**** the Columbia Gas company! (Final conclusion)

[ItHurtz]

Warrants must happen fast on your side of the world

[I800C0LLECT]

Wow. I'm lost for words.

I feel like I'd be having a conversation with them at some point...

[industrialfish]

The electric thing happened to me too actually. Toledo Edison sent someone to my rental to investigate the sudden 900% increase in usage.

Turned out the new roommate had a massive electric space heater running 24/7 in his bedroom with the windows open in the middle of the winter so he could smoke cigs inside...

[Russosaur]

Damn bro, thats screwed up. I would make them miserable, sucks about the tree too. I would drag out them tearing the lines out as long as possible. Our last house I lived in didnt have any gas lines. Heat pump(i think its called) for the furnace which sucked ass in really cold weather. Electric hot water heater, stove, dryer ect.

[EHB]

go all smelly hippy and chain yourself up in the tree...lol
or tell them you're 1/264 cherokee and your ancestors spirits live in the tree.

[HighOctaneRacing]

Warrants must happen fast on your side of the world

Yes Corey. I got rear ended and I'm in trouble.... You know how it works out here in the fvcking commonwealth.

Sent from my LG G3

[SubwayGuy]

I work 60+ hours a week on night shift and last year Columbia Gas sent me a notice saying they had to inspect my interior gas lines and the only time they were available was during my scarce sleep time. So after a few phone calls, they finally caved and scheduled an inspector to come in at 7am Saturday morning, when I can afford to lose some sleep.

It was a major ****ing pain. They checked my water heater, furnace, meter, and every shutoff knob and determined I needed a new meter, that took 4 hours to install. By the time they were finished, it was noon and Mom was on her way over with her truck so I could cash in my years worth of beer cans. Went to the recycling center, out to lunch, came home and intended on passing out.

But I came home and the kitchen was flooded! The ****, while doing the inspection on the shut off valves, had opened the water line going to the ice maker on the fridge, that WASN'T HOOKED UP ANYMORE. Kitchen floor was soaked but didn't make it into the living room, except the drop ceiling in the basement was ruined but whatever, I wanted to tear it out anyway. Closed the valve, tore out a bunch of ceiling tiles, and kicked myself for not keeping a closer eye on her but whatever, one inspection in almost 10 years, I'll deal with it.

Went to take a shower after tearing up the ceiling and the water was EXTREMELY, PAINFULLY hot. I've lived here a long time, I know where to turn my knobs. Go back into the basement and the water heater thermostat is cranked all the way to the hottest setting. Are you ****ing kidding me? That was part of your checks too?

Fast forward one year, get a letter saying they need to inspect my lines again. Really? No. **** you, no. Nope, **** you, **** off.

They finally send me a letter saying if they can't inspect my lines, they will have to shut off my gas. Yup. DO IT. I have an electric hot water heater waiting to be installed, it's summer so I have 3-4 months to convert my furnace. Go ahead, do it.

Come home from a 13 hour shift where NOTHING went right today and there is a notice saying they shut my gas off. HaHaHa so ****ing what? Cold shower wasn't so bad, it's 80 degrees out.

But the notice says they are going to dig up and remove their gas lines going from the street to my house because of it. SO WHAT?

The gas line literally runs underneath the magnolia tree my late grandfather and father planted when my grandmother died, when my dad was 12.

Columbia Gas is going to kill a 48 year old magnolia tree that means a great deal to my family, because they couldn't re-inspect a one year old gas meter that they installed.

****.

When they go to dig up your gas lines, put some hidden bear traps in the lawn for them to step on.

[industrialfish]

So after a very polite conversation (no sarcasm) with Columbia Gas today, they are going to dig up and cap their line at the street only. Since I have the original hard iron lines installed in the 1940's, the logistics of them trying to remove them without damaging the tree or my house would be a nightmare and they are not going to attempt it.

[SubwayGuy]

I guess that's a compromise. I'd sit in the front of the house and watch them just to piss them off.

[industrialfish]

Update...

Got a letter in July from Columbia Gas saying they need to come in and inspect my interior gas lines despite not being their customer and not having had gas for 2 years! I just laughed and ignored it.

Then in August they sent out a guy to try to schedule a time to inspect my lines. I told him I wasn't a customer and I have no gas appliances and that the service has been shut off at the street for 2 years. This guy said "well we'll just dig up your lines then"

Yesterday they came out and spray painted lines in my yard and sidewalk. As soon as it got dark I went and stripped the paint from the sidewalk and grass and rubbed some dirt around. Then parked my truck at the curb. Looks like they were never there.

An hour ago the water company came out and looked stupid for an hour with a metal detector thingy before marking just their cap, no lines, and left.

Bout to get interesting 'round here.

[blackspike2710]

Better wrap some chains around that tree.

[cheatah faheatah]

Plant dummy landmines... Install fire ants... Chain a "nice" dog to that tree.... 1 Indian arrowhead is enough to bring multi-million $ projects to a halt...

[industrialfish]

Part of my plan when they come is to hook my pitbulls up the tree and sit out there in a lawn chair and play on my phone.

They aren't going to cut it down though, they are going to remove their pipe that is directly under it. That could damage the roots and kill it a year down the road when they can deny liability.

The good news is someone ****ed up. The City water line runs directly below their gas line. All I know is where the city marked their "do not dig" zone is exactly where the gas line was marked.

[ItHurtz]

IDask for pics but you are not supposed to document these kind of activities, dang!

[HighOctaneRacing]

take pics anyways.

[industrialfish]

So the little guy wins. Sort of. In many of the streets in my neighborhood, the gas company has been digging up the street and relocating everyone's meters outside due to safety regulations. It makes Columbia Gas responsible for everything except for your actual appliances.

Apparently I've been holding up the whole project on my street because they need access to my basement to make sure THEIR main line isn't leaking past THEIR valves at the street, because if it is THEY would be responsible if my house blew up from a gas leak.

So I called and talked to them and enrolled in Gas service despite having Zero gas utilities. For the $25 a month fee to have service, I won't have to pay a dime to have new gas lines installed. They sent out a guy this morning who knew exactly what I meant about the last **** turning random knobs and had a nice opinion about how corporate was sending low paid idiot grunts to do checks instead of certified people just to save a buck.

He confirmed that yes, their line between my meter and street was leaking somewhere causing a discrepancy and should have been caught long before they had a pissed off customer, and that they will simply cap the line that runs under the tree at my inside basement wall and at the street and just leave the line alone.

They are coming back tomorrow to figure out with me where to run a new line and meter at the outside, and presumably where it can't affect the tree.