Problems with new heating system - URGENT

f1widow

Hi Im not sure whether anyone can help but my Mother and Father in law have just had a new boiler and immersion tank installed by company (the one advertised on the TV by Johnny Ball! - sorry dont know the actual name)

1. Rep came on a Friday - work took place three days later on the following Tuesday
2. The rep signed my MIL up to 10 year finance
3. Work was billed as two day job - men rushed and took one day
4. An hour after men left they had a leak with water coming through kitchen ceiling
5. Came back and fixed it
6. Rep from main company came out and said he would send someone next week to fix some of damage caused by men whilst working and the leak
7. FIL has since found a few more leaks which the company has said has not been caused by the work but the fact that the rest of their heating system ie pipe work is very old and cannot cope with water pressure from new system so it is just bursting all over the place
8. My FIL has also said he "thinks" that they may have put too much Inhibitor into the tank which is a corrosive liquid - Im not sure what this is for which could be corroding the pipes but the company has said this would not have happened.
9. The contractors who did the job stated they had no liability insurance for any damage caused by the initial leak and had to take it up with the main company.
10. They now dont want to run the system at all due to leaks.

My FIL is very ill at the moment and is not able to deal with any of this at the moment hence why my MIL went ahead and contacted this company in the first place as their heating system had broken down and the consequence of these problems is making his illness worse

ANy help advice would be much appreciated I have listed all the above points just to show background not so much that these are essentially problems or complaints

HappyMJ

If you have the time you can deal with it on their behalf. Get nasty with them. Be assertive and they'll get the work fixed. Find out details of the insurance company they have the insurance they have and if they don't give it then take them to court to get compensation to fix the issues. You can also claim against the finance company too so try that avenue.

ollski

They may well be right that your existing pipework cannot take the extra pressure, that's why the system was surveyed and quoted. If it is zinc pipe it should have been an open vented system only or quoted for the extra work needed. Get them to leave you with the working system you paid for, it may mean extra work is needed but sure a deal could be reached if last resort. I'd try trading standards for your legal position.

f1widow

err not sure about Zinc pipe - but the pipework was not surveyed as such ie they knew it was 45 years old they looked at boiler and tank - you would hope that they knew that the boiler and tank would be too powerful / hot for this pipework to cope with and would have quoted for any extra work that was needed

Should 45 year old pipework not work with new systems then? what pipes did they use then (hubby says they are copper!)

macman

How much are they being charged in total for this 10 year deal? Doubtless the boiler fitted is the cheapest and nastiest on the market, and they will still be paying for it long after the boiler has gone for scrap. If they needed finance for it, why not apply for a personal loan?
They have no contract with the fitters at all, who are just sub-contractors-they need to take it up with the company they contracted with. Or ring Johnny Ball...

DVardysShadow

Is the replacement boiler a combi? If it is, then they may have been poorly advised and may have some recourse on that basis.

Pincher

When the work on my 1st car went wrong, the garage said, "Tough, it's just another sob story."

Well, sob story is what TV thrives on. Try contacting Cowboy Builders, BBC Watchdog etc. Bad building work story they have plenty of, but they like a sob story with it.

unclebulgaria

wow I can bet you FIL is getting stressed.
Firstly inhibitor isn't, as far as I'm aware, corrosive in any manner. Its designed to stop the corrosive nature of an untreated central heating system, it stops the sludge that does form from sticking to the inside of the copper piping too. What they may have put into the "tank" was a cleaning chemical used to free up sludge before draining or hot flush after the system has been running.
Old central heating piping should have been tested prior to the new boiler being installed, or a waiver signed to say that the piping wasn't tested.
I'm not solicitor but, I can't see how the company in question can wash their hands of their responsibility.
Trading Standards need to be brought in and give you some advice.
I've been called to customers who have gone down this route because its more affordable than having to pay me in one lump sum. It usually goes like this; main company signs you up, main company is too busy, main company sub contracts work out, sub-contractor is paid a lower fixed amount, sub-contractor rushes work because payment isn't great which means he has to fit more work in during the week, sub-contractor wont want to incur costs for his work so puts the blame on main company, main company cant be ar*ed and hope you'll go away.
The last one I went to was a disabled woman and the contractor had filled her floors with all the cardboard, polystyrene and their dinner rubbish!
Whatever you do, don't give in!
Ring a solicitor and get some pro bono advice.

macman

I suspect that the company fronting this know less about central heating installs than my granny does. They are just a finance company with a CCL, who have arrangements with boiler suppliers and installers.

gas4you

Firstly reassure your FIL that inhibitor is NOT corrosive and you cannot overdose a heating system.

In reality they could well have not put any in!

If the old pipe work is copper, then this should be ok with all modern boilers. However, IF they flushed the system out after installation, which they should have done, this can remove corrosion and scale in pipe work and old radiators leading to a leak.

I always warn customers about this in my terms and conditions. I will always fix such leaks, very rare they occur though, but always charge for this as extra work. I also state this clearly in my T &C's.

From here it seems yet another national company who appear to sub out to less than able local contractors.

The contractors should always have their own liability insurance anyway.