I had an investment property completed about a month ago and nobody noticed there was no meter installed on the 2nd of 2 houses on the property. About 2 weeks ago my tenant took up the rent and moved in over the weekend when they noticed no hot water, no cooktop and no gas. They found there was no gas meter the obvious cause. We have since found out that the plumber is in some kind of dispute with the builder and until he settles this dispute the meter supposed to be in my property is sitting in the back of his van while my tenants have no hot water or cooktop.
I spoke to the friendly AGL person who was kind enough to offer the solution of making a new application for a meter and waiting 6 to 8 weeks. i did check to make sure she understood that a family cant shower as a result of a 5 minute job of installing a meter and apparently there is nothing else that can be done.
Obviously i am hopeful that the builder and plumber resolve this conflict and the meter is installed but so far its been 5 days with no resolution and I am looking for options that will get the hot water working for my tenant as soon as I can.
I even offered to pay the plumber directly but he refused suggesting he would not have the leverage for his argument.
I fully understand there is a process for good reason and we need to make sure that we are not releasing the meter to somebody who doesn't know how to install it but providing a situation where a plumber can use the meter as a bargaining tool seems very wrong.
Surely I can get a meter released to another plumber to do the installation and let the plumber and builder have their argument without my tenant being caught in the middle and without having to wait 6 to 8 weeks for this to happen?
