Can gas pipe develop crack on its own?

[Agile]

I cannot come to any new conclusions after seeing those pictures except that the disconnected gas pipes were rather untidy. Perhaps indicating that the joints may be badly made too.

The invoice is more interesting.

It seems to be a genuine RGI who keeps at the forefront of the industry.

I am surprised that he gets away with charging £36 per hour for five hours. Lee can possibly comment on that but my understanding is that most service contracts agree and set an hourly rate competitively and that was usually about £24 per hour.

Also surprised that he took all these videos and photos as if he felt a need to justify the work!

In no way am I suggesting he made it up but it is easy to fabricate faults like that and some characters I have come across in the industry would be inclined to do that.

I am also interested in their suggestion to settle the matter by backing off from the gas invoice but insisting on keeping their £100.

Actually thats better for you because it would have been difficult for you to fight that on technicalities.

In my view its easy for you to deal with the £100 by complaints within their system as its all about their policies and their application. Good luck.

Tony

Gas Safe Reg

 

[kevplumb]

jeez i wish i was as wonderfull as you
you are obvious the standard we should all aspire to

 

[CBF]

jeez i wish i was as wonderfull as you
you are obvious the standard we should all aspire to

i'm sorry i fail to see your point ?

 

[Dan Robinson]

It might make more sense if you insert "Tony" after Jeez

 

[FiremanT]

Do you want his mobile number as well?

It's OK mate, I think we've all seen Mark's number by now !

I'm a bit confused, though. I thought he was there on a routine inspection, now it seems it was a call out specifically to a gas leak. Or maybe I've missed something.

The bottm line, still, is you cannot damage a properly made joint with an accidental knock

 

[lilystyle]

Same here: it seems from the letter that he came back the next day, after inspecting, to find and repair the leak.

Is it normal to leave a dangerous leak overnight?

 

[FiremanT]

Same here: it seems from the letter that he came back the next day, after inspecting, to find and repace in ir the leak.

Is it normal to leave a dangerous leak overnight?

He would presumably have capped off at the meter overnight.

I still don't beleive that anyone would have carried out the trace in the order in which he claimed. A "sniffer" would have taken him straight to the kitchen, within a few minutes. One look at the pipework would have raised a suspicion even without a sniffer.

But he does appear to have a full set of credentials!

EDIT: How is the work Zero rated for VAT?

 

[Agile]

I expect he is zero rated for VAT and does not have to charge it.

Some/most HAs are registered as charities and probably as such cannot reclaim VAT charged to them so they would favour any RGI who is not registered.

I did not see any address or telephone number for Mark on the GSR. I was hoping to see a photo of him!

It did seem an odd ( and time consuming ) way to arrive at the gas leak location.

Now, just an idea? Suppose he had no other work that day and immediately guessed at where the leak was and then proceeded to follow the time consuming process of checking all the other appliances even knowing they were not the leak? Just to ramp up the time involved?

Tony

 

[CBF]

plus unless i've got the GS number wrong then the blanked out surname on that invoice looks longer than 7 letters

 

[lilystyle]

Could there be any circumstance that would justify not using a sniffer and searching for the leak the way he did?

I will try to get better quality copies of the photos to post later in the week

Umm, don't know why it looks like his surname is more than seven letters long? ...

 

[Dan Robinson]

tell them to stop being idiots and upload the video to you tube, set the privacy such that anyone with the link can view it.

I agree his method of finding the leak seems designed to maximise time on site.

 

[FiremanT]

Could there be any circumstance that would justify not using a sniffer and searching for the leak the way he did?

I try not to randomly criticise, as only he was there, but I can't think of any reason why.

Umm, don't know why it looks like his surname is more than seven letters long? ...

Check the GS registration:

TONY: "Zero rated vat" has a specific meaning, as you should know - it has nothing to do with not being VAT registered!

 

[Agile]

Quite right! I was writing too fast just after researching VAT matters in France and distracted because he put "zero rated" on his invoice.!

The conclusion is that he is "Not registered" and consequently does not need to charge VAT on his invoices. But it would look more professional to put "zero rated" on his invoices rather than "not registered" which indicates a turnover below the limit.

 

[FiremanT]

The conclusion is that he is "Not registered" and consequently does not need to charge VAT on his invoices. But it would look more professional to put "zero rated" on his invoices rather than "not registered" which indicates a turnover below the limit

It isn't more professional as it is completely wrong!

Although, to be fair, this doesn't aid the OP in any way.

EDIT: However, what MAY help, is that I've just noticed that he "electronically sniiffed" pipework AFTER lifting boards. So he DIDhave the kit, but appears not to have been methodical in it's application. IMO

 

[Dan Robinson]

As said, Zero rated, and not registered are two totally different things.

Although, in Tony's defence, if he can get it wrong, it is even more likely the OP's guy did too. Especially reading his methods for gas leak detection. Cookers and fires - INCLUDING their supplies are the first place one checks alongside the meter and its associated pipe work. From the description so far, 2 hours tops. With half an hour to repair as shown in the pics.... poorly.