Guest sibon Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Ok. I could do with a little bit of advice. Six weeks ago I received a letter that told me that my gas meter needed changing. The letter came from my gas supplier. They sub-contracted the work to another firm. The meter was fitted on time. The meter is in my cellar, I don't go down there often. Three days later, I woke to an intense smell of gas. The cellar was full of gas and leaking through the floor into the living room. I called Transco who came quickly and confirmed that the meter was leaking. They sorted the problem. I then started a formal complaint with my gas supplier. They keep trying to fob me off by blaming the sub-contractor. I keep on asking the supplier to explain how my gas supply could be left in such a dangerous state. They refuse to do this. My contract is with the supplier, not the sub-contractor. So, to the advice. I've got a variety of options. I could go to the Energy Ombudsman. I could take legal advice and maybe sue the supplier. I could persist with my complaint and hope for an explanation. I could ask for compensation. Or, I could let it lie. What would you do in my situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Talker Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 OMG! Don't let it lie, they could have killed you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattricia Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Ok. I could do with a little bit of advice. Six weeks ago I received a letter that told me that my gas meter needed changing. The letter came from my gas supplier. They sub-contracted the work to another firm. The meter was fitted on time. The meter is in my cellar, I don't go down there often. Three days later, I woke to an intense smell of gas. The cellar was full of gas and leaking through the floor into the living room. I called Transco who came quickly and confirmed that the meter was leaking. They sorted the problem. I then started a formal complaint with my gas supplier. They keep trying to fob me off by blaming the sub-contractor. I keep on asking the supplier to explain how my gas supply could be left in such a dangerous state. They refuse to do this. My contract is with the supplier, not the sub-contractor. So, to the advice. I've got a variety of options. I could go to the Energy Ombudsman. I could take legal advice and maybe sue the supplier. I could persist with my complaint and hope for an explanation. I could ask for compensation. Or, I could let it lie. What would you do in my situation? Get in touch with The Gas Safety Register and voice your complaint to them. Also Trading Standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Ok. I could do with a little bit of advice. Six weeks ago I received a letter that told me that my gas meter needed changing. The letter came from my gas supplier. They sub-contracted the work to another firm. The meter was fitted on time. The meter is in my cellar, I don't go down there often. Three days later, I woke to an intense smell of gas. The cellar was full of gas and leaking through the floor into the living room. I called Transco who came quickly and confirmed that the meter was leaking. They sorted the problem. I then started a formal complaint with my gas supplier. They keep trying to fob me off by blaming the sub-contractor. I keep on asking the supplier to explain how my gas supply could be left in such a dangerous state. They refuse to do this. My contract is with the supplier, not the sub-contractor. So, to the advice. I've got a variety of options. I could go to the Energy Ombudsman. I could take legal advice and maybe sue the supplier. I could persist with my complaint and hope for an explanation. I could ask for compensation. Or, I could let it lie. Did you die? Did your house go bang? You say that the new meter leaked. - I believe you. You also say that the problem has been fixed. Again, I believe you (and I'm glad they've fixed the problem.) You want to sue. If you sue, you sue for damages. What damages have you suffered? Your house didn't blow up, you didn't die. You found a problem, you called the company, they came straight away and fixed it. What else should they have done? - Should they have come around before the problem occurred and sat there while they waited for it to occur? Stuff happens! You weren't hurt (fortunately) and the problem was fixed. you suffered no damage - so what are you going to sue for? You say you might ask for compensation. Compensation for what? What injury or loss did you suffer? If you tried to argue that you were 'terrified' then the GasCo's lawyers might say something along the lines of: "Hang on! - You're a Physics teacher! you Know more about Boyle's law and Avogadro's hypothesis than most of us do! You're no idiot! (are you?) It would be more than reasonable to expect that - if you smelt gas - you would know what it was and would isolate the supply at the main (and the main isolation valve is before the meter.) Anything less might (perhaps) be considered to be professional negligence. OMG! Don't let it lie, they could have killed you! What on earth are you talking about, PT? They could indeed have killed Sibon - but they didn't. They could have poisoned Sibon with cyanide - but they didn't. They could (let's be extravagant ) have picked up one of the tactical nuke packs deployed in the UK by Spetsnaz during the cold war, placed it in Sibon's cellar and vapourised the place ... but they didn't. Believe it or not, you can't sue somebody (successfully) in the courts of England and Wales for not injuring you. :hihi: It sounds as if Sibon had a really lucky