Re: gas man
 

yes i think she s been winding you up!! it s been cold but we ve had no snow on montgo denia side! it s starting to warm up a bit now so hopefully it will be nice by the time you get to denia! are you on the montgo too (denia side)?

Re: gas man
 

Actually the photo I saw was at ground level although I couldn't pinpoint whereabouts in Denia. I just presumed it would have been on the Montgo too but it may have been up the Las Marinas end of town.

I have a place overlooking Montgo, not too far from Montgomail the local newsagents (hence the avatar).

Re: gas man
 

yep!! the attachment one is the one my friend took
would I do that??
a friend of mine took the attachment photo on Monday - there have also been photos of the snow on the beach in the local Spanish daily



it is warming up nicely now though

here are a couple of links to Las Provincias with photos of the snow/ice on the beach in Dénia

http://www.lasprovincias.es/v/201102...-20110201.html
http://www.lasprovincias.es/noticias...r--647x280.jpg

http://www.lasprovincias.es/20110131...101310844.html

Re: gas man
 

These guys have the best solution for a dodgy gas man :rofl:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLvS_w9gy8g

Re: gas man
 

Just thought I should post a warning of a company operating around Orba valley just now (Orba is in Alicante province inland from Denia)who are similarly knocking on doors looking for work to replace gas fittings.

On Friday when I popped into see our German neighbours in Orba they had a couple of guys in orange and grey overalls working on replacing the tubing from their propane gas bottles. My neighbours told me they had just rang their door bell, shown their ID and asked to inspect their tubing etc. from their gas bottles. They then advised them that as the tubing was out of date (and the regulator) they must change them. They had all sorts of official looking documentation and ID cards/certificates. My neighbours had instructed them to proceed with work but were then slightly dubious that it might be a scam and asked me what I thought. As I'd heard of such scams I did a Google and found this forum thread. When I approached the main guy suggesting it was a scam he showed me their credentials and suggested I call the police and they'd wait for them to come. I thought he might have just been bluffing but then again I suspected they were not actually doing anything illegal. The problem is more to do with the way they solicit for business and that they probably then grossly overcharge for any work they do (plus suggest other work that you probably don't need done!). I know that the tubing does need changed every 5 years (theirs was well out of date) but the issue is that it's better to choose a reputable company yourself to do such work rather than trust it to these sort of companies who are clearly just looking for work.

As the work had started our neighbours decided not to tell them to stop. They were apparently being charged 120 euros for replacing the tubing, a regulator, and fitting an additional shut-off valve in their kitchen, plus the "certificate” for the work. On checking since I find they are a legitimate company "Mantenimiento y Revisión del Gas SL" with website at http://www.myrgas.es/

Here's pics of their documentation manual cover:
http://www.aberdeen-internet.com/orb...cs_cover_1.jpg

http://www.aberdeen-internet.com/orb...cs_cover_2.jpg

As I said they may well be a reputable company but the issue is that it's better to choose a reputable company yourself to do such work, rather than trust it to these sort of companies who are clearly just knocking on doors looking for work, and may well therefore being overcharging for what they do. As there is NO obligation to use these people I'd suggest do not let them into your property and if you want your gas fittings inspected or repaired I’d suggest you contact a suitably qualified person of YOUR OWN choice!

Re: gas man
 

Repsol did not call us after 5 years ... you are obliged to have your system inspected after that time or they may choose not to continue supplying you with gas bottles. Repsol agency in Pego were surprisingly unhelpful, so we contacted 100% Plumbing who are authorised to do these inspections. They came, inspected and gave us official paperwork to send off to Repsol in Madrid and it is now 6 years since installation and we are still getting gas, so presumably all is well ...

Re: gas man
 

That depends on what sort of installation you have.

If you use the small cylinders which you can get refills for at any depot then there is no control - you just pay for a refilled bottle - they have no idea what you are going to do with it.

If you have the large bottles for central heating or a refillable tank, that is entirely different. Some friends of ours, who use the big bottles, were recently refused a delivery until they had had the installation re-certified and were without gas for over a week.

Re: gas man
 

We use the big cylinders ... 5 'on' and 5 'off' at any one time to run the central heating (5 last between 2-3 weeks depending on the number of rooms heated and the temperature at which the thermostats are set). We were worried that we could not get Repsol to come out and inspect our system as we had heard that delivery could be refused, but there are obviously (as proved by our experience) other agents who are licensed to carry out inspections on their behalf.

Re: gas man
 

In 10 years of using large cylinders for CH no-one has ever come to inspect, never had problem with deliveries either. In Sur this week

http://www.diariosur.es/20110221/loc...102211301.html

Re: gas man
 

I know that there are various scammers (plenty of folks near us have fallen victim to them), but the lady in the Repsol office in Pego said we needed to contact Repsol in Madrid to do an inspection as it was nearly 5 years since installation. That wasn't convenient as we were only out in Spain for 3 weeks and they couldn't do it within that period - hence the use of a recognised sub-contractor. We also rent out our property, therefore have an obligation to our clients to ensure that we keep our inspection certificates up-to-date. Our understanding from the builders that fitted it, and from the Repsol office who deliver the cylinders is that it IS compulsory to have an inspection every 5 years, whether Repsol have 'caught up with you' or not.

Re: gas man
 

We just had 2 guys knock on our door a few minutes ago and luckily I was able to access this thread while OH was talking to them on the doorstep.

They were from a company called Colgasa, were wearing grey & orange uniforms and driving an ordinary old car - not a company vehicle. They had lots of official looking paperwork with official green Junta stamps.

They had a look at our gas bottle and said we'd need a new regulator, tube and the compression joint changed to soldered ones. All this, plus a new certificate and an optional extractor fan came to €389!

They said they were only in the area today and would have to carry the work out today. When we said that we didn't have that sort of money on us they saie 'no problem' as they had a machine for credit cards.

In the end we said we didn't want the work done today and they finally left. My OH is off to the ferreteria this evening to buy a new regulator & tube and we'll get our local plumber to come up to inspect and issue us with a new up to date certificate - it'll be interesting to compare the cost ;)

Re: gas man
 

The expiry date will be on the new tube, they are very easy to change and cost about 25 euros (if I remember rightly).

Rosemary

Re: gas man
 

They will be back....don't let them through the gate/door. They are scammers, the gas companies don't cold call.

Re: gas man
 

We had a letter from one of the gas companies explaining that they would have two representatives coming around our area between certain dates. When they came around they only knocked on the doors of the people who had existing contracts with them.

Rosemary

Re: gas man
 

Thank you for that.

Our certificate was dated 2003 so I guess it's a good idea to get it updated in case of a problem should we need to make an insurance claim?