlord agreed.   After the installation, they checked the fire.  I was told I was lucky to still be alive, as the fire was a death trap.  The fire was condemned and immediately capped off. 
Unless the rules have changed in the last 12 years, they certainly could have just capped off your fire.

JC_Derby

PennineAcute said:

12 years ago, I had the landlord from hell.  I was classed as vulnerable at the time and needed somewhere to live.  Had a look at the place and accepted.
When I moved in properly, I thought where are the radiators.  The only heating was a gas fire in the lounge.  As autumn came, the place was freezing and managed to get a grant for central heating to be put in - my landlord agreed.   After the installation, they checked the fire.  I was told I was lucky to still be alive, as the fire was a death trap.  The fire was condemned and immediately capped off. 
Unless the rules have changed in the last 12 years, they certainly could have just capped off your fire.

You’ve experience is from 12years ago.....lots of things have changed in that time.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

DAVELEEDS said:

Has anyone else had this problem? My gas meter failed and a E.on engineer came and fitted a new one. When he had finished he said he had to test my appliances, he passed my boiler and cooking stove but failed my gas fire as he said it had signs of "spillage". He then put a "Do not use notice" on it and said we could not use it.  We agreed to this and said we would call our engineer.  He then asked for permission to turn our gas supply off!   We refused as this would leave us (2 pensioners) in a house with no heating or cooking in mid-January. He then left and returned very shortly with another man who said he was from the "Gas Police" and if we refused to have our gas turned off at our meter he would turn it off in the road and we would be fined £10,000! At this the E.on engineer left!! Luckily our local gas engineer was able to come quickly, he capped off the gas fire (which has subsequently been repaired) and reconnected our gas supply.  However the whole process seemed very stressful and heavy handed.  I have complained to E.on, but they keep saying that they are obeying the "law"!  I have read all the legal documents I can find and nowhere does it say that they have to turn the whole property off just because of a suspected faulty appliance that is not leaking.  I am now going through my MP but has anyone else come across this?  Thanks

Hello DAVELEEDS and I'm sorry you were spoken to in the way you were. There's no such thing as the 'Gas Police' and it's wrong to talk about random fines. It's good you've raised a complaint. This needs investigating so inappropriate language like this can be avoided.

I don't know the specific circumstances at your home or with your appliances so am unable to comment on the actual job. Whilst I understand your frustration, our technicians have a duty of care to look after the safety of both customers and themselves. With any suspicion of a gas leak, there are set procedures and rules to follow in order to maintain this safety. As jefaz07 says, severe consequences can follow any failure to take the right action where a problem with the gas is identified. This is not just with procedure. Failure to act can lead to explosions or carbon monoxide poisoning and this is why the rules are so stringent.

Hope this explains our approach to gas safety DAVELEEDS.

Malc