Question - British Gas engineer says there is a fault ?

[Squid]

How much is a board upgrade?

£450 it seems on the price your job site......

 

[Sch123]

£450 and she wouldn't pay it when spending 15k on a kitchen -

I feel like I should get a new board anyway been in house 16 years and that seems old to me

 

[Spoon]

I feel like I should get a new board anyway been in house 16 years and that seems old to me

Can you post a pic of your CU?
I've been in my house about 20 years. 16th Ed CU. Not thinking of replacing mine yet.

 

[telectrix]

£450 and she wouldn't pay it when spending 15k on a kitchen -

I feel like I should get a new board anyway been in house 16 years and that seems old to me

if it ain't broke, why fix it? if fitted correctly in the first place, @ 16 years, should be good for a lot more years yet.

 

[PEG]

BG's aggressive,sales driven policy of condemning,fault-free installations,is something i have described,many times,over the last 10 years.
I fully expect it to be the PPI job,of the future.

All that would take,would be a list of people,who believe they were wrongly sold,over-priced and un-required services,and one or more ex-employees,at higher level,to confirm this,as a policy

Just a little thought for BG,if they are listening... a treasury select committee,has been investigating another similar,well known scam of the past,with another too-big-to-tackle sharlatan,namely RBS.

A large number of ex-business owners,who were systematically,ruthlessly and deliberately extorted by the GRG part of RBS,and told they were "helping" them,have been trying to get justice for years. Some are not still alive,for various reasons.

All it took,was some either scared,or shamed insiders,to provide some small sections of the institutions policies....like .."Rope.....sometimes,customers need to be allowed to hang themselves..."

It is worth a google...and once again,i tell you,i will treat myself to a fine 5 course meal out,when i am googling the identical implosion,of an identical situation,with BG,not that it will be any consolation,to the good folk who were suckered.

 

[mjb]

I used to sub to DNO's installing PME terminals. Many jobs came about from BG engineers telling the customer a PME terminal was required when in fact their earth was perfectly adequate. At £180.00 a pop. Don't entertain BG for anything.

 

[ipf]

I used to sub to DNO's installing PME terminals. Many jobs came about from BG engineers telling the customer a PME terminal was required when in fact their earth was perfectly adequate. At £180.00 a pop. Don't entertain BG for anything.

Sums it up rather well, I'd say.

 

[Spoon]

It's a pity that what used to be a good big company, now has little regards for their customers needs and just wants their money.

 

[sparksfly]

Hi Sarah

I'm afraid it is the usual foot in the door..big companies with big advertising budgets selling anything they can sell....mainly image, subscriptions with heaps of small print clauses and promise of more work ..& sell a Nest (NEST brilliant pricing marketing structure to push away the small trades...We build it cheap sell it dear to cover some of the hidden installation costs and install it cheap!!) rant over...

I agree with sparkychick get a local/recommended Electrician to carry out small test/visual and email his/her findings to you and pass to BG. Will they do anything ? probably not unless they can get some work out of it.

1. The volt stick is it a true indicator of fault?
(NO.. I've gone through the odd live cable using these and can indicate a slight voltage between N and earth when dead .... including static in my pockets !) but hey-ho they are a handy "approximate indicator"... sometimes.
2. Is 100 oms too much for a plug socket and if so how dangerous?
Not if it is TT, but could be a earth fault or broken earth in TN system.
3. As plug sockets and boiler on 2 separate rings then how can there be a fault on both?
( Engineer not understanding or just inexperienced untrained)

I had to reconnect some wiring after BG disconnected a fused spur to sockets siting undersized wiring, the cable was fine @ 1.5mm. However, i will say from my experience there are always a minority of employees who are good and proud of their work and regardless of rules & regulations....are willing to go that bit further... . . . ..., ... . . . ...

 

[JK-Electrical]

British Gas are one of several companies that are owned by the multi-national parasites otherwise known as Centrica. Centrica also owned the Automobile Association prior to selling the business in 2004.

My brother was employed by the AA as a mechanic for many years, but ended-up leaving because of the pressure that Centrica were placing on patrolmen to sell customers items that they didn't really need ..... like new tyres and batteries.

As my younger sibling succinctly put it: "I'm a mechanic, not a f***ing salesman. If I wanted to sell tyres and batteries I would have applied for a job at Kwik-Fit.

Well said bruv.

Centrica have evidently instructed their gas engineers to also sell people things that they don't really need ..... like new consumer units and rewires. As 823,000 former customers will testify, Centrica suck. They are the unacceptable face of capitalism. Long may the exodus of their customer-base continue.

 

[sparksfly]

My previous post should have read "HIVE" not "NEST" !!!.
I agree JK...& bring in Michael Moore to investigate!

 

[EalingBadger]

HA2 is very much a part of the metropolis here in sunny West London.

I would be very surprised if the explanation for the OP's 100 ohm reading is down to a TT system as they are rarer than rocking horse droppings around this neck of the woods.

 

[Pete E]

Why was the BG gas engineer who is obviously not an electrician checking for earth faults on an upstairs socket that is nothing to do with the boiler?

I have to say that before I met her, theOH had BG on contract to look after her rather old gas boiler plus the plumbing. It seems a very expensive way to have "peace of mind" but I suppose if you are living on your own and have nobody able to help, its perhaps understandable.

Anyway, BG serviced the boiler a number of times and also did some minor repairs to frost damaged water piping in an outbuilding..

I only ever recall her being unhappy with one of the engineers and that was because he was a miserable git, but they all managed to keep the boiler going and never tried any hard sales.

The last visit would have been 4 or 5 years so things may have changed

 

[telectrix]

my OH also had/has BG for maintenance. been OK except for 1 visit where BG "engineer" told her the C/H needed flushing out at a cost of £800 + vat (not covered by contract). second visit by a different bloke deduced that when system was modified for a new boiler, some pipework had not been correctly modified to suit. 1/2 hour with the stilsons , all well again. no charge. so .... the ain't all bad.

 

[Squid]

if it ain't broke, why fix it? if fitted correctly in the first place, @ 16 years, should be good for a lot more years yet.

My house still hasn't burnt down so I agree,

 

[CACJL]

Firstly I don't know if I'm allowed here as I am not an electrician

I have a question though....
Just had british gas out here to service my boiler

He refused to carry out service because voltage stick glowed when he touched the casing on speaking with another gas engineer he tells me that as 240 volts go through the boiler then the voltage stick may just light anyway.

You can touch the casing without any ill effects

On speaking with British Gas engineer, he then put a meter into one of my upstairs sockets and said it read 100 oms and that this would be classed as dangerous, quickly followed by he isn't an electrical engineer.

Obviously this has made me worry as reading was in my sons bedroom.

my questions are...

1. The volt stick is it a true indicator of fault?
2. Is 100 oms too much for a plug socket and if so how dangerous?
3. As plug sockets and boiler on 2 separate rings then how can there be a fault on both?

If needed to call in someone to fix my boiler, my first choice would not be BG. Ask your neighbours if they can recommend a local independant gas fitter.