What to do if the water, electricity or gas meter stops?

Electricity, gas and water meters in an apartment or in a private house are a useful thing, which allows you to clearly monitor the amount of consumed communal goods and pay only for their actually used amount, as a rule, significantly saving at the same time. But, like all objects, counters can break sooner or later. We will figure out what to do in such a situation in order to solve the problem as soon as possible.

Causes of breakdowns

There can be a lot of factors due to which the meter suddenly stopped working.

1. The decay of the device and the development of its resource.
2. Failures in the supply network - for example, a sharp jump in voltage in the mains led to the breakdown of the electricity meter. If the hot water meter breaks, the reason may be that the maximum permissible temperature is 90 ⁰.
3. Defective counter.
4. Incorrect installation, connection or operation.
5. Poor quality of the supplied resource (in the case of water, a large number of harmful impurities of various mineral salts and other chemical compounds that are aggressive to the meter material).
6. Mechanical damage to the device.
7. Electronic failure (relevant if a modern electronic electric meter is installed) and so on.

If the fault lies with the resource supplying company — for example, the cold water meter from the liquid supplied under high pressure has broken down — then the cost of fixing the problem can and should be demanded to be compensated for from them. How to prove the involvement of public utilities - a topic for another discussion.

What to do when a malfunction is detected

A gas meter has broken or something else, it does not matter, the first thing to do is to evaluate the nature of the breakdown. If this is some kind of trifle that does not affect the operation of the device and is easy to remove — for example, a screw was unscrewed that secures the counter to the surface — you can fix it yourself. More serious things should not be repaired immediately with your own efforts and you should not try, unless you are an employee of the corresponding organization (for example, gas supplier) and you do not have all the necessary skills and permits for such work. Firstly, you can overestimate your strengths and not start the device again, but only make it worse, and secondly, when repairing, the seal on the product will certainly be damaged. And without it, meter readings will not be taken into account.

In an emergency (for example, a water meter gushes a stream of boiling water or if the gas meter clearly passes it), communications should be turned off. For example, in standard Soviet houses on the stairwell, as a rule, there are relays that turn off the electricity to the apartment, and the valves for shutting off gas and water are usually located in the area of ​​the entrance to the entrance or basement. Details of this information should be clarified at the entrance to the housing, so that in case of what, do not waste time calling or bypassing neighbors.

Next, a logical question arises: where to go? The failure of the organization responsible for this type of communications should be reported. Its name and contact details must be indicated in the contract for the provision of services / maintenance of the relevant equipment. There are several options - leave an application for the visit of the master by phone or via the Internet (if there is such an opportunity) or come to the office and write the corresponding application in person.The faster this is done, the sooner the malfunction will be fixed and the smaller the monetary loss due to payment not for actual consumption. An organization employee is required to inspect the meter, fix the malfunction, and indicate whether it is possible to repair it or whether replacement is required.

Tip

Utilities are in no hurry to help, if you have a broken water meter, what should I do then? Feel free to complain, because for this now it’s not even necessary to swear when you visit them or call. Almost all institutions have email addresses. A polite letter outlining what is happening to the higher authorities - and the likelihood of an early solution to your problem is significantly increased.

Repair process

It is only possible to proceed with repair or replacement when an employee of a resource supplying organization records a breakdown in a document and dismantles the seals.

If the meter, which is still under warranty, is broken, you can try to repair it or replace it at the expense of the manufacturer. But it is worth keeping in mind that he is not obliged to silently accept it. Most likely, they will be assigned an examination to assess the correct operation of the device and the reasons for its failure. If it is proved that the manufacturer is not guilty, a warranty repair, refund or replacement with a similar gas, water or electricity meter will be refused.

Who changes the device, the master (and not necessarily from utilities) or the owner himself, is up to the landlord. It should be understood: in any case, it will not succeed in cheating here. Having fixed the malfunction, you will have to call the representative of the right company again. He will inspect the counter, check the correctness of his work, record the readings and seal again. And only from this moment on will a citizen again pay for this type of utility service according to actual use.

Repair Costs

An important point is who should change a broken gas meter or other utilities. Different situations are possible again.

1. The supplier company is to blame for the malfunction, and this is proven. All costs and the obligation to carry out the work falls on her.
2. The device is inside the apartment, and the housing itself is privatized. Repair or change the owner.
3. Similarly, but housing is provided under a social lease agreement - again, the owner changes, that is, the municipality or other real estate agency.
4. The meter is located outside the apartment (in the entrance), which often happens in the case of electricity. If the electric meter breaks in this situation, carefully read the contract with the service provider. Devices located outside the apartment can be considered as common house property, and then their repair is the concern of the public utilities.

Counter broken - how to read readings

With a faulty metering device, two options for calculating the consumption of utility services are possible:

• averaged data for the last 3 months before the breakdown will be taken;
• calculation will be made according to consumption standards.

How to pay in a particular case, can be written in the contract with the service provider, if not - this information should be clarified with them personally. By the way, the service fee will be calculated in the same way if the meter has not been submitted for some billing period.

And if you do not repair?

Turning the situation to your advantage is a logical and understandable desire. Therefore, many, faced with the fact that a broken meter began to record in their favor or stopped completely, decide to leave it faulty. Even if one rejects morality and the idea that everything will be rewarded, such behavior is illegal.

What awaits an unlucky freebie lover? Possible options. Every meter is checked every few years, and its testimony can be checked by a representative of the resource supplying organization at any time. In both cases, a malfunction can be noticed.And then the subscriber can be ordered to pay for the consumed services not according to the testimony of the meter since the moment when he was last in good condition. Additionally, a fine may be charged. Naturally, the owner of the home where this meter is installed will also be required to fix the malfunction.

To summarize

Briefly summarize all of the above. What to do if the meter breaks? In an emergency (for example, the gas meter does not just not work, but there is a clear leak), the flow of this type of resource should be stopped as quickly as possible. Next, you need to contact the right organization (gorgaz, thermal power company, power grid or water utility) and wait for the visit and the verdict of their specialist. The repaired or replaced metering device is again checked by the representative of the relevant housing and communal services organization and sealed. For the period of repair work, the consumption of this resource is paid according to the standards appropriate to this situation or based on the volume of use for previous billing periods.