Warm Front Grant saved me a fortune!

Lady_K

The lady at warmfront is now saying that the inspector from warmfront hasnt put anything about the removal of the thermostat in the hallway but he told me it must be removed.

She has also told me that kershaws are saying the brick wasnt removed by them and thats the way its standing they arent prepared to do it they are denying that they did it so she has just suggested I ring them myself. I feel I'm just having to sort this out myself I cant believe it. As far as the piping is concerned in the bathroom they are still saying remedial work is complete so they are washing their hands of things at kershaws by the look of it and I dont feel anyones listening at warmfront. If kershaws are refusing to repoint that brick to warmfront what influence am I going to have.

Lady_K

Rang warmfront back again to tell them I had spoke to kershaws and apparently its the way the inspector has put it on the form that the brick was from the old boiler not from removal of old pipes but I have asked them to make note of this so they will hopefully agree to do it at kershaws.

The girl I spoke to this time at warmfront was much more helpfull and interested and she has given me her extention number and is requestng to warmfront that another installer should come back to put the things right as I really dont want the original installers to come back. I told her how unhappy I was with the way the installers were and how rude they were and unprofessional and no paying curtomer would be expected to be left with half air filled radiators like they suggested I should do and all the rest of the things they did. She told me that warmfront have to be made aware of these things so its right that I must tell them, I felt really terrible though but I do think that even kershaws themselves may not be aware of exactly how this person who onstalled mine goes about things because I just dont think people think they have the right to complain and they get away with it.

I will just wait and see what happens from here but before I rang her I was so fed up I was thinking of trying somehow to get the work done myself as I have so had enough with kershaws and was losing faith in warmfront putting it right but anyway after speaking to this girl perhaps things have more chance of being dealt with

As far as my insurance is concerned they just rang me back and said even though the house is in low risk flood area the insurers are saying its high risk, how rubbish is that. My broker has suggested to wait till mid march when the new renewal will come through from zurich ready for April and get a quote for both, Then if not happy get a quote from another one that deals in subsidence too but we will need to go through all the mining reports and things again etc

margaretclare

Hi Lady_K

I'm glad you phoned WarmFront and glad that you found someone who seems to know what she's doing. I myself found that every time I phoned them I got someone different who told a different story - but nevertheless, they're the people you have to phone because they're the ones dishing out the funds to these inadequate workpeople and why should they get paid for such a cr*ppy job until they've put right what was wrong. If I was a Director of Kershaws of Cambridge, I wouldn't want to see the company's name highlighted so negatively on a public site such as this!

I looked up the River Leen - a tributary of the Trent. It looks absolutely idyllic around there, a 'sensitive wildlife area', the kind of place that reminds me so much of my late daughter and the work she hoped to do in her new job for Nottinghamshire County Council - however, she died suddenly and unexpectedly 6 weeks after starting the 'job of her dreams'.

Like I said, we'll flood before you do - we're so close to a tidal inlet from the estuary!

Best wishes

Margaret

Lady_K

Thanx margaretclare

Well it wasnt easy to do it and I was regretting saying everything that I said to them I just felt so bad afterwards. Anyway the girl rang me today to confirm that kershaws were not sending the original engineers now and they will call me shortly to arrange a call out but I'm going to call warmfront back again before they do come to ask what I should expect them to do about the bedroom radiator that is now too small for the room since they changed it for a smaller one. I was going to try n live with it but I dont think its right that they have downgraded the heating in that room. I know that this will more than likely be to the expense of kershaws themselves so I know they wont be happy to do it or agree its too small now. Its about 4 inches less wide each side and 2 inches less tall, it makes a difference.

I dont live right near the wildlife area of the leen but not too far away and it is really nice yes.

