When National Grid Attacks!

A friend currently dealing with family medical issues is told by a gas company dude that her gas pipes are ancient and they need to be replaced. OK, she says...and comes home to find her property ripped up six ways from Sunday (destroying hand-done landscaping), the sidewalk damaged, missing stonework from her yard, and...no sign of the company that was contracted by National Grid to do the work.

So, in the midst of taking off time from work to deal with one stressful situation, she has to skip a hospital visit to make half a dozen calls between the foreman, the contracted company (who shows up at 7PM for a 3PM appointment they said they were "on the way to"), National Grid...and she still has a wasteland of a front yard, no heat (since this morning, temps going to the low 30's tonight), and she's been told that they'll probably have to rip up her driveway and part of her back yard. The contractor, meanwhile, is saying she needs to "file a claim" for the damage, and she's having to take off another full day from work to babysit the morons.

I've advised her to speak to an attorney ASAP, as I don't think a)they have the right to demand to rip up half her property because going a more direct route would be "more work" for them, b)I'm worried she'll be left fighting with the contractor for the damage they've caused when it should be National Grid slapping them around, and c)the town may go after her for the damage to the sidewalk. Any UHub'ers been down this road before?