british gas boiler complaint

nicandx

Hi there. I am new to this so please bear with me. I had a brand new combi boiler fitted in november last year, along with a new fire etc all provided and installed by BG. After having some problems with the initial installation (things not being done when we were told they would be such as making surfaces good again after work) I have had 9 breakdowns on the boiler. Four or five of theseI have called BG out to look at. The rest I have fixed on my own as I now know how to re-pressurise a combi-boiler!!! For the most of the calls out to BG I have had to take time off work as I work in another county. I had another appointment booked today and had to leave the house for 15-20 minutes so asked when making the booking that they contact me on my mobile prior to arrival. Of course when I got home, the inevitable had happened!! A card through my door saying that they had been and I was out!! They offered me either a 2 hour slot for tomorrow or a call out on Saturday - neither of which I was happy with as I had already taken time off work and they had not contacted me. Sometimes I feel like I would be better ringing the water board as they would be able to help more!! Can anyone please advise where I stand with regards to lodging an official complaint and whether I can claim and compensation for the time off work have had to take etc. To top it all off I was also told on the third occasion that it broke down that 'it can take up to three months for a boiler to get used to the house'!! Never heard anything as daft in my life. Please Help. Thank you

C_Mababejive

Can you explain what the faults were/are and also the make/model of boiler?

Have they had the manufacturers own engineer round to assess the boiler and provide a solution?

I think that not ringing as requested is pretty poor IMHO given the trouble you have had.

Your not on your own though as i heard a similar tale of woe recently involving similar appalling service from Eon on their service contract.

nicandx

Hi there thanks for your reply. It is a Potterton 'top of the range', best you can get combi boiler apparently. I had a couple of issues initially with a magnaclean bottle which is attached to the boiler which apparently it used to keep the system clean. When the pressure dropped the first time they said it had not been fitted properly and air was either escaping or entering the system. The second time there was actually liquid coming from the boiler and when they came out they said it was the magnaclean again and replaced the bottle. There have been six or seven cases of the pressure dropping therefore bringing the fault up of low pressure thus stopping the boiler from working. The first few times i called them out but once i knew how to do it i just carried on doing it myself although yesterday i couldn't turn the tap as i think it has seized. they haven't sent anyone out other than a BG engineer each time although i am getting more and more annoyed at their serious lack of customer services. i paid a fair amount of money for the work i had done even though i had had other quotes which were much cheaper. I did this as BG is a well known name and you believe you will get help/assistance when required. Thank you.

Mr_Ha

Hi Nicandx

I'm not a gas engineer, although I do have experience with this sort of thing.

Usually a pressure drop indicates an escape of water within the system - have you noticed damp patches around your house (on roofs, walls, carpets etc) which may indicate a nearby leak?

BG engineers can usually enter a substance into the system which is supposed to plug leaks - kind of like a sealent which moves through the system until it finds a leak to block, are you aware of any engineer doing this?

Since you've had such a large number of visits, as C_Mababejive has said a manufacturers visit is sometimes offered. Otherwise, you can contact the call centre and lodge a Field Complaint which will be dealt with by whoever is in charge of the engineers for your area, usually with a telephone call and then a visit from them to inspect this for themselves. They tend to be the ones who solve these problems, as it is not economical for them to hasve an engineer at your house every other month.

Hope this helps
Mr H