Advice Needed Help! Old Style Gas Hob

[firemant]

In your own opinion it is. He capped it because he isn’t trained to know. Your arguement shouldn’t be blaming him. It should be the fact that they are not trained enough. They clearly need more training. That point I do agree with. I’m tired of people putting the blame onto someone else. We should be working together not against each other. Winds me up.

My argument was clearly with the company and their "policies". I cannot think of any other industry that would act in that manner. I am justified in also slating the individuals that cap stuff off to "CYA", simply because they do nothave the understanding to do the job properly. You have NO right to cap off because you are terrified that you might get it wrong. Witness the number of times that you read that there is no NCS so it must be AR!

In this case |I am with the OP all the way, if he has the time, inclination and patience, he should be suing the meter firm.

 

[Paul Walker]

To the O.P,
Did the meter fitter find the Hob issue on an initial survey prior to exchanging the Gas meter or after the new meter was fitted?

Also prior to Capping, did the Meter fitter ask your Father's permission to cap and did your Father give permission, was this in writing?

Hi - it was before the fitting of the meter I believe and my father signed the fitters document which was the warning advice note confirming that he understood the fitters instructions. My father refused him permission to cap the supply but was told that he had no choice and if it wasn’t capped then they would request the network operator cut off supply to his residence.

 

[firemant]

although it doesn’t currently confirm to the regulations it did at the time and therefore would not warrant an ID notice o

Paul, it actually DOES comply IF there is a label as per my previous. It is NOT ID in any case, and certainly should not be cappe off. At most it is AR, and the correct procedure is to to TURN OFF the offending appliance, and issue a DO NOT USE label pus a warning notice. Your father should have been asked for permission to cap off.

Yes to the rest.

Good luck, and let us know what transpires.

 

[Paul Walker]

Paul, it actually DOES comply IF there is a label as per my previous. It is NOT ID in any case, and certainly should not be cappe off. At most it is AR, and the correct procedure is to to TURN OFF the offending appliance, and issue a DO NOT USE label pus a warning notice. Your father should have been asked for permission to cap off.

Yes to the rest.

Good luck, and let us know what transpires.

Thanks worth just saying that the engineer said that there wasn’t a way of isolating the appliance on its own hence capping the whole supply. So we are justified in raising the complaint ?

 

[firemant]

Hi - it was before the fitting of the meter I believe and my father signed the fitters document which was the warning advice note confirming that he understood the fitters instructions. My father refused him permission to cap the supply but was told that he had no choice and if it wasn’t capped then they would request the network operator cut off supply to his residence.

Bully tactics.

If it was a genuine ID, he is correct that he would inform Cadent etc. They would visit and, ultimately, cut off in the street if the householder was not co-operative. However, they would attempt to gain entry to satisfy themselves that there is an ID situation and make their own decision. They would not charge in and dig up - and often there is a valve or meter outside the house that they will isolate with.

I have actually been with Nat Grid when we were callled to a definite ID (Flue into a conservatory!). The house owner was intransigent and refused the service guy permission to disconnect. He let us in, but had a vintage motor parked up to the meter in the house which he refused to move for us. The boss was called, he re explained evrything, including the consequence of a street dig up, and eventually the old guy relented, and we capped the boiler. It took a couple of hours.

In the case under discussion, it is a shame the old boy did not dig his heels in, but he probably felt under pressure. Even if it was ID, he would have been in no worse a position than he ended up in.

 

[Paul Walker]

Bully tactics.

If it was a genuine ID, he is correct that he would inform Cadent etc. They would visit and, ultimately, cut off in the street if the householder was not co-operative. However, they would attempt to gain entry to satisfy themselves that there is an ID situation and make their own decision. They would not charge in and dig up - and often there is a valve or meter outside the house that they will isolate with.

I have actually been with Nat Grid when we were callled to a definite ID (Flue into a conservatory!). The house owner was intransigent and refused the service guy permission to disconnect. He let us in, but had a vintage motor parked up to the meter in the house which he refused to move for us. The boss was called, he re explained evrything, including the consequence of a street dig up, and eventually the old guy relented, and we capped the boiler. It took a couple of hours.

In the case under discussion, it is a shame the old boy did not dig his heels in, but he probably felt under pressure. Even if it was ID, he would have been in no worse a position than he ended up in.

Thanks - I agree. If it was a genuine risk then I wouldn’t have any issue with it, we all want the regs to protect our safety but given the appliance is doing what it did the day it was bought then it just astounds me that this course of events has taken place. Thanks again for your help I’ll let you know the outcome.

 

[firemant]

Thanks worth just saying that the engineer said that there wasn’t a way of isolating the appliance on its own hence capping the whole supply. So we are justified in raising the complaint ?

Absolutely.
Before proceeding, check the existence of a label as per my previous.
Contact Gas Safe. Explain clearly the facts. Get a name. Ask for confirmation of the category - ID or AR. Ask him what is the correct process, and for the regs under which he is advising. If you dont, the meter firm will give you BS, and they will not take advice from here as of any value. (Why should they - Harvest feels that |I am wrong in complaing about an undertrained individual, which is ludicrous).

You are not alone - meter fitters do this all the time, and it is wrong.

 

[Harvest Fields]

You have made your decision thread closed