Suing over a 'bad' stove installation?

serafina4

A woman is suing my dads company (I say company, it is just him and one more) for 'incorrectly installing a stove'.
It took more than one day to completely finish the work which was agreed upon before starting.
While he was not there, she used the stove before it was ready, against his advice, and used it incorrectly ( poured cold water into it when it was hot!) and it cracked. This is all before the job was finished.
The warranty on the stove was voided because it was dismantled to get it to fit inside her house, with her permission and at her own suggestion. The (different) delivery company she bought it from, dumped it outside her house. She phoned my dad in distress to rush down and get it in the house before it rained (which he did, for free!)
Well, she wants him to pay for the stove now. Is that right? I think it is not his fault. We have no experience with going to court or anything. He is Hetas registered and has never had problems before.
He got Hetas to inspect the stove and they could only say it was unsuitable for use.

There are other problems, like she said he stole her wood tongs, (a lie) he 'harassed and bullied' her (a lie), he left it unfinished (but she refuses to let him back in to finish)
The bracket that attached the stove to a peice of wood inside the moving van was thrown away and she started insisting it was a vital safety mechanism my dad stole (he was able to prove it was not part of the stove). Her daughter is harassing us leaving phonecalls about how she is fatally ill and has to visit her mother about the stove problem -and because of that she might die somehow, and if that happens my dad will be directly responsible for her death (!!??)
My Dad believes she just wants everything done free and paid for by him, because at the start she kept talking about how it was more expensive than originally expected, and her daughter has sued her employers before for harassment and won, maybe they do it a lot?
It's really hard and we don't know what to expect because no experience with being sued

alleycat`

I would assume he has business insurance with legal cover?

If he does, and he should, then he needs to speak to them.

I'd keep all the voicemails from the complainant and daughter as a matter of course + and other documentation with regards to the works that were agreed.

Write with recorded delivery offering to complete the rest of the agreed works at a date and time suitable to them as part of the original job (assuming the legal people don't tell you to do everything via them).

If she has thrown cold water on a stove (unfinished or not) and has used it without a completion certificate then more fool her.

pambler

I would assume that if the stove has been damaged and is now unsuitable for use, it is not possible to complete the original works.

As Alleycat says, your dad needs to contact his insurers as soon as possible. He should also document all that has happened, with dates/times etc, whilst it is still fresh in his mind. If it does come to a court case (although it sounds to me like they might be just trying to scare/guilt him into a new stove), it is always good to have a detailed record of what has occurred.

waamo

Has she actually commenced proceedings or is she just threatening?

macman

She sounds somewhat deranged.
Since it's her case to prove, I'd just sit back and not engage in further correspondence of any kind (phone, email or letter). If she wants to take out a civil claim then let her get on with it- and defend it if she does. People often threaten legal action, they don't often carry it through.
And if she admitted to pouring cold water onto it while hot, what possible claim does she have?

savemoney

Wouldn't think pouring cold water on a new stove would do it any good, I thought you had to let stoves cure a few times you use them. Sounds like she is trying it on for her own incompetence. If she take him to court surely she would have to prove negligence

hethmar

What was the reason for her pouring hot water in it?

She does sound deranged, as someone else said, sadly that doesnt help your dad. You say HETAS has inspected it for him and just said its not usable? Then that isnt badly fitted, its a stove thats not up to the job.

Tell the woman to contact whoever sold her the stove.

If she does sue, just let her do the talking at court, they will soon realise who is telling the truth.