Firstly I would like to say hi

Ian1966

My name is Ian and I would like to introduce myself.

I'm disabled due to suffering from multiple issues to include systematic heart disease and heart failure, Claudia equine syndrome, and type two diabetes insulin dependent to name just a few .

I live in Council sheltered housing sadly just before Christmas both my fridge freezer died so I used the little savings I had on a new fridge freezer, then 2 weeks later my cooker went wrong and I was awarded a new cooker by a local charity.

My old cooker was electric and the new cooker is gas ,the charity would have paid for the installation.

Sadly there wasn't a gas supply in the kitchen to install the cooker too,and I need to get a gas supply from the boiler in the cupboard to the kitchen and i have had several quotes ranging from £300 to £450 all plus vat.

So sadly the cooker is a nice ornament.

Unfortunately I haven't got any savings left to pay for the gas supply to be put in the kitchen.

I do understand it has to be a gas safe engineer.

Any suggestions would be very grateful.

I'm on universal credit and pip and really struggling to survive on that alone especially with the cost of living being as it is.

Many thanks for any information given

Kimi87

Since the charity awarded you an unsuitable cooker, I would be asking them to exchange it for an electric one.

You can also ask the Council about them arranging a suitable gas connection and/or modernising your kitchen.

You wouldn't be able to undertake such work yourself without getting permission, so you might as well ask them to pay at the same time.

rubin16

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/143301/firstly-i-would-like-to-say-hi

Welcome to the community,

I just wanted to suggest maybe worth looking at maybe getting a budgetting advance from universal credit. Its what its there for and you can request to get a new cooker and buy an electric one.

heres some info:

https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit-advance-hardship-payment/first-payment#get-a-budgeting-advance

MW123

@Ian1966

Hi Ian, I’m really sorry you’re dealing with all of this on top of your health issues. You really have had such a run of bad luck, especially after having to use your savings just to replace your fridge freezer.

In council run sheltered housing you’re not allowed to arrange this kind of work yourself. Anything involving gas counts as a fixed installation, and the gas pipes and gas system belong to the landlord. Only the council’s own approved contractors are allowed to add to or alter the system, including putting in a gas cooker point.

Any structural or installation based work would need your landlord’s permission, and they wouldn’t allow anyone other than their own authorised contractors to do it because of health and safety requirements and their insurance responsibilities. If a gas cooker point is allowed, the council would normally arrange and pay for the installation themselves, as it forms part of their gas system.

It’s worth speaking to your landlord directly, as there will be a reason why a gas point wasn’t installed in the kitchen. Many sheltered housing providers prefer electric appliances because they’re generally considered safer for residents.

It may also be worth contacting the charity who provided the cooker to see whether they can exchange it for an electric one instead. That could save you a lot of stress and might be the quickest way to get you back to having a working cooker.

Please do speak with your landlord before taking out a loan to put in a gas cooker connection. If gas cookers aren’t permitted, the landlord could require you to pay to have any unauthorised work removed again.

I really hope this gets sorted for you soon. It must be incredibly difficult not being able to cook proper meals, especially when you’re managing diabetes and need regular, balanced food to stay well.