At our Quaker conference home we have actually attempted to assist the world by switching our gas central heating boiler for an air resource heatpump. We asked our distributor, Crown Gas & &Power, to finish our supply, and were amazed to be informed that we needed to maintain paying the 99p a day standing cost till the meter was gotten rid of.
However, the large shock came when it billed us ₤ 486 to get rid of the meter. We inquired this, yet were informed it was appropriate. We needed to pay it, or else we would certainly need to maintain paying 99p a day.
For a competent gas designer, it is a basic task to detach the supply pipeline, and cap it off securely. In the occasion, it took one guy much less than an hour to do it. It appears to us that their cost is inflated.
The Energy Networks Association claims some companies do this absolutely free. Can we test it?
JJ, Bristol
As I am a follower of stating in this column, no excellent action goes unpunished.
It ought to be free-and-easy to get rid of a gas meter yet alas that is not the instance as Richard Lowes of the Regulatory Assistance Project, which is associated with tidy power plan, verifies.
“Non-residential supplies are regulated differently to residential supplies and, in either case, it is up to the supplier how much they charge,” he claims. “Octopus Energy is notable for not charging for domestic gas meter removals and other suppliers should follow suit – many are installing heat pumps, for goodness sake.”
Crown Gas & & Power claims its cost remained in line with the nationwide standard and referred us to the Citizens Advice website, which claims it might set you back anything from ₤ 400 to greater than ₤ 1,000 depending upon “how much work needs to be done”.
Regarding the standing fees, it discussed that “whether gas is being consumed or not, meters require monitoring and management” and this covered the price of that.
It appears to me that the power regulatory authority, Ofgem, requires to do something concerning this grey location.
In the meanwhile, if you are a home owner changing over and taking into consideration a heatpump in future, try to find a provider that will certainly get rid of the old meter absolutely free.
We welcome letters yet can not address separately. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or contact Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please consist of a daytime contact number. Submission and magazine of all letters goes through our terms.
