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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think this is really inconvenient ?

407 replies

darkcloudlooming · 04/12/2017 17:24

So national grid are replacing the gas pipes on my street and in my home.. ( why don't people just stick to the saying if it's not broken don't fix it!) so today is 'my appointment' for them to come and disconnect my gas to do this. So I had to allow them in at 8am this morning ( I told them to come back at 9 as I said I had breakfast and kids to get off at school) so they came and disconnected it and now I have to wait all evening between 4pm-8pm for them to restore my gas supply. So they could come at any point whilst I'm cooking and I will have to cook tea ( gas cupboard is in my kitchen next to my cooker in a cupboard!)
So now my kids will have to eat their tea whilst having strangers come in and out of the house. It's annoyed me! And we have had no hot water all day!
Am I being unreasonable to think this is inconvenient and unacceptable ?

OP posts:
HermioneIsMe · 04/12/2017 20:06

It’s just ONE day.
I get you find it annoying, but just for one small day, I would expect you to be able, to adjust.
Sorry but yes YABU and massively so too.

Elphame · 04/12/2017 20:07

We had no electricity for 3 days whilst the poles were replaced. Power was off 8 til 5.30 each day.

No lighting
No heating
No cooking faciities
No internet/radio (or TV obviously if I actually had one)
Nothing

We survived - just!

Original poster
darkcloudlooming · 04/12/2017 20:08

@HandbagCrazy I wasn't moaning because my child will 'see a workman' at all.. I just didn't want to cook tea with someone there watching and me having to deal with my kids at the same time as it's hard enough as it is.. i get very stressed when my day is 'off' and when unexpected things happen.. it might not bother any of you lot but it does me. Maybe they are being awkward because I didn't let them in dead on 8 ( they had to drill outside any way first so wouldn't been need access straight away at 8 anyway and we were very polite to the men asking them if 'please' could they come back at 9. And we didn't know the exact day they would be doing the work until the day before

OP posts:
HermioneIsMe · 04/12/2017 20:09

No heating at night would be an issue for me, I have to say.
And if you have young children, I va;see how/why this would be important for you. But then I imagine you’ve explained that too to the lady you spoke to??

Roussette · 04/12/2017 20:09

Exactly Elphame, we had the same for 36 hours. No heating whatsoever as oil fired boiler needs electricity to fire up. No cooker, no hob, no nothing.

OP can put on a fan heater, cook a slow cooker meal, microwave a jacket potato, I just don't understand what the problem is.

twotired · 04/12/2017 20:09

😂🙈

HaudYerWheeshtBawbag · 04/12/2017 20:10

A house is my area exploded and took the adjoining house with it and damaged the surrounding houses, luckily no one was killed.

Yabu, Gas kills, it’s for you and your neighbours safety!!!

arethereanyleftatall · 04/12/2017 20:11

Op, I'm not sure how you've been behaving with the workmen, but youve come across as very negative on here. I'm old enough now and have heard enough to know that people who complain are pushed further down waiting lists. You catch more flies with honey.

Roussette · 04/12/2017 20:11

We never have heating on at night anyway, but if you do OP why not a fan heater if you need it. As for the workman watching, I think they have enough to do with the pipework !

I just don't understand the problem but where we live we're always having problems and it just goes over my head

CrystalTits · 04/12/2017 20:11
  1. They're not 'being awkward', they're trying to help you live in a safe home
  2. They won't be remotely interested in watching you cook dinner
  3. If you'd let them in at 8am as arranged, maybe they could have finished an hour earlier this evening, eh?
HaudYerWheeshtBawbag · 04/12/2017 20:12

This was only in August!!!

To think this is really inconvenient ?
ineedamoreadultieradult · 04/12/2017 20:13

Do you have any children under 5? If you have call back and explain very nicely that you are unable to heat the property and you have young children. They will do their best to get someone out asap however if you are going to moan because asap may be 9/10pm or even later then don't bother as you will be wasting everyone's time. Either you want it back on or you don't but you have to decide if you would rather moan about it or do something about it.

Esspee · 04/12/2017 20:15

Just read that you are going to be inconvenienced for an extra day.....perhaps if you had cooperated instead of being obstructive they would have finished on time. Learned anything? Grin

mumonashoestring · 04/12/2017 20:16

why don't people just stick to the saying if it's not broken don't fix it!

