£618 bill for cutting through main yellow gas pipe

2 Posts

I was on a digger digging in my garden and cut through the main gas pipe. I didn't know the pipe was there. I live on a hill so I thought it was under the ground. I called Southern Electric who sent out a man to investigate damage, then a team of 2 men came and repaired the pipe. They re-joined the pipe together (which took 2 minutes, they were with me for 30 minutes). I have now received an invoice for £618.32 The pipe and connectors were £3, the rest was labour. I do not have £618.32. They have called me to chase up payment today. What can I do?
0
Latest MSE News and Guides
Replies
Treasure the moments that you have. Savour them for as long as you can for they will never come back again.
If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.
Anyway, aside from that you’re paying for 3 people, not for just the time on site, but the time it takes to get there from wherever they were.
Same if it was Philmac mechanical fitting. A 25mm straight is around £10
Did you have any digger insurance - might be possible to claim on that, although they might not payout if you didn't consult the utility companies first - due diligence and all that. Did you not notice the yellow 'Gas Warning' tape that should have been present above the pipe? Might not have been there, in which case you might be able to argue a reduced price on that basis - a long shot, but nothing to lose.
I did some digger work last year and knew there was a gas supply nearby. I was pretty sure I was clear of it but even so I was digging only an inch or two at a time in the trench on the expectation of pulling up the warning tape. I was concentrating so much on looking for something yellow that I missed the blue water pipe and broke that instead! Fortunately, it was my side of the meter, so was easy to turn off the water. The parts to repair were a little over £11. I never did come across the gas pipe, which would have been a whole different issue - as you now know ;(