I am so sorry you lost your daughter margaretclare my heart goes out to you... I cannot imagine how people get through a tradgedy like that, I'm sure you must miss her terribly. None of us know what is around the corner do we but losing a child is the worst of all. So I'm sorry to hear that you have had to suffer that

margaretclare

Hi Lady_K

I'm glad you called WarmFront and glad that something is going to be done to sort your problems. Why should you have to 'live with it' - that wasn't the object of the exercise at all, was it? So what if it's at the installer's expense - they should have got it right in the first place. The fact that some of the installers can do such an excellent job, as was done here, shows what is possible. I didn't realise it before the inspector mentioned it, but apparently the appointed installing companies have so much work on - this scheme is very much in demand having been so widely-publicised and so many people qualify - that they are sub-contracting. It sounds as if it was sub-contractors who came to do your work. So what if they're not happy! I have learned a lot from my DH who was a mechanical engineer and has years in manufacturing industry, experience that he draws on in our lives now in retirement.

About my daughter - all I can do is to try to keep alive the ideals she lived for. She was passionate about the English countryside but equally, she was aware of world-wide problems like the rain-forests. Every year we come up to the Midlands because I give a small prize to the college she attended - Brackenhurst - which is part of Nottingham Trent University. The prize is presented to the most environmentally-aware woman student, and usually i get to meet the woman receiving the award for that year. We planted an oak tree in her memory in Brackenhurst grounds near the 'Dumble', close to a wildlife pond, hedges laid in the traditional manner, skylarks singing, and if her spirit is anywhere I'm sure that's where it will be. Today we're doing the 'Big Garden Birdwatch' for the RSPB, we feed foxes, we recycle religiously, we do all we can to carry on with what she lived for.

I don't know what I'd do without my DH - so often I say to him 'I'm glad you're here'. I've taken his advice so often. In his career as a sales manager in engineering he often had to go out to a customer's premises to sort out a problem, negotiate a price, give instructions for work to be re-done - on one occasion he had a phone call at 3 am and had to drive from Nottingham to Glasgow because of a problem with equipment he had sold. So don't feel bad at all about getting bad work put right. It's your home and you're entitled to have it as you want it.

Best wishes

Margaret

catford

Lady_K wrote:

Thanx margaretclare

Well it wasnt easy to do it and I was regretting saying everything that I said to them I just felt so bad afterwards. Anyway the girl rang me today to confirm that kershaws were not sending the original engineers now and they will call me shortly to arrange a call out but I'm going to call warmfront back again before they do come to ask what I should expect them to do about the bedroom radiator that is now too small for the room since they changed it for a smaller one. I was going to try n live with it but I dont think its right that they have downgraded the heating in that room. I know that this will more than likely be to the expense of kershaws themselves so I know they wont be happy to do it or agree its too small now. Its about 4 inches less wide each side and 2 inches less tall, it makes a difference.

I dont live right near the wildlife area of the leen but not too far away and it is really nice yes.

I am so sorry you lost your daughter margaretclare my heart goes out to you... I cannot imagine how people get through a tradgedy like that, I'm sure you must miss her terribly. None of us know what is around the corner do we but losing a child is the worst of all. So I'm sorry to hear that you have had to suffer that

Lady_K--I've just been notified by kershaws that they they have been issued the order to do my heating work and having read this thread I am a bit worried. I hope that your experience was a rare one and not the norm!!:eek:

Elhall_2

A power flush is a big machine that's like one of those round vacuums about 1 - 2 feet high. You would have heard it if they'd used it and possibly heard it in the rads as well.
It is possible that they put chemicals in. Is the rad still cold at the bottom?

Lady_K

Well they didnt bring any machine that I knew of but I couldnt get out of the living room anyway so I can't be sure do they have to do each radiator? The day he came to sort the radiator out in the dining room though he definitely didnt have a machine but he said he powerflushed it.

Last time I checked it seemed ok but its off most of the time now so that the system works better.

