Cadent replacing gas pipes. Anyone experienced this?

[JenniferBooth]

This is going to be happening on a housing estate where a friend of mine lives. I was round there when a letter about it was delivered. They are asking for quite a lot including access to homes from 7.30 am on wards and then want to be in and out all day amongst a lot of other things like digging up drives. Has anyone had any experience of this The experiences of it ive read on their trustpilot dont fill me with confidence.

Just a follow up to my own bad experience from last week (this is Northern Gas Networks but they are doing the same works). They have just shown up this morning and started setting everything up right across my driveway without checking if I need to get out first. I do and so they will have to move!

Thankfully I'm out of the house for work for the next 3 days but this is only week 2 of 12 and it's driving me insane

Ours starts this week until April …. Not looking forward to it!

Just to add I've actually just lodged a formal complaint as the whole thing has been so badly managed with no communication, no advance warning of when they'd be coming into my house, digging holes in my driveway without telling me first and that's without the discussions about cocaine use and anal sex right outside my window!

they we’re very flexible said they were in the area for weeks and could come back when it suited

the only thing they dug was small hole in pavement not the rd
if he did have to move his car it would be a minimal distance

@InAMess2023 Because of what ive read on trustpilot what you have just said today doesnt surprise me at all. Glad you have put a complaint in. And the talk of cocaine and anal sex just serves to remind us of the sort of people we are being forced expected to let into our homes. this is the sort that would have a bloody good snoop while they were there. I certainly wouldnt be having them in my home without me there but this job drags on for ages and both home owners and tenants have to go to work. Because its logistically impossible for people to be home 24/7 for weeks on end while this is done. Companies like this have a duty of care and after what you have overheard there is no way these workmen should be allowed in peoples homes. They need to find some of their other workers for that part of the job. And i hope they will drug test as these men are working with gas FFS.

@JenniferBooth apparently they do drug test but although the guy in question told me he had had 'his arse kicked' he said it wasn't being taken any further. I have the site manager visiting me today to discuss my complaint.

However they are currently drilling in my driveway without asking if it was ok, their van is across my driveway again with the flashing lights going, right in my eye-line and causing me a headache!

When they first came into the house they just asked me to go upstairs and turn the boiler off at the switch. When it was switched back on he (a different worker) insisted on going upstairs to do it himself, despite me saying I would do it. Definitely an invasion of privacy!

We had this a couple of months ago. We were dreading it as they were so bad in the neighbouring road that the council threw them off the job. I work from home so was around the whole time, just as well as they needed 5 kettles of boiling water to soften the new pipe!

The only problem we had was the registered gas fitters who came to turn the boiler on and off on 2 separate days. GF1 was nice, very chatty, said our boiler was old but reliable, no problems at all. GF2 condemned the boiler. Too old, apparently. Left us with a paper list of British Gas fitters and their numbers. 1 was dead (that was a marvellous phone call to his poor widow!) 2 were on holiday, 1 was a cowboy who said all our radiators would need replacing along with the boiler.
I tried for months to get an answer as to why GF1 said the boiler was absolutely fine but GF2 condemned it - surely if they were both Gas Safe registered their opinion should have been identical? But they couldn’t have given less of a shit that they’d left us without heating or hot water. When we eventually got a reputable gas engineer out he couldn’t see an earthly reason why the boiler had been condemned, so he gave it a service and switched it back on again.
They did move vans etc and gave us notice as to when they would be running new pipes to our house though. DH had to take time off for the whole days though.

@InAMess2023 you sound just like my wonderful cousin. Without her, my aunt and uncle would have frozen. The temperature INSIDE their house was 8 degrees. There was snow on the ground outside. Their gas was off overnight but Cadent appeared not to care that two 80+ year olds were left like that. My cousin took them to her house because she was so worried. Their drive was dug up without their consent. Their walls were drilled without their consent and sentimental items were broken - had they known that a particular wall was to be drilled, they would have moved said items.