escape - and I'm glad to read that. What would you do in my situation? That depends on your religious beliefs. You had a really lucky escape! If it was me, I'd be lighting candles and thanking my guardian angel ... yet again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sibon Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 It would be more than reasonable to expect that - if you smelt gas - you would know what it was and would isolate the supply at the main (and the main isolation valve is before the meter.) Anything less might (perhaps) be considered to be professional negligence. Indeed I did. That was my first action. I'm not dead either, for which I'm truly grateful. My real gripe is that all that I have asked for is an explanation, but neither company will do this. Neither will accept fault, nor will they tell me how they intend to try to ensure that this doesn't happen to anyone else. Having been messed around by both firms for a month, I'm moving into retribution mode:D That depends on your religious beliefs. You had a really lucky escape! If it was me, I'd be lighting candles and thanking my guardian angel ... yet again. Candles are banned in our house for the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Get in touch with The Gas Safety Register and voice your complaint to them. Also Trading Standards. I would certainly get in touch with the gas safety register (is that the Corgi kennel? ) and complain. The Gas Safety people should be made aware of every incident, but it's a sad fact of life that humans do make mistakes. I'm not a gas installer - Im not even prepared to do minor plumbing installations - I'm not very good at working with pipes. Even the best people make mistakes sometimes (or perhaps, on this occasion, it was an equipment failure - we don't know. The safety people should be informed, however. How would you word the complaint to Trading Standards? - What grounds would you use? - I'm glad Sibon got away with it - and from his comment, he was bloody lucky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Indeed I did. That was my first action. I'm not dead either, for which I'm truly grateful. My real gripe is that all that I have asked for is an explanation, but neither company will do this. Neither will accept fault, nor will they tell me how they intend to try to ensure that this doesn't happen to anyone else. Having been messed around by both firms for a month, I'm moving into retribution mode:D Candles are banned in our house for the time being. I sympathise with you! - but I don't see how you might get anywhere (other than by telling the gas safety people.) The people sent by the installers to repair the fault would necessarily have removed any evidence of misfeasance - so you're not going to get much there. I can certainly understand that neither company will accept fault - they would probably argue that there was no fault - it was 'just one of those things'. And how do you refute that? - Stuff does happen! - They're hardly likely to admit liability and you've little to no chance of proving it. As for 'What are you going to do to make sure it doesn't happen again?'- Well, given that they haven't accepted any liability for what happened this time, there is no answer to that question, because (as far as they are concerned) the question is irrelevant. You had a lucky escape! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtrout Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 You MUST pursue this. This is gross negligence on someone's part and sounds to me like the sub-contractor didn't know what he was doing. Compensation or sueing would be the last thing on my mind. You've lost nothing! I really have no idea where you should take this, but I'm sure someone will be able to tell you where to make enquiries/complaints. Please, please help to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else. They might not be as lucky as you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattricia Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 The Gas Safety Register took over from Corgi. This is a very serious incident which should not be made a joke of. It could have ended in death or an explosion. The installation should have been checked afterwards by the contractor for any gas leaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 You MUST pursue this. This is gross negligence on someone's part and sounds to me like the sub-contractor didn't know what he was doing. Compensation or sueing would be the last thing on my mind. You've lost nothing! I really have no idea where you should take this, but I'm sure someone will be able to tell you where to make enquiries/complaints. Please, please help to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else. They might not be as lucky as you. Did you inspect the installation? - are you a qualified gas installation engineer? if the answer to either is 'No' do you really want to accuse the sub-contractor of gross negligence? What if the sub-contractor counter-sues? Do you have the funds to defend such a suit? None of us knows what happened. It may be that somebody was negligent - but from what Sibon said - that the installation was replaced [probably a vital move and Í suspect it would be difficult to argue that they stopped his house from blowing up so that negligence wouldnt be confirmed'.) It may also be that it was 'just one of those things'. Things do happen.' The only thing we do know for certain is that Sibon and his family were very lucky. And that's very good news indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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