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City West in gas safety checks






Posted by Tony Flynn on 1st September 2010 at 01:29 PM
City West in gas safety checks
City West’s Gas Team are taking action to achieve a 100% target to ensure all homes are gas safe.

City West are legally obliged to carry out annual gas checks in all of our properties, which are free of charge to our customers. However, despite the importance and potential to save lives, some of our customers refuse us access to carry out these checks.

Working with Salford City Council, we’re now securing warrants through The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The HHSRS is designed to help local authorities identify and protect against risks and hazards to health and safety in individual properties. This includes compliance with gas safety. City West can gain a warrant allowing forced entry to a property as a last resort if customers do not allow access. City West’s Gas Team have a number of procedures in place before taking this last resort. These include:

Flexible appointments i.e. after 17-00 Mon to Fri and appointments on a Saturday

Texting customers to remind them the team are coming

A £50 draw for allowing access to complete a service

All engineers phone the gas team if there is a no access and the gas team will ring the customer to find out why there is a failed appointment

A designated engineer calls at the hard to access properties

Installation of heating programmers with interrupters on to remind customers that a service is due

Closer working between the Gas team, housing offices and call centre - All out of date services are highlighted and if a call is logged by the call centre a gas service is also ordered for the same time

As a result of the procedures in place, 99.84% of City West properties now have an up to date gas service.

Our aim is to ensure that 100% of our properties are safe. The safety of customers is our top priority and we will continue to take what ever action to achieve this. The outstanding properties without an up to date service have been out of date for less than 3 months and are a priority for City West.

Source: City West Housing.

Report as offensive or innapropriate Comment by Guest  2nd September 2010
how can a tennant refuse access to something they do not own? and 50 quid bribe?

Report as offensive or innapropriate Comment by Guest  1st September 2010
not really any point in "sending the bill to the council" given that they don't own the properties anymore....

Report as offensive or innapropriate Comment by Guest  1st September 2010
Simple just get a independent gas engineer to fit one for you and send the bill to the Council. Really, the people of Salford are becoming pushovers when it comes to standing up for them selves, No Back bone any more.

Report as offensive or innapropriate Comment by Guest  1st September 2010
City West are forcing residents to have their gas fires removed and replaced by very expensive Electric heaters which cost nearly four times more to heat a home. I was told the electric heater would cost around 12 pence per hour, in the cold they cost over 60 pence per hour a very big difference.I wanted to keep my gas fire but was refused by City West.

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