spillage on gas fire,owner says its nothing

[desrob]

having done a boiler service,i gave the usual visual on the other gas appliances,duty of care and all that , this is a house split into two flats up stairs and downstairs,noticing the black sooty marks on the top fire, i asked when it was last looked at, this is an elderly forgetfull owner who could not remember i advised on getting it serviced and fitting a co detector,he accused me of making work for my self,i was a bit taken a back by this and more or less told him" i've advised you,it's up to you",.the thing is i feel as if i should have done more and i have a feeling the down stairs property is on the same flue as the up stairs flat,i have tried to phone the daughter of this elderly man,she arranged boiler service but can not get back in touch ,what more can i do ,or what would you do

 

[mikegas]

i would of asked if i could do a spillage test on it then gone from there. Also would of checked if the flue serving both appliances

 

[desrob]

i would of asked if i could do a spillage test on it then gone from there

i did the usual but as i said he accussed me of making work,he refused the spillage and said marks were nothing

 

[stani]

I think there was a similar question regarding the legalities of a visual inspection and a service on another thread earlier this week, but if the soot marks are so bad to cause concern I would write out a warning notice give the customer the copy and tell him to show his daughter,at least you have done something and have documentary evidence should something happen to the old gent. if its really bad ring the gas supplier and tell them, CO poisoning is the 'in' thing at the moment make sure you are bomb proof,

 

[SafeGasInstall]

had a similar one ,customer went abusive and arrogant ....would not have the warning paper ...so i rang Gas Bored and made a note to them off issue I had and did warning notice on my book and did not go around to put it through the letter box as I did not want to know about this customer !

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

well lads there is a procedure in place regarding circumstances like this, riddor it and inform the esp see if he thinks its nothing when the gas meters removed,yes we have a duty of care and if we see something that looks dangerous we act accordingly

 

[SafeGasInstall]

gas man have you actually seen meter taking away ? just curious cos did two RIDDOR reports but no one has got back for more info or update on it !

 

[tamz]

If you inform the esp of an ID situation where the customer refuses to allow you to act, they will send someone out and if he agrees with your judgement, the meter will be capped off.
If they refuse the esp permission to do this, he will call out a team to dig up the service and chop it or if it is a flat they will turn it off at the lateral. Better to take the first choice as if the supply gets cut, they will then have to pay for the reconnection.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Tom I can't wait to see it my self one day ! Have You been witness to one of this procedures ?

 

[tamz]

They usually see the light and let you get on with it when you ring the esp in front of them.
Had one idiot a few years back who went the full road I think he didn't believe they would do it

 

[Reg Man]

Call the ESP. Cover your back.

I had one particular customer who had obviously fitted his own back boiler. Staining in the room on the ceiling. I requested it be capped off and he refused. I confirmed the risks, and he became slightly aggressive. So I told hime I would call the ESP if he would not let me make safe and they would come round and deal with it. I left and waited outside for the ESP.

The ESP arrived and he still refused. So they dug the road up and capped off his supply. It was quite good entertainment with the customer still having a go and then the police turning up. Had to stay and watch all the events unfold.

End result everone left, customer got a caution and no gas supply.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

good job Reg Man .......wish i was there to see the house owner face ...

 

[Reg Man]

good job Reg Man .......wish i was there to see the house owner face ...

One of those, I told you so moments. It did'nt matter about loosing a customer either, because those are the ones who you must never work for.

 

[yorkieplumber]

Hi all i did a landlord safety check last year and informed the landlord that the gas meter was in a illegal poition, ie in a 12" cavity, he got stroppy and accused me of looking for work and was rude to me also, so i phoned 0800 111 999, they arrived well within the hour, i explained the situation to them, they looked at the problem and totally agreed, they removed the meter and capped the ecv, left a notice and off they went, landlord phoned me back eating humble pie, i re-located gas meter, but boy did it cost him some money, i dont know if Transco acted illegally, but i didnt care landlord relly ****ed me off i thought it was justice in the end and saved loads of paperwork for me too.

 

[d.roche]

what is esp?? im in ireland sometimes dont understand abbreviations we have different names for stuff.....

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Emergency service provider

 

[Blackcatgas]

what is esp?? im in ireland sometimes dont understand abbreviations we have different names for stuff.....

Extra sensory perception, electronic stability program, EMERGENCY SERVICE PROVIDER lol

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

gas man have you actually seen meter taking away ? just curious cos did two RIDDOR reports but no one has got back for more info or update on it !

yes,fire spilling and killing the custards gerbil rat type things even though this was happening and i made safe the fire also discovered the wm/of boiler had no vent and staining around it they refused to let me make safe as now only the boiler was working rang transco mate of mine turned up watch this he said capped incoming supply,took the meter off with him told the custard better to be cold than dead

 

[REDSAW]

yes,fire spilling and killing the custards gerbil rat type things even though this was happening and i made safe the fire also discovered the wm/of boiler had no vent and staining around it they refused to let me make safe as now only the boiler was working rang transco mate of mine turned up watch this he said capped incoming supply,took the meter off with him told the custard better to be cold than dead

like that,:
better to be cold than dead cold.lol.

 

[metaldust9]

i wouldnt hesitate id av called the esp and waited for them to turn up if i had to ,just wouldnt take the risk by walking away cos its you that looses your ticket and him his life if he,s unlucky i always say to them it will cost them £2000 to get it switched back on if the esp cut it off that usually works

 

[hot stuff]

what i would do in a situ like that is send a issue of hazard registered post they have to sign for it so ur covered.
also send one to daughter.

 

[obseen16]

should have loosened the thermocouple on the fire when he wasnt looking lol. atleast hed be safe. ive always been tempted to do that but the awkward custards are normally the ones with no fire lol. plus itd probably come back and bite you in the bum. would that be classed as damage to personal property? hmmm i ponder.

once or twice i have done the checks found appliance to be ID so i tend to cap it off first then say to customer your appliance is ID so i had a legal obligation to cap it off, if they protest i say get a second oppinion, that way they might be upset but atleast they wont "wake up dead" because of their ignorance.

however in your case if he wouldnt let you near it id call esp.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

wake up dead,i think that would be difficult obseen even i could not fix that but i agree with what you say,i take a similar stance,if its ar or id it is going off end of if they argue(which is not often) i get the esp out,knowing all the esp guys they ask me the situation then remove the meter problem solved but i have put a wire cutters trough a thermocouple before if met with animosity

 

[tamz]

Loosening the thermocouple is a good one. Don't worry it won't come back to bit you but if they protest pass it straight to the ESP. They won't have any qualms about chopping them off.

 

[obseen16]

wake up dead,i think that would be difficult obseen even i could not fix that but i agree with what you say,i take a similar stance,if its ar or id it is going off end of if they argue(which is not often) i get the esp out,knowing all the esp guys they ask me the situation then remove the meter problem solved but i have put a wire cutters trough a thermocouple before if met with animosity

yeah i use the phrase wake up dead with my customers, strangely they never quite get the punn they usually say oh that wouldnt be good, hehe, it tickles me sometimes.