Boiler serviced under contract, broke down just over a month later

SidP

Hi,

I was with an elderly relative one night when their combi boiler broke down all of a sudden. Fortunately, they're covered by a service contract, so we were able to call someone for free advice there and then. When that failed to fix the problem, we had an engineer out the next day.

It's now over a week later and the boiler is still broken. The issue appears to be that the original installation was a bit of a bodge, and the service engineers are unwilling to fix the boiler as-is because it would mean signing-off on a bodge themselves. So, they're planning to perform extra, chargeable work to bring it up to an appropriate standard. I think it's a matter of gas safety.

It's at this point that I begin to be a little concerned. You see, the self-same boiler received its yearly service on the 28th August, under the same contract that we're using to have it repaired now. It was declared fit. I've seen the fault responsible for the boiler's current unusable state, and it's extremely unlikely that the fault developed in just over a month. It's a matter of corrosion in the flue, causing a hole in the inner pipe around two inches long and perhaps a quarter-inch wide, and it means that toxic waste gases are allowed to re-enter the system instead of being harmlessly vented outside.

At the moment, my relative is without gas entirely, it having been capped at the meter for safety reasons. This renders them without hot water, heating and the use of the cooker. They've also had to use a different room in the house during the day, because the kitchen is now too cold to sit in, partly because brickwork has been exposed and partly because the flue has been removed leaving a hole to the outside, albeit temporarily blocked with a plastic bag filled with newspaper.

My first question is: do I have grounds for arguing that the annual service should have caught this problem, and thereby arguing for a discount on the chargeable portion of the work now required (at the very least)? I don't think the outcome would have been any different - my relative would still have been without a boiler whilst it was repaired. But it would have been caught before the colder weather hit (which it has where I am), and without the additional hassle caused by having to call out an on-call engineer.

My second question: the boiler was fitted under one of the Government's heating installation schemes for the elderly - do I have grounds for arguing that those responsible for fitting the boiler (whether that be some Govt agency or the company contracted to do it) should bear some of the cost, or at least re-imburse my relative for a portion, given it was their bodged install that is causing the extra expense to arise?

I'm not holding out any hopes for these arguments to be successful, even if they are valid. However we can but try

TheSaint_2

My brother is an engineer, he says most companies he has worked for put pressure on him to cut corners on a service. In some cases you aren't getting much at all. So yes, they should have noticed the fault when it was serviced. I would push on that point. Technically the engineer can lose his licence for not highlighting the issue at the time.

No idea on your question 2 I'm afraid.

bris

The problem is not visible to the engineer and there is no way to know there is a fault like this until it happens.

It is a common fault that happens when moisture gets trapped in the seal of the flue mixed with toxic gases and eats the metal until a hole appears, from the inside out.

I don't think this is a good excuse to refuse to fix the boiler though as this doesn't happen overnight and can take years, how old is the boiler?

earthstorm

if the boiler cant be fixed and they qualify have they tried these tgo have it replaced FOC

http://www.warmfrontltd.com/post/Replace-your-old-boiler-for-free
http://www.boilergrants.co.uk
http://www.pensionersforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=5023.0

haz25a

If the boiler was fitted under a Government Scheme then I would contact your MP.

My MP is currently dealing with a similar issue for myself and was able to escalate it higher than I could.

Although, as it's 8 weeks tomorrow since the complaint was received and the situation remains unresolved I probably take it to Energy Ombudsman.

Good Luck.

SidP

Hi,

Thanks for the responses. I decided to pass the matter on to another relative, who are taking charge of the situation. It seems they've already been hit for a deposit and are due to pay an additional £244 for the extra work undertaken. I'll pass them the information shared in this thread and hopefully they'll be able to take this further.

I'll also pass on the information about the schemes for replacing the boiler entirely.

The good news is, the boiler's finally fixed.

Dimey

Sometimes when you are on a service contract the engineers make out that you need additional chargeable work to earn themselves extra money.

British Gas have done that to a couple of people I know.
British Gas told my Mother that her gas central heating system needed renewing. My Mother called in an independent engineer who just flushed out the water in the radiators and 10 years later the system is still working fine. Needless to say my Mother didn't renew her service contract with British Gas.