I read my cousin's email to Cadent. She also complained about the way the workmen spoke. Aunt & Uncle aren't stupid, just old and a bit vulnerable. Cadent couldn't give a stuff. I must ask her if she's had a reply.

@Malbecfan I think you meant to tag @JenniferBooth ☺️

https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/23038700.colchester-residents-fuming-damage-caused-gas-workers/

A representative called at my home to…A representative called at my home to say cadent were replacing gas pipes in the street and that I was flagged up as being venerable. She asked what I needed and I told her I needed my disabled class car parked outside as I can't walk very far. She assured me this wouldn't be a problem. Then yesterday a workman knocked on my door to say they needed to did a hole where my car was parked and threatened to cut of my gas supply if I didn't move my it. I moved the car only to find that not only did this hole not appear (unless it's an invisible hole) but now half the street are parked outside my house instead of me because cadent have left the whole street with no parking. Absolutely disgusting. When the opportunity arrises I will be moving my car back outside my house and should they ask me to move it again they will get a very loud NO from trustpilot

Just to update on my story... after I made the formal complaint yesterday morning my house is now the only one on my side of the street without barriers up or holes outside... so completed basically! Came home from work today to a thank you card (stamped inside 'thank you for your patience' and a note asking me to ring the site manager tomorrow!

Oh im glad you have got a result

The trustpilot reviews dated 2020 and 2021 show that they traipsed in and out in and out of peoples homes with no PPE while we were all being told it was too dangerous to see our families

I work for one of the utilities we go and ask everyone to move there cars first thing

work like this can be a bit unpredictable so you might have every intention of getting a row of houses done hit problems and only get a few done

in covid we rung ahead and the asked customers to ventilate the room door open and leave us to it we didn’t wear Ppe as we were in an empty room by ourselves

tbh I think you’ll be disappointed if there isn’t problems

do you work or have hobbies

@rwalker wow how rude can you get? I appreciate that problems happen and that's fine if there's any sort of communication given in advance. I also don't expect to have engineers talking about their cocaine use and anal sex outside of my window whilst I'm trying to work from home in my living room!

I wasn’t referring to you

@rwalker If my friend is to move his car he wont be able to get to it because of limited mobility due to waiting on the NHS since 2019 for a knee replacement. He just cant walk any further than where it is parked. If he cant get to his car he also wont be able to get to the shop to top up his pre payment gas meter. Which may well cause Cadent themselves a problem.

And either Covid was dangerous or it wasnt. This is just another example of companies and corporates having it both ways while the rest of us were threatened with fines.

do you work or have hobbies

Id bet money that Alan Bates was asked the same thing!

@rwalker I couldn't care less, you're still being rude. I also complained about my experience so I'm no different to the OP. Do better

They need access because the gas will have to be cut off and then restored, and people's gas boilers etc will need to be checked to make sure they come on again properly - for obvious vital safety reasons.

Well if you had landed up to my house during the covid restrictions and not worn ppe you'd have been shown the door sharpish. I dont give a flying fig if the room was ventilated or not (and moreso at this time of year when it's baltic you could f off if you think id be leaving a window open all day). My elderly mother is my priority so my house, my rules.

and to solve that problem would you mind popping a mask on is all that’s needed when your in that empty room on your own with the windows open
we wear gloves as standard

generally people used common sense
opened the windows moved everything for you left the door open and waited upstairs till you’d gone

as you said your house your rules but if you refused to open the windows to ventilate to minimise risk we wouldn’t come in and leave you without service entirely your choice

Has your friend actually called Cadent to discuss the issues?

They replaced our gas pipes about 18 months ago and they were fine. DH called them beforehand to ask about some potential issues and they said someone would be coming round before hand to talk to anyone who wanted to know more. I was wary but they were polite and friendly.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat He was told by Cadent in the letter to ring the HA There is already a lot of upset residents on their facebook community page. Because they have left a mess everywhere, its the same estate in the article linked upthread.