Who is responsible for oil tank leak, advice please

shazgh

I started renting a property in Sept 2013 out of 1,500 litres of oil I have about 250l left. In Feb I reported it to letting agency saying it must be leaking, they sent someone out to check it, he never went near tank just run his hand under internal boiler and said no leaks. Apparently it was all serviced before I moved in. Couple weeks ago when it dried up, I could see there was a leak at the outlet pipe, soil and surrounding concrete were soaked in oil. Agency got company back out and the tightened the bolt on it. I have said I would like some recompence as this has cost me just under £1000, averaging £50 a week. They told me to claim my contents insurance, BUT I don't think that is right. They said they won't be able to get money from the company who failed to spot the leak, they won't admit to that, and the landlord isn't responsible as they paid for the checks to be done.

Any advice appreciated

G_M

Unless you caused the leak (eg by knocking the outlet pipe while gardening or checking the tank) it is the LL's responsibility to fix.

You could also claim for the lost oil, though very hard to prove how much of the 1250 litres gone was used by the boiler and how much leaked.....

1250 litres is not an unusual amount to use through the winter, though obviously it depends on your property size, boiler efficiency, useage patterns etc.

I assume the landlord/agent has reported the leak to the Environment Agency.????? To be honest, the cost of clean up will be far greater than the cost of the contractor who tightened the nut, or the value of the oil!

Oftec advice:

If you have your oil-fired equipment serviced regularly by a competent person and maintain your oil tank adequately, it is unlikely that oil will leak from your system. However, if you notice an oil leak:

1. The priority is to immediately stop any more oil from being released. This may require you to have the tank professionally drained.
2. If possible, contain any oil that has already been released.
3. Soak up any spilled oil you can with an absorbent material, such as sand, newspapers, old towels or cat litter. Please dispose of these carefully as they will be highly inflammable.
4. For more serious spills, contact a specialist remediation company to clean up the spill. Contact us if you would like help finding one.
5. Inform your property insurers about the leak.
6. Contact the regional Environmental Agency on 0800 807060 and make them aware of the incident.

Old_Git

I know someone who had a similar problem and it cost £6000 to clear the oil from the ground .