I had a letter from warmfront today saying they were sorry to hear I am unhappy with the service and please contact them if I have any problems as they take this very seriosly. I will ring and explain again its not a problem with them I'm very grateful but a problem that I thought they should be aware of with the engineers and parts of the heating side of the system. Still no contact from kershaws as yet.

catford

You might not have the same probs as I have had as not all of thier engineers could be the same but if they have been warned about this complaint from warmfront I would imagine they would be doing thier best now to avoid any other complaints

I do not think that the engineers were subcontracted through kershaws though because when I have rang kershaws she very easily went through to talk to the engineer that put my system in plus I remember when I queried the output of the central heating side of the boiler before it was put in they got this same engineer to call me who told me the boiler had an output big enough to do next doors aswell.

margaretclare I have heard of Brackenhurst school that sounds lovely that you still have contact with them and can present the prize. I would love to see that Oak tree in the grounds and if I ever get the chance I will go it sounds lovely

Lady_K

Well I'm quite upset. It seems to get from bad to worse. Warmfront had arranged with kershaws that a different engineer would call rather than the one that fitted the system. This morning I got a call from a man saying he was from kershaws and he understood I have some problems and he was going to come out and have a look at it. I said ok expecting him to arrange a date to call but then he said I'll be there in 15-20 minutes. I was really thrown by this as I'm not very well at all today and really couldnt be doing with it. He said theres some repointing I have to look at isnt there and I said yes and mentioned the radiator problems too and that it wasnt big enough as it was smaller than the one that had been taken out. He then said well I fitted it... I said Oh... it doesnt sound like you and I thought whats going off warmfront told me a different engineer was going to call. I didnt know what to do but felt forced to let him call.

Anyway when I put the phone down I was really upset it wasnt a good day as I am not very well and I had not been given any pe-warning of this visit plus my daughters car is parked on my drive and she isnt in so it cant be moved for them to do that pointing anyway so I called warmfront. I asked them firstly to cancel the engineer as he was on his way and to ask what had happened and why they were now sending the original fitter when the girl from warmfront said it would be another one. I waited while he spoke directly to kershaws he came back saying that kershaws told him that they had rang me and explained to me in depth that the original engineer was coming which was completely untrue. Kershaws told the man at warmfront that they could not send another engineer as they worked on postcodes and he was the only engineer in that postcode but I asked why they had told the other girl from warmfront a different engineer was coming then. I felt pressured to have the original engineer but I knew it wasnt the right thing because I had been through all these problems with him already and he wasnt going to put things right. I really wanted a second opinion, I wouldnt be complaining if it wasnt faulty so I felt bad but said no I really would prefer a different engineer

As soon as that conversation was over I had a call from kershaws from the same girl/secretary that has always answered the phone for warmfront jobs she was clearly very very angry. She asked me why I wanted another engineer when he had done the job above and beyond what he was supposed to do plus he was one of thier best engineers and had worked there for 7 years. I said what do you mean done beyond what he was supposed to do? she said well he fitted 2 new radiators for you didnt he and I said yes he did but that was only because he had no radiator key and damaged the radiators by using other tools on them so they were then permanently damaged. She was so mad about it all I felt terrible. She repeated what she had told warmfront about the postcode thing and told me it would not be for a long time before they could send an engineer out as they didnt have anyone giving me the impression it could be months she was trying to make me have the original fitter. All this she said in an angry nasty manor. I feel they are mad because this is causing them a lot of trouble having to send out a different engineer.

I am quite angry at the way she spoke to me and the way she said he had been with them 7 years as though this meant it was impossble I had reason to complain. I know what happened here and he may be able to do his job but the way they did it and the abominable mess I was left with and all the other things that have happened does not make him perfect to me. Her attitude was totally disgusting.

I rang back warmfront and informed them of her call and the details of it. I am now thinking of putting all this in writing because I wouldnt complain for nothing and kershaws should not be able to get away with talking to me like that... why would I be so upset with things and have to complain if I didnt have reason they dont seem to have even given that a second thought

Lady_K

catford what postcode area are you in?

It might give you an idea if those engineers might do yours aswell