gas meter relocation.

yelnats · 8th August 2016, 21:06

Having some house alterations carried out which involves a meter move.
national grid quoted £687 to move it within a distance band of 0m-5m.
I sent the money,which prompted a visit by a 'surveyor' who informed me that the work would infact come within the 5m-10m band ,because the existing supply pipe would have to be diverted and there would be additional costs.Fair enough except that they now want an additional £617 for what amounts to 4.5 m of plastic pipe (£137 m ?)and minimal trench work.
By pricing the work in 'bands' on a one size fits all basis,and having a virtual monopoly,customer choice is eliminated,and a take it or leave it' choice prevails;they assume a worst case scenario which takes no account of the actual individual circumstances of the work involved.This has been confirmed by the various personnel I have spoken to,and are preventing me from speaking to more senior management to justify this appalling charge.
Is there any member with any experience of these matters able to help/advise as we are at an impasse at the moment ?

Borg Warner · 8th August 2016, 21:21

A good many years ago I was responsible for service alterations for a (then) recently privatised electricity company. I used to give a price to customers who wanted their electricity service cable and meters moving to another position. We where then and still are governed by the regulator, OFGEM, as to how much we could charge for this work as we where the only ones allowed to carry it out. I understand it is the same for the gas service/meter position, they will charge customers a sum agreed with OFGEM, they are not allowed to make any profit from it as such.

It is what is - sorry.

Darcydog · 8th August 2016, 21:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by yelnats

Having some house alterations carried out which involves a meter move.
national grid quoted £687 to move it within a distance band of 0m-5m.
I sent the money,which prompted a visit by a 'surveyor' who informed me that the work would infact come within the 5m-10m band ,because the existing supply pipe would have to be diverted and there would be additional costs.Fair enough except that they now want an additional £617 for what amounts to 4.5 m of plastic pipe (£137 m ?)and minimal trench work.
By pricing the work in 'bands' on a one size fits all basis,and having a virtual monopoly,customer choice is eliminated,and a take it or leave it' choice prevails;they assume a worst case scenario which takes no account of the actual individual circumstances of the work involved.This has been confirmed by the various personnel I have spoken to,and are preventing me from speaking to more senior management to justify this appalling charge.
Is there any member with any experience of these matters able to help/advise as we are at an impasse at the moment ?

We had this but luckily for us the gas meter was in the garage and that was a single brick wall which under current Health & safety rules is a no-no. And luckily the gas mains were being replaced and we had a great chap come round and said that it had to be moved under HIS say so - and so we got it moved to where we wanted and it did not cost a bean

So - First - check out any H&S rulings re where your meter is currently because if it it is not safe????? - they have to move it at their expense.

Secondly - submit a Subject Access Request to obtain all the documents and decision making trail re your case.

This makes them realise that you mean business and it tends to get senior people involved when an SAR lands on the Data Protection Officers desk

More info on SAR's here:-

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/personal-information/

You can ask for the "logic trail" - either manual or automated (so it would cover this distance "banding" they apply) of the decision process they use to be explained and justified.

Often - the decision making process is grossly unfair and the Courts find in favour of the individual on the receiving end..........

So - you may find it worthwhile to try this route.

I have found SAR's incredibly effective when dealing with idiocy/arrogance by large companies and organisations.

Hope this helps!

Bigal2218 · 8th August 2016, 21:35

I have experience of this but it goes back 15 years. I had the gas meter relocated from the back inside of he house to the front alleyway and it was a distance of much more than 3.5 meters, more like 10m. I think the cost reached £1000! I was also told that i had to use a Corgi qualified gas engineer to re-make the connection to the new meter, once the distance exceeded 3.5m (if my memory serves me correctly on the distance). This was an agreement made on gas privatisation so that there was a distribution of work, however it was a cliff-hanger ensuring that the disconnection of the old and the reconnection to the new was achieved on the same day during the winter. I did wonder whether it was worth it - just so that my wife didn't have to let a meter reader into the house! I could never understand why the house was built in 1968 with the electric meter at the front of the house and the gas meter at the rear! Fortunately they are now both outside front of the house in adjacent cabinets. With the advent of smart meters one shouldn't have to bother with relocation.

8th August 2016, 21:06	#1
yelnats Avid contributor MGZT-T CDTI+135 AUTO Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: nr Lichfield Posts: 161 Thanks: 26 Thanked 16 Times in 12 Posts	gas meter relocation. Having some house alterations carried out which involves a meter move. national grid quoted £687 to move it within a distance band of 0m-5m. I sent the money,which prompted a visit by a 'surveyor' who informed me that the work would infact come within the 5m-10m band ,because the existing supply pipe would have to be diverted and there would be additional costs.Fair enough except that they now want an additional £617 for what amounts to 4.5 m of plastic pipe (£137 m ?)and minimal trench work. By pricing the work in 'bands' on a one size fits all basis,and having a virtual monopoly,customer choice is eliminated,and a take it or leave it' choice prevails;they assume a worst case scenario which takes no account of the actual individual circumstances of the work involved.This has been confirmed by the various personnel I have spoken to,and are preventing me from speaking to more senior management to justify this appalling charge. Is there any member with any experience of these matters able to help/advise as we are at an impasse at the moment ?

8th August 2016, 21:35	#4
Bigal2218 Regular poster Rover 75 Tourer Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Beckenham Posts: 88 Thanks: 6 Thanked 13 Times in 12 Posts	gas meter relocation. I have experience of this but it goes back 15 years. I had the gas meter relocated from the back inside of he house to the front alleyway and it was a distance of much more than 3.5 meters, more like 10m. I think the cost reached £1000! I was also told that i had to use a Corgi qualified gas engineer to re-make the connection to the new meter, once the distance exceeded 3.5m (if my memory serves me correctly on the distance). This was an agreement made on gas privatisation so that there was a distribution of work, however it was a cliff-hanger ensuring that the disconnection of the old and the reconnection to the new was achieved on the same day during the winter. I did wonder whether it was worth it - just so that my wife didn't have to let a meter reader into the house! I could never understand why the house was built in 1968 with the electric meter at the front of the house and the gas meter at the rear! Fortunately they are now both outside front of the house in adjacent cabinets. With the advent of smart meters one shouldn't have to bother with relocation.

8th August 2016, 21:21	#2
Borg Warner I really should get out more....... None Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Suffolk Posts: 2,579 Thanks: 494 Thanked 657 Times in 402 Posts	A good many years ago I was responsible for service alterations for a (then) recently privatised electricity company. I used to give a price to customers who wanted their electricity service cable and meters moving to another position. We where then and still are governed by the regulator, OFGEM, as to how much we could charge for this work as we where the only ones allowed to carry it out. I understand it is the same for the gas service/meter position, they will charge customers a sum agreed with OFGEM, they are not allowed to make any profit from it as such. It is what is - sorry.