Because then when it does break, it's worse. Our mains electricity supply burned through in our old house because the cables hadn't been maintained. No warning, no chance to say 'sorry, come back later'. We had no mains power for a day, three days with a cable run from our house to next door via the letterboxes (electricity company bypassed his meter, he was delighted!), then two days with a feckin' great hole immediately outside the front door with three workmen squished into it. Then a few weeks later, days of continued disruption while they dug up road and pavements with angle grinders and pneumatic drills and replaced the rest of the cabling in the street. And all this in winter with little to no natural light and a 4 month old...

WitchesHatRim · 04/12/2017 20:16

@HermioneIsMe they offered to come out later this evening. OP said no.

HidingBehindTheWallpaper · 04/12/2017 20:17

Leaving you without heating on a cold night is not on really.

Did you get a letter saying this was going to happen?

WitchesHatRim · 04/12/2017 20:17

@ineedamoreadultieradult they said that to the OP she said no.

BishBoshBashBop · 04/12/2017 20:19

HidingBehindTheWallpaper what exactly do you propose they do?

BrieAndChilli · 04/12/2017 20:19

Yoi had advance notice that this was going to happen at some point, then is when you should have planned what your day would look like as it seems important to you that there is no change. (Do you have ASD?) even if you didn’t know the exact day you could have planned what might happen/how You would deal with it etc. Then when you got the exact date OJ would have had a plan in action/been more relaxed knowing you stuff in place.

With jobs like this there is no way of knowing exactly what will need doing until they dig it up, they will probably have come across something that also need doing/takes longer.

Yes it’s inconvienient but it would be whenever they did it and it needs to be done and they can’t be doing you next week and your immediate neighbour next month when it suits you as it will all need to be done in order.
It’s not unacceptable, if you do think it’s unacceptable then I suggest you ask the Gas company to permantly disconnect you as you do not agree to the terms and conditions of them supplying you gas, terms and conditions I’m pretty sure will say you need to give them access to do repairs and maintence, especially as not doing repairs is very likely to end up with someone dieing, normally a child.

Roussette · 04/12/2017 20:20

Having been brought up in a house without central heating, no one is going to suffer that much... really not! And there is electricity.......

HaudYerWheeshtBawbag · 04/12/2017 20:21

I never have my heating on during the night, it comes on at 6.30am and goes off at 9.30am, comes back on at 5.30pm and goes off at 10pm.... we have a child who has acute asthma aswell.

No heating on a night time is really not a issue also, no heating for 1 day is also not a issue.

LazyDailyMailJournos · 04/12/2017 20:22

I bet OP would have been summoning the local rag and gurning away with her best Daily Mail sadface, in front of the rubble of her wrecked house if they'd decided not to bother replacing the pipes...

GetMeOutOfHerePlease · 04/12/2017 20:22

How come you had to rush back from you errands at 4.30pm to let them in if your husband is off work? Couldn’t he have let them in? Same for while you did school run?

You were pissd off when you thought they were gonna turn up while you’re cooking, or while you’re doing bedtime routine, but if there’s a second parent in the house he can take over the children needs or deal with workmen? Now you know it’s gonna be 9.30 and that’s annoyed you more, if you’re kids will be bathed and in bed by then, you won’t be stressed running around after them and dealing with workmen.

They could be running late because of people turning them away like you did? Re hot water, couldn’t you have boiled the kettle or a pan?

Inconvenient yes, but it’s a one off and nobodies fault, would be nice if they could arrange big jobs like this around everyone’s individual wants, that’s nit possible due to timelines jibs need to be finished. Were you given notice? If so why couldn’t you contact them and rearrange day if today was impossible, or why couldn’t your husband use his day off to be at home, or run errands while you stayed at home?

Original poster
darkcloudlooming · 04/12/2017 20:24

Yes i do have children under 5

@Esspee they didn't need to be inside the house for 8 anyway.. they just digged outside first.. they were polite about it and so were we...

They must think ppl don't have lives....

OP posts:
Roussette · 04/12/2017 20:26

They must think ppl don't have lives....

Oh don't be daft. Should they do major repairs at your convenience and according to when you want? Perhaps they can sit in their van until you tell them they can come in.

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