is this a scam?

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I just got a call (from a New York area code) claiming to be from National Grid. The person, who would not give her name, said they needed access to my apartment to replace my gas meter and appliances. She really really wanted me to make an appointment when I would stay home for 5 hours and wait for them, during the regular work week. She insisted it is a state law that they have to do this every 7 years.

1) I started gas service at this address last month. Why the *obscenity* didn't they do this THEN?
2) My gas meter is in the building's common area. They could just walk in, or ask the landlord to show them.
3) My National Grid account only covers gas for the stove, and the stove was installed in February. What are they replacing? What do they THINK they're replacing?

This feels like some sort of scam. I just can't figure out what they would be trying to cheat me out of, whether it's National Grid or somebody else.

Comments

[redbird]

Poking around quickly, I found a state law which says that gas meters need to be changed every seven years--but not appliances. If this is a scam, I suspect it's about trying to get access to your apartment and/or, once they're there, access to your gas bill and other paperwork.

[marius23.livejournal.com]

Smells scammy to me, particularly not being willing to give her name, though I agree it's hard to imagine what the point of the scam is. Maybe if they call back, ask to speak to a supervisor, then follow up with a call to the number on your gas bill.

[ron_newman]

They should be sending you postcards, not calling you on the phone. I ignored the postcards for nearly two years, until my landlord finally scheduled replacing all of the building's meters at once.

(I have NStar service, not National Grid, if that matters)

Is it possible they need you to be home in order to relight your pilots?

[elusiveat.livejournal.com]

Have you tried calling National Grid directly to confirm whether they really were the source of the call?

[smacaski.livejournal.com]

This. Find the National Grid customer service number (either on your bill or their website) and give them a call. If it's legit, suggest they train their phone bank to sound less suspicious. :p

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I got through to National Grid. (The pushy person left a phone number that was the general number for National Grid customer service.) After a long time on hold, I found out they do indeed need to replace the gas meters, and they want access to my apartment to make sure appliances are working after the gas has been interrupted. "Most stoves don't work after we shut down the gas to replace the meter. We need to go into your apartment to restart it. You can get your own plumber in there to deal with it if you really want...but we don't recommend it."

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I wonder if it's more complicated than just relighting a pilot, like if they have to do something to prime the pipes to get gas into them again.

[zmook.livejournal.com]

I just had my meter replaced. The issue with appliances is that when they open up the system, air gets in. And then next time you turn on your oven it burns normally for a few minutes, long enough for you to stop paying attention, from what was in the gas line. And the the air bubble gets to the burner, and it goes out, then bubble is cleared and gas starts filling your room from the unlit stove. It's not rocket science, but I get why they want someone to clear the system right then and there.

[zmook.livejournal.com]

Hm, my editing was rather worse than usual there: "then *the* next time you turn on your oven it burns normally for a few minutes, long enough for you to stop paying attention, from what was in the gas line. And *when* the air bubble gets to the burner, it goes out, then *the* bubble is cleared and gas starts filling your room..."

[unferth.livejournal.com]

This is in line with my experience. Important safety tip: go check for the smell of gas a few times after they replace it. I had mine done two weeks ago (by NStar rather than National Grid) and the new meter leaked. Fortunately one of my co-owners noticed it in a reasonably timely manner.

[bareblueskin.livejournal.com]

Replace the appliances? I'm hoping they misspoke. Replacing the meter is required every 7 years, but it's something your landlord needs to handle, in case something goes wrong during installation. Pilot lights do need to be relit after meter replacement, so that is why access to appliances is necessary, but again, landlord issue.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that really is weird. I don't HAVE a pilot light.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that really is weird. I don't HAVE a pilot light.

But they can't take your word for it...

[pakoo.livejournal.com]

Copy the phone number and go to 411.com Click on "reverse phone" and enter the NY number. Hit submit and the source should come up with the address & name.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

It is the property owners responsibility but most likely as the name on the "account" they are calling you; and yes I believe it is a law and I have both the meters changed actually twice since I have been at this house. Forward the correspondence onto the property owner or management company; they usually date the meters themselves now in sharpy but generally keep ok records- though where I am in Somerville I only have Nstar

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

I got a letter from NStar about this.

I'd really prefer not to have to wait at home. I know how to light the pilots myself, and I could turn off all the gas appliances before they arrive. Has anyone ever convinced them to allow this?

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

No, but I did finally convince them to do all three units in our building at the same time.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

^^^^ This +9000, that is basically what I had Nstar do with my property- both units at the same time.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Reading the comments, I suspect NStar sends postcards and National Grid phones people.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

It's more than just the pilot lights. They have to actually "bleed the lines" and inspect that the gas line is working properly.

[3rdragon]

There was fine print on my letter mentioning a limited number of evening and weekend slots, and I did manage to schedule one for an evening when I'd be home -- but I had to ask about it; the person I called didn't offer it.

[wintahill.livejournal.com]

This is probably not a scam, but other posters have provided some good information with regards to it really being the landlords responsibility and about calling NSTAR directly to verify that it is true. The scheduling of these appointments has most likely been outsourced to some other company which is why it may seem a little suspicious.

I had to do something very similar at my condo about 3 years ago. It started with letters in the mail, but eventually they started calling me also. A real NSTAR truck came out and replaced my gas meter in the basement. They asked me about what gas appliances I had, so I told them the water heater which is in the basement and my stove. They re-lit the burner on the water heater and when I told them my stove was an electric ignition model they said it would be fine and left. The guys were probably at my house for about 25 minutes total, though I have a four hour window to wait around for when they would actually be showing up. They did the same for the other two units in our building. Made separate appointments and came out three different times to replace all three meters in the building.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's just wildly inefficient. National Grid insists on a 5-hour window when you will commit to waiting around for them. (And yelp has a lot of complaints about them not showing up in that window.)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Yep, they outsource most of this work and they do not pay well, so the plumpers/pipe fitters who do it will prioritize other parts of their business a lot of the times (I just had a switch to gas process completed and had a very chatty/friendly dude come to do the meter install).

[gothic-ham.livejournal.com]

This happened to me, too. I randomly started getting voice mails about gas meter replacement. The people they hire out to make these calls are weirdly persistent. Once they managed to call me at an appropriate time, they gave me a phone # I could give my landlord to deal with it further. The whole process *is* pretty weird. Ultimately it's up to your landlord to sort it out, though.

[ravingwanderer.livejournal.com]

One thing you (or your landlord) should get them to do is install some sort of double bypass piping, which makes it possible for them to replace the meter in the future without depressurizing the house gas lines. NStar did this to my place a few years ago.