British Gas Jobsworth

[alert]

I suspect any work outside that authorised would not be covered. The fitter would be the one left holding the baby. Insurance companies are not noted for being philanthropic institutions

[Mark]

Just 'cash job' here in Norfolk Though I did hear recently 'off invoice'.

[Tim Southerwood]

Mark coughed up some electrons that declared:

Down south (Kent) we would generally say a number of variations involving the word "cash" with the implication there will be a not-insubstantial discount. "Off the books" I've heard too.

Cheers

Tim

[David in Normandy]

We had a pigeon get down the chimney at our old house. Someone said British Gas did a free "bird rescue" service. So I phoned them and they said someone would call around. A few hours later a bloke from Transo arrived and told me he could dismantle our brand new gas fire and remove it to get the bird out but not put it back together again as he wasn't Corgi qualified. I told him to sling his hook. The following day I got a proper Corgi gas fitter to come and release the bird.

Completely useless service if they just leave a pile of bits on the carpet and you've still got to get someone else in to finish the job. At least if the same person puts it back together that dismantles it there is a better chance of them doing it correctly.

[John Rumm]

I have worked on projects where engineers have managed to knock up a variety of company funded extras like this. Things ranging from a radio controlled car, to a fridge built from parts!

[John Stumbles]

No, the meter will be the same size (at least it's inlet and outlet connectors will be). The industry is not that stupid! :-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

PJ is common round here - and at my work.

[The Medway Handyman]

No, thats 'Alien' Andy.

[Martin]

I've occasionally come across a "Friday job" in relation to a legit self-employed person doing a less-than legit cash-job for someone s/he knows and trusts.

[John Rumm]

A moot point since the OP wanted to contract BG to do the work through official channels; just with the expedient of using the man actually on site at the time to do the work rather than arrange a number of separate visits etc.

[geoff]

The famous one at MSDS was John xxxxxx who booked in an empty metal box as a mixer and booked it back out a couple of weeks later as ... a 48 channel mixer

Good bit of gear too

[geoff]

Personally, I don't have the FAINTEST idea what any of you are talking about

[Chip]

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:12:33 +0000,it is alleged that Tim Southerwood spake thusly in uk.d-i-y:

My experience in Southampton is the same, many variations involving 'cash'. Off the books here tends to refer to 'I won't tell HM Revenue and Customs if you don't".

For less 'under the table' work, "private job" tends to be the norm here, but that would usually be outside your normal paid hours.

[Ed Sirett]

I've come to this thread rather late.

I am surprised that the meter exchange operator (almost certainly not BG and probably not National Grid Transco if the work was requested as a non

-emergency) would not change a meter where there was the old lead pipe on the customer side.

I CBA to look up the precise category of risk for continuing using lead composition pipes. It is absolutely no ID (Immediately Dangerous) it is certainly at least NCS (Not to Current Standards). It just might be AR (At Risk).

If it was AR then the Transco man should have requested to cut off the gas (you could have refused) and labelled the installation. The fact that he didn't means that either he was trying to be helpful (at some very small risk to himself) allowing you to continue to have gas before the upgrade is made.

If it was not AR then the Meter Exchange Sub contractors are possibly gold plating the regs, but given that we all seem to be forced to operate collectively in a game of pass-the-parcel-containing-blame...

I believe that one flexible used to be permitted, two are now permitted. However most of us (RGIs) probably wont have an anacondas to hand with us. But I would normally carry a BS 764 (?) meter outlet fitting. The work involved is likely about 30 minutes all in. So a call out plus £15 for the materials is the likely cost.

There is a small chance that if the current gas installation is leaking then much more work will arise.

Who instigated the meter chance? If it's the gas supplier let /them/ push the boat out on this one. Unless the meter is blocking the flow of gas they most likely will err in the customer's favour.

HTH

As for asking the 'jobsworth' to do a job for you at the peril of his day job. Was that ever likely to be a starter? I have known transco guys occasionally do a quick look for leaks on the installation side - perhaps to disconnect a leaking cooker, say, and thus leave the customer with heating.

[John]

I didn't mean the diameter of the inlet and outlet, I meant the distance between them. One other thing I remember now from the conversation was the BG man said "This is occurring more and more because of the new regs", so WHY don't they (BG/National Grid) tell them to change it at the same time as the meter change and bill the customer, obviously tell them the cost first etc. As I am a landlord this would show up at my next Gas Safety Check but how many people out there have gas inlet pipes (their side) made from lead? They wouldn't know it was against current regs until they need a meter change, which if they had a new meter 12 montha ago, it would be 14 years away, my tenants meter needs changing as it is 15 years old! The BG man said the lead piping wasn't a safety hazard only against current regs. I will await the call from my CORGI man and let you know the outcome.

Cheers

John

[John]

The meter change was instigated by BG a letter to "The Occupier"

I didn't ask him to do a 'foreigner/Guvvy/PJ/ Cash In Hand etc. I just thought if he could do it then it would save me and my tenant a lot of hassle arranging a re-visit etc. After all he had to disconnect the meter to put in a new one, so why not change the lead piping at the SAME time? Especially as he said "This is occurring more and more because of the new regs", Why not let the 'engineers' do it at the same time and save everybody a lot of messing about? I have decided to let my CORGI guy do MY side and let BG/National Grid talk do 'their' side. For the sake of

[BRG]

John,

I think that your statement "The world has gone mad!" really is quite correct and many, many perfectly reasonable people who would like to help, just protect their 'arses' in this litigious age and refuse even the most simple of requests - galling as it may be.

That's life today I'm afraid!

BRG

[John Stumbles]

That is what I meant. Sorry it wasn't clear.

[Andy Dingley]

"Yenormous Wodkas" and maybe a banana daiquiri, if you're an aging Grauniad reader...

[jkn]

I'm from Lancashire, and my Father worked at 'Leyland Motors', man and boy. Using the company facilities & materials for making projects for home was a 'foreigner', and I grew up surrounded by them!

I later worked in academia in Yorkshire, and the equivalent amongst the technicians and mechanics was a 'guvvy' or a 'guvvo'. I heard a few stories from the days of the late sixties; one included them managing to put together a Mini on the fourth floor of the Physics Building!

Down on the South Coast I hear of 'homers'.

J^n