LL wants us to pay for radiator repair

shellsuit

Ayelet wrote: »

As can be seen in the pictures it was indeed poorly fitted so it was just waiting for it to fall down. Maybe the radiator was not far of from falling down already and this was just the final little push.

I'd just get onto the LL and tell him/her that it's come away from the wall as it hadn't been fixed properly.

I wouldn't even mention the Cd.

paddedjohn

How long have you lived around the radiator before it fell off?

Ayelet

paddedjohn wrote: »

How long have you lived around the radiator before it fell off?

8 months to be exact, after getting information from other sources as well it seems the wrong plugs were used, plugs which are not suitable for radiators.

It looks like it the radiator was about to come down anyway, CD or not (maybe just a tiny bit faster due to the CD).

pararct

What type of wall were the plugs fixed into? Have both brackets come off or only the one? (not apparent from the photo's) What is current supporting the radiator? Have you taken steps to secure it as if it comes away from its feed pipes it will flood your flat and likely anything below.
I have fitted quite a few of these in the past and whilst I do not discount the fact it may well have been poorly fitted (this will rely upon the quality of the wall plaster and brickwork the plugs were inserted into) it would take much more than dropping a CD upon it to dislodge it even if it was very loose. In any event is it likely both brackets were poorly fitted? One may have held even if the other didn't. Even the feed and return pipes offer a level of support although this should of course never be relied upon.
Don't discount the fact it was poorly fitted but it has not gone from being A1 fitted to the wall to having fell off just by dropping a CD on it overnight. You must have observed some movement as evidence it was coming away from the wall!

bris

Poor excuse op, the pictures prove nothing, the raw plugs are wall dependant and nothing to do with what they are supporting. The radiator would have to be pulled off for this to happen. The four fixings would have had to fail at the same time for your story to be credible, I don't buy it.

dcems

You are only responsible to pay for repairs if you deliberately damage something. i.e if you deliberately pulled the radiator off the wall/ you kick your front door in/smash a hammer into a wall etc etc.

If I were you I would get enviromental health to come round and take a look. if you ring your local council and advise your landlord is refusing to do repairs due to a dispute over whose responsibility it is they will come round and take a look-they will definately confirm either way if the radiator was inadequately hung, and also they would be able to tell if damage was deliberate-not that i dis-believe you in any way. certainly dont be forking out any money at the moment to anyone.

is your deposit protected?

ruggedtoast

What cd was it?

paddedjohn

ruggedtoast wrote: »

What cd was it?

'Meatloaf Live with Alison Moyet and The Weather Girls':j

real1314

dcems wrote: »

You are only responsible to pay for repairs if you deliberately damage something. i.e if you deliberately pulled the radiator off the wall/ you kick your front door in/smash a hammer into a wall etc etc.

Not quite right. Accidental damage would also be the tenants responsibility. e.g if they stood on top of a radiator to open a window and it cam off the wall / if they kicked a football hard into the door / they were putting a nail into a wall and missed the nail.

If I were you I would get enviromental health to come round and take a look. if you ring your local council and advise your landlord is refusing to do repairs due to a dispute over whose responsibility it is they will come round and take a look-they will definately confirm either way if the radiator was inadequately hung, and also they would be able to tell if damage was deliberate-not that i dis-believe you in any way. certainly dont be forking out any money at the moment to anyone.

I can't imagine that EH will provide any sort of report on the condition of the fixings, especially in retrospect, nor will they be able to tell if the damage was deliberate or not without the help of The Doctor and his police box.

is your deposit protected?

I don't buy this telling of events. The pipes would have held the rad in place, the second bracket would also have done so.

Quite how/why the OP has ended up with the bracket fully off the wall is a mystery. The bracket should surely have been left in the wall/loose along with the rad.

There's something missing from the OP's events.

So, OP, a full version of events? Have the supply pipes broken? How did the bracket get from wedged/sat behind the rad? What's the other bracket doing? :cool:

SAHD_Jim

Ayelet, does anyone live with you who may have "forgotten" to tell you that they had pulled the radiator off the wall previously???

When I was about 8 I fell against a rad and pulled it off the wall and I thought I'd get away with it by simply balancing it back in the holes.

Strangely,my dad wasn't buying it when he draped a towel over it and it fell off the wall.