Posted on 09/03/2017 7:38:37 PM PDT by Swordmaker
I forgot about them.
I wonder why?
GMTA
So, PG&E installed an unauthorized gas line on your property? Too bad you likely do not have as-builts and/or photographic documentation of the periods before and after PG&E performed work, without your permission, on your property.
Here in NC the gas co. will dig and install a line and meter up to about 100’ at no charge. Beyond that they will charge by the foot.
Could you get them the run a line, set a new meter at the apt? Rid of the old line.
There was a reason they didnt inform the property owner when they relocated the meter, and that simple reason is because they screwed you 40 years ago.
You should try to get some of that $1.5mil that Sacramento is gonna give to the gang bangers to not kill people.
If this had happened to me, I'd be moving the tenants out of the houses and burning them both to the ground.
That’s SOP for a gas and sometimes water companies. They move the meter to reduce their exposure to repairs. Once the meter is moved, the additional piping between the meter and the house is the owner’s responsibility. Even if you prove they moved it, it won’t make a difference unless Kalifornia has different consumer protection rules than other places.
Lawyers are a lot like helicopters - they are noisy, complicated, work when they want to, and are sometimes obnoxious. BUT, when you need one, nothing else will do and the costs suddenly seem reasonable. Get you one NOW.
Do you have any of the old gas bills, so you could fax it to the gas co., to prove you had two legitimate lines and gas meters?
Also, there are times, when all else fails, you may need to get an attorney. This maybe one of those times. The gas co. may respond better to them.
Oh man, what a crazy hassle! Suggest you take a close look at the meter and pipes, see if there are any seals that would help prove PG&E did the work (such as wires with lumps of metal glommed on). That they have read the meter all these years and accepted payment would seem to establish that there was nothing amiss, but you may need the services of a lawyer to explain that in the correct language, and to the correct people within the company to get them to back off. Good luck, and stay away from the liquor cabinet in the meantime ;-)
If PG&E installed their meter, how is it an un authorised pipe if they have been accepting payment of the bill for the last 40 years?
If you remembered them you’d know why you forgot them...
Nah, not that bad, just one of many one-hit wonders.
I understand your plight. I have had a running battle with a trash pickup company that overcharged me for years on an apartment building I own and now won’t rebate the difference.
But, redoing the gas line won’t be unbelievably expensive. With the new yellow plastic pipe and a Ditch Witch it should only be a couple hours of a plumber ($450) and $250 in materials. It’ll be cheaper if you rent and run the Ditch Witch at roughly $125 a day.
Plus permitting at $75.
Could be all in less than $1000.
I know the reality you are in and the crap you have and will face, but once the dust settles, you will be out $1000 - it could be a lot worse.
One more thing — the guy you talked with may be a supervisor, but he still has someone over him. Ask him for the name of his boss and send him a letter, registered mail.
It would be good to have that and give the info to your attorney. As I said in my previous post, you may need one in your situation.
Two words that come to my mind regarding PG&E are Erin Brockovich. That little pollution case cost PG&E over $300 Million.
That's what you call the "Fairy God Mother Department" (Thanks to Robert Heinlein's "Time Enough For Love"). I got connected to the "Department of Dirty Tricks." It's open 24/7 and has multiple lines bandager operators. The FGMD is only open alternate Tuesdays from 11:03AM to 11:34AM, but the phone is usually waiting for a repairman from the DDT guy's, who are all working overtime, elsewhere.
later
There is a chance the city may have something left from the permitting process that shows the original meter location.
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