Terrified children flee new home as gas pipe hit

Aug 14 2011 by Mr Justice, Sunday Sun

A ROW has broken out after a Sky engineer drilled through a gas pipe in a brand new house.

Glynis Chapman said the contracted engineer from AVC damaged the property as he was fitting the Sky box.

Her two children, aged 10 and three, were screaming when they were ordered to evacuate the house.

An emergency plumber later arrived to plug the leak, but Glynis said the experience spoiled the joy of moving.

Glynis told me how the day went from bad to worse.

She said: “We moved into our brand new home last Friday after watching it being built.

“We requested a Sky installation four days later and now regret the decision.

“The engineer arrived two days later than arranged – but that was the least of our worries as it turned out – and proceeded to check the walls with a pipe meter.

“He then began drilling and all of a sudden a whistling sound came from the wall and we were told to evacuate as he had hit a gas pipe.

“My two sons were screaming and we had to leave the house, turn the gas supply off, and stand outside whilst we waited for the site manager to arrive.

“The engineer was busy phoning his superiors to inform them of his mistake.

“He collected the Sky box and then left, saying someone would be in touch.

“So my sons and I were left stranded on the front lawn waiting for the house to be safe to re-enter.

“Now my beautiful new home has walls ripped out and will never be the same again.”

Glynis, of South Shields, South Tyneside, spent another 30 minutes on her mobile to Sky and was informed an emergency plumber would be out to repair the gas pipe and the wall would be repaired.

At the time of asking for my help the wall still had a gaping hole where the incident took place.

Glynis said the site manager had to explain to her children that the house would not blow up while they slept.

Glynis had to call for her husband Graham to come home from work and help comfort Alexander, 10, and three-year-old Daniel.

It was not the first time Glynis had crossed swords with the contractors over the installation.

She said engineers had failed to arrive at the time allocated.

A telephone call resulted in a later time but still no one turned up and the date was rearranged for two days later.

Glynis said: “Sky offered just 25% off my next three months’ bill but I feel this is an insult after what my family and I have had to endure.

“Sky customer service is shocking and they used contractors who damaged my house.

“They seem to think there is no reason for me to complain as AVC have agreed to repair the damage.”

Sky’s Help Centre apologised for what happened and admitted the problems were caused by the engineer.

Bosses said they would not increase the compensation but would arrange a £10 credit for the missed appointment.

They said: “I hope you can appreciate our position on this matter.”

No, not really. Contractors for Sky caused a gas leak in a brand-new house and Glynis does not feel the situation was handled very well.

I spoke to both Sky and installers AVC and, a few days later, AVC made arrangements to repair the property.

A spokesman for AVC said: “This is something that needs to be looked into at a senior level and, to be honest, we are not expecting a quick comment.”

A spokesman for Sky said the complaint had been investigated as a matter of urgency.

He said: “We’re very sorry about the inconvenience the Chapman family experienced during the installation of Sky in their home by one of our sub-contractors.

“The damage has now all been repaired and we’ve also made a gesture of goodwill to the family in recognition of the complications they’ve experienced.”

All of a sudden a whistling sound came from the wall