Compensation from Octopus for dangerously fitted Isolator switch?

philtrick123

Hi,
Our power failed late on a Saturday evening a few weeks back. We went to bed thinking it was a village power cut (which happens occasionally).
In the morning still no power. Called 105 to report the power cut- SSE said "we can 'see' the smart meter so the power is ok to your house. You have to call your energy supplier Octopus". Tried to call Octopus but you have to use email/facebook to contact them out of hours. While waiting I contacted a friend who's an electrician. Through some basic diagnosis with a multimeter it looked like the isolator switch (which Octopus fitted ~3years ago when they installed the smart meter) had failed.
I updated Octopus and they refuse to send anyone out saying they installed it but its my responsibility to look after it! :-(
Anyway the freezer is melting and I'm desperate, so I get my electrician friend to come. He removes the tag seal on the meter side of the isolator switch- and the switch had melted (see pics). The Octopus installation engineer had not clamped the neutral cable it was held in just by friction. This caused the switch to eventually fail. The live was still working, the neutral had gone open circuit.
We checked and the nearest Screwfix had a replacement switch (£20)- So I drove over picked up the switch(1 hour round trip), my friend fitted it, and eventually the power was restored- at 12:30. Power off for ~12 hours.

I've been chasing Octopus for some compensation for the event. My friend can't invoice me for his time because he's not self employed.
Octopus are offering £50 for the lost food, £20 for the switch and £50 to drop the complaint.
So I had to cancel attending an event & lost a whole Sunday morning messing around to get it sorted. Octopus got a 'free' electrical call out from my friend.

How much should I be asking for? The above + my time + my friends time (i'll give him the money) + double time for Sunday?

Regards Phil

lohr500

I would take their offer and draw a line under the matter. You could keep pushing them for more and get nowhere.

Also, it is not unknown for screw type AC terminal blocks to undo themselves due to the alternating current. I suspect it could be a challenge to prove that the connection was never tightened up in the 1st place by the Octopus installer. especially as it would appear to have been OK for the previous three years or so. 

Mstty

What rating was the isolator switch 60/80/100?

That is a lot of burning and melting sometimes the wires will shake.and move when there is a big draw on them. Would you say you have recently had a lot of devices and Hugh power appliances on at the same time? (Thinking of the energy shift events here as well did you take part in those and turn everything on)

[Deleted User]

It is worth reading up on electrical vehicle charge points and burnt out components.  Yes, installer error might be a problem but most failures are down to the quality of the components fitted. 

FWiW, I think that Octopus has been very generous with its offer. All wiring and components on the house side of a meter are the homeowner’s responsibility.

Moneysavingchap

Seems like a good offer, I'd take it. There's no way to prove it is the installers fault after years of use, even if you do strongly suspect it. Octopus are correct in what they are saying, it is your responsibility to maintain the system after the meter. It is a decent offer which I would accept. 

born_again

Octopus are offering £50 for the lost food, £20 for the switch and £50 to drop the complaint.

£50 for food is very generous given a freezer is good for at least 24 to 48 hours without power, depending on how full. Given you were only down 12 hours.