Gas capped off without permission

macman

Astria said:

FreeBear said:

Astria said: Normally if they cap the gas off, I wouldn't have thought they'd replace the meter, but rather remove the meter and gap the gas at the meter installation point ? But that would certainly be a drastic action and typically only on request - I would expect a fully working gas supply but with a prepayment meter.

They may have decided that the boiler was "at risk" and capped the supply for that reason.

Is there a valid & current Gas Safe Certificate ?

Ah yes, a gas safety check, didn't think of that, but if that's the case then the LL could be in trouble as isn't it their responsibility to ensure a GSC is carried out at least once a year?

A GSC in this instance could be a year old, it says nothing about the safety of the supply a year onwards...

macman

They didn't 'break in'. They obtained a court order to make a legal forceable entry, and proceeded to do so. You should have re-registered for the supply as soon as you became aware that the tenant had vacated, especially so given the state of the property and the manner of her departure, when it was not unlikely that she would be in debt.  Don't know the supplier? It takes 2 minutes to find out:
https://www.findmysupplier.energy/
The supplier has acted entirely correctly and you have no claim against them for redress: your remedy is with the ex-tenant, if you can find them.
It's possible that, after installing the PPM, they tested the connected gas devices (boiler, gas fire?), as they always have to do after the supply is interrupted, and then found a defect that required them to cap off the supply. There should have been some paperwork left at the property that explained what had been done.

ariarnia

macman said:

The supplier has acted entirely correctly and you have no claim against them for redress: your remedy is with the ex-tenant, if you can find them.

the OP didn't know and now does. so there choice is now probably to rent the flat with a pre pay meter (which they will know if that's something renters will be okay with in there area) or pay to have it replaced (which i think has been quoted at around £150). the old tenants debt should be taken of the meter as soon as the new account is set up. 

good news is that if its replaced it will probably be with a smart meter and if any future tenant gets into debt they can be changed to pre pay and back again without anyone having to gain entry so also i think cheaper (maybe even free?) to switch if needed in the future at the end of a tenancy. 

the link to how to find the supplier has been posted so anyone looking in the future might find this thread on google. for anyone who does find the thread because of a similar situation. i think if the op had contacted on the day the tenant had vacated (or any time before the meter had been changed) then it might not have been communicated in time and the warrant still been used to gain entry and change the meter. in that situation i would think the energy company would have to reinstate the meter at no cost to the new account holder (and maybe even some small amount of compensation for the inconvenience). 

C_Mababejive

Most suppliers operating the warrant process will have engaged in a lengthy preamble before going to this stage. The tenant has probably ignored this and not bothered telling you hence the granting of a warrant. They will only access the area where the meter(s) are situated and either disconnect the supply or more likely, fit a prepayment and blank the outlet. This is because they will not wander around the property looking for /and or checking appliances.