ACTION AGAINST A LONDON GAS COMPANY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXX, Issue 5412, 28 December 1874, Page 3

ACTION AGAINST A LONDON GAS COMPANY.

The following is an account of an aeSon auams,t <i London (t.h Oompjny for cutting oil a consiunei'i g.is, which shows tli-U Gas Companies it homo have no siu dl responsibilities :—Tiu Sjcrcfciry ot tho Fluenix tr.is Company was suin-no >ed by Kdwaul Ihlliei, of 2, Bla-kfriars Iliad, 10-frcslnuuDt-hou3o keeper, fai uaUwtuily refusing to bupply him with gai wheieby a penalty had boon incurred of 40<. pjrdiy. Ifc dppu.iro'l complainant had boou a, entomoi of the company for 17 yeirs pas»t, .mil hid at first piil til in % deposit, wnich, however, they had returned him wt'i mtcieat several year3 ago. He regu'aily pml his gai up to Cbristmaa, 1S73, without a dispute, but after tbeu he applied to the company for » d>y niiil"r, wluoli they supplied, and he paid the OiiriHtuias quarter'^ {£*>& 1Sa <Jd - He aftor , wai &* received a bill for the quarter from (Jlnistmas to Lady Day, amounting to £12 18a 9d, whioh ha paid upou the iijth June last, without dispute. Ho subsequently had au au application for £10 19i 9 1, for ga<j a'leged to have becu supplied butw -en Lady Day and June, and in ismiich as duiiny the period he had beou a consumer, hi3 «as for such a quarter had never exceeded £5, ho felt there must bo some mistake, and had the meter tested by the Government Inspector, who condemned it, and if; was taken away by defendants, and a now one supplied on ill 5 liith July Ho made an application to soe th j boanl, and afterwards received anotico that if he did not pay £10 10s lid.— the compiny ouly agnoing to m«ko him an allowance of 0s. for the excessive charge — his vas would br cut off. He afterwards applied to the magistrate, and then t'io defendants off'ied to make him an allowance of £4 10-<., which he lefused, and aubseqncntly they offoied an allowanoo of £6 4s., which ho a«tced to accept. Hn reouivod an ajcouut then showing £4 h"s. 9 I. at dun from him. On the 12. h September the collector called and leit a notice that tho p.is would be cut ulF unless he paid £4 15a. 9ii. in thren days, uhioli he refused to pay, and on ttie 17th hist, tho gis was cut oil'. Mr. Bumon.tvfter heaiiu^t'io witnehSi s for the defence, one of whom said thore had been an picupo iifts.owinflf to the bidnes 1 ? of tho littinys siid he could lnr.Uy think th.it, and then tho o unpany to allow £(> 4s. He cousidrrod tli'i company hud acted in an impropi r mauiicr, and s>ueh proceedings could not b 1 allowed. Ib h.id deprived complainant of his y<i3 for a clear day, aucl ho therefore, mdiofced a ponalty of

, ,. ''iokn , » ho "itj4Uh,- mid -Alia O'-Hfsf, Mr «- . -i-ith^ \>i,n-i't.\ iot the pl.-.intitf, Hi>'r»CJt«u. company should iMrrn rhaoelv gas, and Mr. Benson Bald it re waafiot done, the samo penalty would bs inflicted for eacL 'lay.