Can I claim this back from Transco?

[D_Hailsham]

Transco informed him that it would take two hours to get to us, during which time the guy performing the inspection had to stay at the premises, as he was the responsible person,

Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998

"the responsible person", in relation to any premises, means the occupier of the premises or, where there is no occupier or the occupier is away, the owner of the premises or any person with authority for the time being to take appropriate action in relation to any gas fitting therein


(9) Where a person performs work on a gas appliance he shall
immediately thereafter examine -

(a) the effectiveness of any flue;
(b) the supply of combustion air;
(c) its operating pressure or heat input or, where necessary, both;
(d) its operation so as to ensure its safe functioning,

and forthwith take all reasonable practicable steps to notify any defect to the responsible person and, where different, the owner of the premises in which the appliance is situated or, where neither is reasonably practicable, in the case of an appliance supplied with liquefied petroleum gas, the supplier of gas to the appliance, or, in any other case, the transporter.

So the Corgi Man has to inform himself of the defects?

 

[chrishutt]

Sounds like your installer acted in what he mistakenly thought to be the correct manner. In fact you are the responsible person, you could have called the emergency gas service yourself, waited the 2 hours and paid yourself £108 for your trouble. Your installer really should have known that.

Your installer would only need to cut off the gas supply (isolating disc in meter outlet) if he considered it unsafe to leave it connected. I don't think fluctuating pressure would necessarily fall into that category.

I think you should raise the matter with your installer, in a polite and friendly manner, and see what he suggests. He might offer to waive the extra charge, or at least reduce it, to take account of his error. If he doesn't suggest anything then I think you should offer to settle at a reduced level.

 

[gas4you]

I just TOFO it with a disc in meter outlet!!

Never had a complaint yet !!

I never disc anymore as NG won't reconnect once disced.

Technically the corgi is supposed to remain there, but I don not know of any that do.

I certainly don't. As said the ecv should be turned off at the meter whether you stay or not.

No chance of getting your money off Transco

Sounds like you were hood winked by someone short of work

 

[namsag]

Dave he does not have to stay there. He only has to make safe (if customer lets him)and report to shipper ie transco

 

[giblets]

As I understand the rules the RGI would only have to stay on site in the case of an uncontrolled gas escape.

I have never been told by the Emergency Call Centre that I had to stay on site until their engineer arrived - just confirm that the gas supply was turned off at the ECV.

 

[Andy165]

Two hours pay for sitting around waiting for transco, no chance. Ring corgi customer care and see what they say. The guy might have thought he was doing the right thing but its a rip off. Pay him his original bill and say no more.

 

[giblets]

Ring corgi customer care and see what they say

£ORGI will not be at all interested in the financial side of the transaction. They are only interested in the gas safety side.

 

[jwa12]

Problem with contesting the charge is that I am awaiting my landlord's gas safety certificate from him. If I start protesting or if I don't pay the full amount, could he not simply withold it until I do?

I feel I really have to reiterate that I don't think he wanted to hang around, and that his doing so was due to his being a stickler for proceedure (he even mentioned at one point that he felt he must come across as ultra careful and by the book to his customers) He had a job waiting just as mile or two away, and had made time to fit me in at short notice on a Saturday after I was let down badly by a well known nationwide company who didn't turn up.

But... I am concerned that I should be paying the full whack for a possible error on his part, despite the good service beforehand. 108 quid for drinking 2 cups of tea feels steep no matter how happy I am with the work that was done.

I'll sleep on it and figure out what to do tomorrow. Cheers all.

 

[chrishutt]

If he's as conscientious as you think then he will himself be concerned that he may have followed an incorrect procedure and may offer to reduce the bill in recognition of this. You should at least raise the matter with him and see what he has to say. He may be grateful that you have drawn his attention to the matter of who is the responsible person.

 

[gasmark9]

I didn't stay at the customers house on the (only) occasion that I had to call Transco; just turned the ECV off and asked the customer to call me when Transco turned up so I could have a word with the engineer and then re-light all of his appliances for him. I also didn't charge for this return visit as I included it as part of the service for a loyal customer.

 

[Valedictor]

Well, to update briefly,

We contacted Transco who confirmed that he did not need to stay. However, we have been in contact with him, and he seems to be getting increasingly agitated that we are querying the issue. We have told him about Transco's response, and the opinions of the many experienced individuals on here, and yet he maintains that it would have been illegal and negligent for him to leave, that he is not allowed to touch Transco's property, that he recorded the pressure fluctuating between 19 and 26 mil (not working pressure - is that dangerously high?), and that solicitors will need to get involved if it continues - he does not want to discuss it on the phone any more in case he is misquoted.

He said he would be happy to waive the 108 pounds charge if Transco were to provide him with 10 caps to seal off with whenever this occured on his jobs, so that he didn't have to hang around when this or similar problems happen. He really does sound genuinely incensed that we are questioning his judgement, and continues to quote legal jargon and refer to official material to support his claim. As I mentioned before, I really do think that (he felt at least) he was acting properly.

We are going to pay him as we are increasingly feeling that it is not worth dragging it out, although we will put a letter in with the cheque to convey the opinions of the many knowledgeable individuals we have consulted, and also a letter from Transco which they have kindly agreed to send out.

Still have a nagging feeling that at least some of the charge for waiting should possibly be waived in light of the opinions here and Transco's response, but sometimes I guess you have to let these things go and assume that whoever was doing the job was trying to act in the best interests of all parties... maybe it is a bit of a grey area where there is no clear case of what was right or wrong.

 

[gas4you]

The only time I have waited for transco is when the ecv was jammed open solid.

As this was a 1 hour call out and the customer kept me in tea and biscuits I did not charge

When Transco turned up it was one of the many I know really well and ended up getting 2 free electric fan heaters

More than paid for my hour's wait.

I have transco out so often they all know me personally now

 

[chrishutt]

he recorded the pressure fluctuating between 19 and 26 mil (not working pressure - is that dangerously high?),

Both those pressures (and anything in between) would be perfectly acceptable as standing pressures. No danger, or even anything unusual, whatsoever. If they were working pressures it would be a slightly different matter since anything above 23 mbar would be considered unacceptable, but the actual danger would be very slight.

I think your installer needs to get his act together. Perhaps after this he will, though he seems to have a very negative attitude to the learning experience. You could call Corgi in since it is now clear that he is not competent in that he isn't aware of the requirements of the regulations that he has to abide by as a Registered Gas Installer. I think you should withhold the £108.

 

[bengasman]

if the meter check was the last part of the work, the appliances were obviously working within parameters. That makes the fluctuating governor NCS. No need to turn off, let alone cap off.
RGIs do not need to stay on site as responsible person ever, as long as the situation is safe.
Engineer had 2 hours paid lunchbreak on your account. Get your money back

 

[namsag]

Bengas. Fluctuating pressure at meter is never a NCS . It is a turn off and report to shipper,even if it is within working pressure`s . And if you want to argue show me it in writing.

Fluctuating pressure is usually caused by water in the main as gas surges past it, or a really worn diaphragm in the govenor.(which is very rare).Also shared services can cause it and whatever the reason it should always be investigated by the shipper