Gas leak

Gilly

Gilly

Gilly

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We've had an on-off argument with NPower for ages to the point where we want to leave them.

~7 months ago we were £710 in credit. At the same rate of pay 6 months later we owed £750.

We contested it and said there was no way we were using that much gas, and they said that was what was on the meter so that was the usage. We said there was simply no way we were using what they said and it fell on deaf ears.

Transco (or whatever their name is now) are working on our street and have found two leaks. I haven't had it confirmed yet but I would guess one leak into our property on 'their' side of the meter and one on 'our' side of the meter.

Given that we told NPower that we weren't using as much as they said we were on several occasions do we have a leg to stand on in light of anything on the meter side apparently being our responsibility?
 
Anything up to where the pipe meets the meter is the responsibility of the gas distribution company - National Grid or SGN in all liklihood. Anything (including and) after the meter is the responsibility of the energy supplier.

Any decent energy company takes dealing with gas leaks very seriously. I suggest you escalate your complaint to senior management within your supplier's company. Also, let them know you might be having a word with consumer focus. It usually rattles the right cages into action.

EDIT: Obviously if you had a leak in the property you would know about it or be dead. You're not dead so one can only deduce that there is a leak outside the property but quite how that would register as usage on your meter I'm not sure.

Check your daily usage and previous bills. If they correlate then the meter may be faulty. Failing that, you have inexplicably been using vast amounts of gas without knowing it (unlikely).
 
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The meter reading is taken from the meter attached to your house, so a leak in the street unless after your meter wouldn't be causing you meter reading / usage issues.

Is the meter on the side of your house?
 
Firestar_3x said:
The meter reading is taken from the meter attached to your house, so a leak in the street unless after your meter wouldn't be causing you meter reading / usage issues.

Is the meter on the side of your house?
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He said there's a leak on both sides of the meter.
 
PiKe said:
He said there's a leak on both sides of the meter.
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Gilly said:
I haven't had it confirmed yet but I would guess one leak into our property on 'their' side of the meter and one on 'our' side of the meter.
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All depends on comfirming the above, but like i said the gas company don't meter your usage on what's piped to your house (pre meter) anything after the meter, as in the outlet of the meter, is your problem iirc.

Excess usage due to a large meter reading would be the house owner problem, unless you could prove the meter was faulty.
 
Transco have told our lass that there was a leak before the meter and a leak IN the meter.

Not sure what happens in that event! Surely at that point all bets are off?
 
Sounds like a leak you should be able to smell by the amount.

I'd be turning the gas off now and calling an engineer to run a test, part of the Gas Safe testing is leak tests by drops between the meter and the appliance, my house was condemned by my plumber as the old cast iron pipework was weeping but you couldn't smell it only find out by pressuring and testing the drop in pressure over time.

We had to rip the floorboards up and renew all the pipework back to the meter from the hob which was one end of the house and the boiler at the other end.
 
Gilly said:
Transco have told our lass that there was a leak before the meter and a leak IN the meter.

Not sure what happens in that event! Surely at that point all bets are off?
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I'd say you have a very stong case to argue the meter provided was faulty and the bills not your problem, i'm not sure who owns the meters anymore, Transco or your gas supplier?
 
Our meter was leaking but ours is under the stairs, the meter reading guy said ooooo it's a bit smelly and phoned it in, in an hour they had changed it for a new one.
 
They were changing ours anyway, it's being moved into our garage towards the front of the property, instead of the sun room right round the back.

They've set the meter to 99999 and capped it off. They wouldn't give our lass a written statement so we'd better get one through the post.
 
Out of interest how come they are moving it?

Mines inside my front room and I would love to get it put outside as its taking up space that I could use for a chair
 
They're working all up and down our road apparently restoring damage done to steel pipes during the cold weather.

Causing a right mess.

Their reason for moving ours is that it shouldn't be outside (sun room a DIY flatpack jobbie put up by the previous owners).

So they've moved it to the garage :/
 
My mum was put on EDF Priority Services Register because of her disability, & the gas meter is being moved FOC in a few weeks by EDF.

Don't know about other providers, but EDF has the Priority Services Register, and if find it difficult to access your meter, you may be able to have it moved free of charge, if you meet the criteria.
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Usually Transco will only move the pipe work & meter, you the house owner has to provide a Register Gas Fitter to do the pipe work from other side of meter into your house.

But, if gas mains being replaced, & or meter being upgraded & need to be relocated or moved by gas supplier then they usually move it FOC.
 
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They're fitting the meter tomorrow but have put the pipework to the boiler in already.
 
Gilly said:
Transco have told our lass that there was a leak before the meter and a leak IN the meter.

Not sure what happens in that event! Surely at that point all bets are off?
Click to expand...


Basically all pipework / infrastructure up to the meter is responsibility of distribution ( transco / ngrid ) the meter itself is the responsibility of the energy supplier to maintain. Npower itself won't own or manufacture the meters. That'll be what's known as a meter operator or MOp. They'll be the ones who attend to examine the meter. All pipework after the meter is responsibility of house owner.

Now you've been capped I would expect that NPower should send an emerhency engineer to deal with meter. They won't be able to do it nless the street supply is working though. Also you may be entitled to some comp from Ngrid given through your supplier for gas being off in the street if over a certain length of time.

Def log an official complaint with Npower over the usage patic if your consumption history backs it up. If they're any good they'll refund you the excess . If fthey say no after you have exhausted complaints channel with them then go to Ombudsman
.Ombudsman enquiry costs all suppliers several hundred pounds to examine so unless they have a water tight casr they will want to avoid.

Good luck.
 
They uncapped it and fitted a new meter at the back of the house, and will move it to the front tomorrow.

I'm nervous now that any evidence will have been lost :/
 
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