Gas boiler service problem

morgana

Hi
I bought a Groupon voucher for £39 from HomeCallPlus for my gas CH boiler to be serviced.
I wanted an early appontment as I was going on holiday.
The engineer came on 26 Aug and within a few minutes he told me that he couldn't legally do the service cos the small inner cover clips had corroded (he showed them to me ) meaning that the boiler was leaking carbon monoxide and was dangerous. I was stunned so asked what was needed to sort this out. He replied that he would contact his office to order in the clips then come back and service the boiler. He said it would only take a couple of days cos I was going away less than a week later.
He said that if the boiler was in the house he would have to turn it off cos it was dangerous but as it was in the cellar (under my kitchen) he had left it on.
I haven't seen or heard from him since!
I called the company a few days later, and again 4 times since returning from holiday, emphasising that he had told me it was dangerous and all they say is "someone will call you back" which they haven't. It seems that the engineer has not reported back since his viosit to me. Even the manager I spoke to said the same.

I have written a personal and confidential letter to their MD by name, saying that if they don't resolve this within 7 days of the date of my letter I will have the boiler repaired and serviced by another engineer and send them the bill and will also want my £39 back.
BYW, they say that all their engineers are Gas Safe registered.

Any advice or comments ?

Thanks

lemontart

so to be clear he advised dangerous appliance leaking c o and left it on ? c o is deadly, I would advise you turn the boiler off and not use until you have had it checked out by another gas safe installer -

https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk and if you have the details of the man that came you can check to see if he is qualified to work on boilers too on this site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning
http://www.homeserve.com/help-advice/boiler-heating/gas-boiler-service.aspx

morgana

Thanks lemon tart. If he had turned it off I would have had no heating or hot water fro 3 weeks
I know it is deadly, which is what bothers me but I have no symptoms of CO poisoning ATM and until I get a CO detector (prolly today) I have only his (doubtful) word for it.
I only know him as John so cannot check him out.

victor2

morgana wrote: »

Thanks lemon tart. If he had turned it off I would have had no heating or hot water fro 3 weeks
I know it is deadly, which is what bothers me but I have no symptoms of CO poisoning ATM and until I get a CO detector (prolly today) I have only his (doubtful) word for it.
I only know him as John so cannot check him out.

One of the symptoms which you obviously don't have is death. But don't let that minor inconvenience hold you up getting a CO2 detector. You can do it tomorrow (prolly) if you're still alive.
It may be in the cellar, but does that have adequate ventilation to the outside?

lemontart

better no hot water etc for three weeks than dead, whilst there are symptoms and clues you do not always get the time to find out and not every one gets the symptoms and with the cold sneaking in now I cannot advise strongly enough that you get someone else out asap to check it,.

You can check the company out on the gas safe register site and there will be details of their engineers listed with their qualifications and in most cases their photos to.

Did he show you his gas safe id card ? as he should not be working with out it.

Carbon Monoxide is called the silent killer and I take any suggestion very seriously working for the gas emergency service, and the fact he is saying it is leaking co he should not have left it on with out repair.

lemontart

http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/registersearch/findbusiness.aspx?type=byname&returnurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.gassaferegister.co.uk%2fDefault.aspx

they do not appear to be registered. Get another company in.

ollski

There must be some miscommunication here, if the boiler is leaking carbon monoxide it MUST be disconnected and capped wheather its in the cellar, garage or garden shed. If you refuse permission for the engineer to do so then he should inform national grid who will cut your supply in the street! (and charge handsomely for reconnection). If your engineer has not done it he runs a very real risk of a criminal prosecution.
If the boiler has a potential to leak but isn't, it may be that an engineer can use his judgement to allow it to be run at your own risk. This situation will have been left with an 'AT RISK' notification

foreversummer

I would be very wary of heating engineers offering cheap services through Groupon. All the heating engineers I know are extremely busy and charge at least twice the price for a service.

I'd call someone else in as a matter of urgency. Can you ask for recommendations from family or friends? Or maybe contact the manufacturer of the boiler as they will come and service it for you.

Worry about getting your money back from Groupon later.

Foreversummer

ihateyes

lemontart wrote: »

http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/registersearch/findbusiness.aspx?type=byname&returnurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.gassaferegister.co.uk%2fDefault.aspx

they do not appear to be registered. Get another company in.

Homecall Plus used Sub contracted engineers, so the firm dont need a Gas Safe Licence ( if you search Homeserve, they arent on the register either - same reason as above.), the engineers they use must. if you have his details report him to gas safe. Carbon monoxide can leak through the smallest of cracks, and he must be a cowboy.

Dont use your boiler til its fixed.... you only get one chance.....

HomeCall went into Admin earlier in the year, The FSA banned them from selling insurance products but they continued. Britannia who was the insurer withdrew from them dec 2010.
After this they continued.... when the FSA stepped in again, and they were lookign like getting a fine, they went into administration.

From the grapevine a lot of subbies never got paid either.
It looks like a management buyout has happened but imp, still the same people there before are still there now.

morgana

Hi all
Just bought a CO monitor and it isn't showing any leakage so I feel better about that. Which makes me wonder about the engineer even more, giving me that information (and yes Ollski- he said exactly what I said he did). As it is safe and working OK, I will wait til Froday to see what the MD says then if it still hasn't been solved, will get a Proper Service Engineer in and bill them for taking parts away and not doing what they agreed to; a service.
Thanks everyone. It's good to talk

peachyprice

morgana wrote: »

Thanks lemon tart. If he had turned it off I would have had no heating or hot water fro 3 weeks

Well you won't be needing hot water if you're DEAD