Plumber installed meter on the 'fiddle'. Can I claim public liability from him?
Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 3.19 PM
Hi,
My partner and I recently bought a house. We had a gas safety certificate from the same person who installed the boiler (dated February) and a building regulation certificate quoting the same plumber. We thought all was well.
When we moved in, the gas wasn't working. Another plumber said it had been installed incorrectly. I phoned the original plumber who insisted it was working fine when he was working on the house last winter for a long period.
After a bit of back and forth from the gas company, it turned out it was disconnected. When we got our 'live or dead' check done, the worker explained that the meter was installed in reverse, essentially being on the fiddle. He legally then had to remove the original meter.
It's taking weeks to get a new MRPN, and we will then have to wait wait for a new meter installation and supply turned on, all while living in the house.
If there is going to be a significant cost to us, would we have grounds to claim off of his public liability?
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
No , public liability wouldn’t cover this. It’s more for injury or damage to public or property , they wouldn’t entertain that. He must be gas safe so a call to them would be a good start
If he had professional indemnity insurance then you could claim but I’m sure he wouldn’t have. Designers, consultants and structural engineers tend to have it as mistakes are very costly. Public indemnity only covers injury death and damage to 3rd parties
Answered15 November 2018
1
Anonymous user
Hi
Public liability wont cover faulty installation, the problem you have is another gas installer has now got involved so an investigation cant take place as its only his word against the original gas installer.
all Gas installers have a unique number which is put on any paperwork they do on the property, and if there is a problem then gas safe should be called to investigate and any new installer who has spotted bad workmanship, unless its dangerous or classed as dangerous ( which he would have the right to cap the meter off so the work done can be inspected) should also of advised to call gas safe to investigate.
my advice would to be phone gas safe, explain the situation then both the gas men will be questioned. Hope this helps.
Ah so reading between the lines what you are presuming is that the original installer had turned the meter around so he could use the gas supply in the house free of charge while he was working on it.
This is kind of a contradiction because if he was working on the gas supply he wouldn't be having the gas on. So even if that was the case it would be hard to prove.
Also its not something a gas engineer would ever risk doing, its not as if they could say they put it on the wrong way around by mistake as the meter reading window would be facing away from them.
It is more likely that whoever was living in the house turned the meter the other way around while they used the gas and then forgot to swap it around or was evicted.
Seeing the meter the wrong way around although not commonplace is not exactly rare especially in deprived areas and from those coming from certain cultural backgrounds.
