testing to see if upstairs is leeching off my meter

[a1]

Ah, the cooker is gas, by the way. Hot water's gas too. There's no central heating or anything.BB

Morning Bill. I do not envy you - living there Mate.

 

[billkruse]

It does me ok. I was told today that if an electrical company replaces the fusebox etc. then they have to go through the entire flat (s) bringing it (them) all up to today's health and safety specs - is that true? That'd cost some bucks here. I wonder if I could get confirmation of that from somewhere? Be easiest just to get the landlady to pay my leccy bills I think, from everyone's POV. I'd need to be re-housed, all my furniture etc would have to be moved out and stored and moved back, then it would all have to be refinished, then I'd have to decorate as I'm responsible for the interior decoration... Jeez, a nightmare. I have damage to my back, too, so I couldn't do it myself, all the packing etc. Not good.

BB

 

[kme]

Bill.

You are informed correctly that any non-compliances with regulations SHOULD be sorted out at the same time.

However, I do these frequently, without having the customer / tenant move out.

RE code 1`s. When a periodic inspection of a property or installation is carried out, any faults seen are noted on the report, and given a code; from 1 to 4. A code 4 is simply something that does not comply with regs; i.e. green sleeving on an earth instead of green/yellow. A code 1, however, is something that needs to be addressed urgently, as it poses a real & immediate danger. A bare or exposed live wire (i.e. a junction box with a broken lid; or a missing cover plate on a fusebox.!!)

Health & safety; and your local rent officer. That`s two of the first people to contact. Tell them the whole truth - you have concerns that another flat may be taking power from your meter (theft), and that you posted pictures of the main fusebox on here. We / I suggested you contact them, as it appears to be in a dangerous condition, and your landlady is unwilling to act!

Nowt` to lose m8.

KME

 

[billkruse]

Bill.green sleeving on an earth instead of green/yellow. A code 1, however, is something that needs to be addressed urgently, as it poses a real & immediate danger. A bare or exposed live wire (i.e. a junction box with a broken lid; or a missing cover plate on a fusebox.!!)

Health & safety; and your local rent officer. That`s two of the first people to contact. Tell them the whole truth - you have concerns that another flat may be taking power from your meter (theft), and that you posted pictures of the main fusebox on here. We / I suggested you contact them, as it appears to be in a dangerous condition, and your landlady is unwilling to act!

Nowt` to lose m8.

KME

I'll trot along to the CAB on Thursday, thanks. So; (i.e. a junction box with a broken lid; or a missing cover plate on a fusebox.!!)

are they what I've got? I don't know what's what in there you see.

On the moving out thing, we've had electricians in here before and they've refused to undertake the rewiring. One guy refused in front of me when he was asked by the landlady's husband. He said you just couldn't do it, you'd need to empty the place. So I dunno what we can do about that one.

But thanks for the replies, it all helps a lot. It's all information.

BB

 

[kme]

I would, in all honesty, speak to the rent officer, who is based in the local council offices; usually housing dept.

No, the two examples I gave were simply examples of things that would fail. What you have is:

" A fusebox with no front cover present; allowing unimpeded access to live parts."

Further;

"No RCD protection to socket outlets which COULD be used for supplying equipment used outdoors"

Hope that helps mate.

 

[a1]

..And no closed grommets - blanking off the 20mm knock outs at the top either.

 

[extension15]

..And no closed grommets - blanking off the 20mm knock outs at the top either.

Which I would mark as a Code 1..

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

A 'Periodic test and report' is about as close as you can get to an 'official' test.

Code 1= Requires urgent attention

Code 2= Requires improvement

Code 3= Requires further investigation

Code 4= Does not comply with the latest regulations, but this does not imply the installation is unsafe

Just from your photos all 4 codes are evident. It appears the earthing has been worked on fairly recently ( although a bit slapdash !), this was probably brought about when you had the gas problems as both the gas and water should be earthed

 

[billkruse]

Earthing, yes, that was when they did the gas. That was an adventure too

BB

 

[seajayess]

Gosh that lot looks a bit, naff... :O

My thoughts exactly could do with tidying up

 

[billkruse]

When you guys say that if the job's started (fusebox sorted) then it has to be finished (all the connected wiring sorted) what's the time-frame involved? No reason why I shouldn't clear space in one room for the necessary floorboards to come up, Leccy comes, does his bit, I sort that room and prepare the next so a week or so later Leccy comes back and does that room. Anything wrong with that? I could probably do something like that OK.

BB

 

[billkruse]

They're formally threatening disconnection now, and debt companys and the rest. Can they cut me off from the exchange without cutting off upstairs also? I don't believe they can do that from looking at the layout of the installation. Can they gain access to cut me off physically? I wouldn't think so, not without a court order to establish debt in the first instance. I just went through all this with Escalations and they absolutely won't discuss going to court, saying they don't like to put customers through all that. When the customer has a meter that's established in writing as being faulty, I just bet they don't want to go to court

And I shoulda gone to the CAB this week (!!!!) but the one day I could I had to go to hospital instead because my CPAP machine packed up and I just cannot function without it these days.

BB

 

[billkruse]

The new meter was fitted today, he seems to have made a good job of it. He also fitted the cover back on the fusebox. Pix at

for anyone interested. I think this fixes one of the code 1s as small fingers can't get in there now but there's still no grommetts.

BB

 

[steptoe]

sorry,

but Im completely lost on where you are Bill,

I know its been posted before,

but.....

its one of them jobs Id love to call round to and give someone a big shake for.!!!!

glad they're getting some stuff done buddy, but still wont help if upstairs is bleeding you after your meter,

ie, spurred off your circuit somewhere.

 

[welshwizard]

glad they're getting some stuff done buddy, but still wont help if upstairs is bleeding you after your meter,

ie, spurred off your circuit somewhere.

Agreed.

 

[Stoday]

I'm on the click energy tariff and I'm using 10 units a day regularly at the moment. I mean, do the math That's about a quid or so a day. I'll keep digging.BB

Yeah I'll do the maths. 10 units a day, that's 3650 kWh a year. The average domestic unrestricted (i.e. not E7 not off peak, no heating) is just over 4000 kWh a year.

So you are using somewhat less than average. That figures as you've no cooking. Can't see anything wrong with 10 units a day.

 

[billkruse]

but still wont help if upstairs is bleeding you after your meter,ie, spurred off your circuit somewhere.

The guy who installed the meter suggests that since there is the separate supply for upstairs (you can see the pipe) then upstairs can only be running something off my lighting circuit and he says he can't be running much off that. I appreciate the sense in what he's saying, however, it doesn't alter the fact that current vanishes somewhere to something. Curiouser and curiouser, eh lads!

Interestingly he doesn't work for BG, or for Onstream, he works for a subby who subs to Onstream. He's fine, very helpful in fact, I have no problem with him, but it does go to show you have no idea who it is you're letting into your house half the time.

BB

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

With that old fuse box of yours, a lot could be pulled off your lighting and if the wrong fuse wire is in there, then the skys the limit.

I did think of this when you first posted the pics, but the cables shown could also be your socket circuit running through the ceiling.

 

[billkruse]

I'm listening. That sort of thing's very useful to know, thanks.

BB

 

[billkruse]

With that old fuse box of yours, a lot could be pulled off your lighting and if the wrong fuse wire is in there, then the skys the limit. I did think of this when you first posted the pics, but the cables shown could also be your socket circuit running through the ceiling.

I just remembered, when there was some rewiring done here and upstairs years ago, one of my wall sockets, one halfway up the wall with ducting coming down from the ceiling to it, stopped working. They explained it had to be disconnected because it was running off my ceiling rose, as they put it (the lighting), and that was illegal nowadays. Well, this is a plain wall socket, not fused or anything, and you could, in theory, run what you wanted off it, including plugging in heaters. The cables going to it are still up there in the ceiling, which means they're under the floorboards upstairs, and what's the betting that when it was renovated later it was simply and understandably assumed that they belonged to upstairs and they were connected to the upstairs storage heaters?

I think we have a winner, gentlemen

So what I'd need to do is work out which fuse the lighting's on, make sure nothing else is on it (I use that ceiling light maybe once a year for two minutes, I have a side lamp on permanently in the day, it has to do with my thyroid eye disease, long story), and take it out. No more heating upstairs. That sounds like a plan to me, any opinions from the team?

BB