Heating/hot water issue

benny84

Hi all. As the title suggests, we are having issues with our boiler.

Last Wednesday evening I returned home from work and the boiler failed to work. I ran through the basic trouble shooting of making sure there was power to the boiler, checking the pressure and making sure it wasn’t just the pilot light. Unfortunately the boiler was completely non-responsive.

I called our agent first thing the next day and they had an engineer attend that afternoon. Unfortunately he confirmed that the circuit board needed replacing but he wouldn’t be able to do it until Tuesday as he was too busy.

By this time the agency were closed so I called them first thing in the morning. They had another engineer visit that afternoon (Friday) who confirmed that the circuit board needed replacing and that even if he was prepared to work over the weekend, he wouldn’t be able to get the part until Tuesday (I’ve no idea how he knew this as he didn’t call a supplier, he just looked at the boiler and came out with that timeframe).

I phoned the agency who apologised but confirmed there was nothing they could do if that was how long it took to get the part. Annoying, but fair enough I suppose. Outside of their control. (We happened to be away that weekend anyway, so it wasn’t the end of the world).

On Monday I called the agent to confirm it would be fixed the next day (today, Tuesday). The agent didn’t know what the latest on it was so I explained what the engineer had told us and the agent then told me that it “would definitely be fixed tomorrow” (today, Tuesday). I’ve no idea how he could confidently tell me this, as he hadn’t spoken to the engineer at that point, but hey ho.

Later that day we received a call from the agent to ask if the engineer could come back to confirm the exact part he needed as “there are several different circuit boards”.

Notwithstanding the fact that I believe that to be a load of old !!!!!!!!, or that the parts I was told had been ordered before the weekend clearly hadn’t, I didn’t bother querying it as arguing with them was only going to delay the process.

Later that day a third engineer arrived (yep, a totally different one). I told him that the agent had told us it would be fixed the next day and he gave me a ‘you’ll be lucky’ look. He said he’d call the agent straight away and they’d come back to me.

This morning I called the agency again to ask what was going on. I was called back and told that the part couldn’t be delivered until tomorrow and that their guy would come to fit it then.

Now, I’m a reasonable person. I appreciate that the time it takes for a part to be ordered and delivered is not under the agent’s control, but (assuming it does get fixed tomorrow) I will have been a week without any means of heating or hot water (combi boiler, no electric showers, big rooms, big single glazed sash windows).

However, if they had used the latest engineer in the first instance, it’s pretty likely that this would have been fixed by now.

I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, because you can’t really put a price on inconvenience, but coming home to a very cold property and having to go friend’s houses to shower has been annoying and inconvenient.

Is it even worth me pursuing a complaint?

Pixie5740

If you were a home owner you would probably have faced similar delays.


Were all 3 engineers from the same company?


I don't know how tradespeople manage to turn up at someone's home having had the problem explained to them over the phone first and never have the part you need despite the back of the van being full of parts.

pmlindyloo

Rather than pursue a complaint I would negotiate some compensation - reduction off your rent.

Things to consider as regards amount requested:

LA/LL seem to have acted reasonably in that they were very prompt to arrange repairs.

(As you say, mistakes have been made but, I'm afraid, that often happens when trying to get repairs done/engineers arranged. Happens to home owners as well as renters.)

Did you have any other form of heating/hot water? Did the LA/LL offer any free standing electrical heating? Did you ask?

Without doubt a broken boiler is the LL's responsibility but they must be given a reasonable time to correct the fault taking into account arranging for engineers/ordering parts etc.

If you prove to be 'difficult' then you may be in danger of being served an eviction notice. Are you in a fixed term/periodic tenancy?

Polite negotiations are the way to go. Good luck!

benny84

I accept that they've acted quickly. Indeed I was very impressed that they had someone out the same day.

However, they've sent their first choice in the hope he can fix it quickly, fair enough.

He couldn't, and was too busy to return within a reasonable time, so they've sent a second guy. Between him and the agent there seems to have been no communication (they didn't know what was going on when I called them three days after his visit).

All three engineers have been independent contractors, presumably sole traders.

It just seems like really poor management of the situation in my view.

After discovering that the first engineer had diagnosed the issue but couldn't do the job quickly, I'd have been on the phone to a second engineer to tell him what was needed and how quickly could he do it. I don't see what's difficult about that.

It's a moot point, but I am a homeowner and I have British Gas cover on my boiler. My tenant gets an engineer within 24 hours, even at weekends. Even if I didn't have that cover I'd have made sure that the first engineer was able to complete the job he'd started.

We're leaving in under a month, so I don't have any leverage and asking them for compensation will be a waste of time and ink.

Thanks for the replies though.

G_M

The landlord, via his agent, has responded rapidly (certainly 'reasonably') to your inial issue, and your subsequent calls.

The delay has been caused by the engineers. Whether this delay was avoidable or not is a moot point. Engineers cannot and do not carry all spares for all boilers in their vans, and often parts do have to be ordered.

That's just a fact of life.

Yes, the first engineer could/should have checked exactly which part was needed, but when he/the company realised they were not sure, they came back to check. Not ideal, but these things happen.

As an owner-occupier I've suffered similar instances, not to mention endless appointments missed by contractors not coming when they say - again, these things happen. Life is not perfect and trying to blame someone/claim compensation for every mishap in life is a) not worth it and b) unrealistic.

Good luck tomorrow. Let us know if it gets fixed.

DX-SFX

I have a similar issue. The central heating boiler packed up and it took the LL ten days to get someone in to fix it, preferring to use "his own guy" initially. This meant no heating or hot water for ten days. I managed to borrow some electric heaters and shower at friends houses but can I legitimately claim a reduction on my rent?

G_M

No.

But at this time of year it would have been reasonable to ask the landlord to supply electric heaters. Did you ask?

Was the 10 day delay known from the start (ie engineer could not attend for 10 days, or knew it would be 10 days to get parts) or was the delay unforeseen/unforseeable?

DX-SFX

The fault was reported straight away as the house was freezing but the LL wouldn't get a "professional" central heating engineer in until his cheaper guy had had a look which he couldn't do for several days. It could've been handled quicker.

DX-SFX

... and I went out and bought heaters because I knew he wouldn't.

kinger101

DX-SFX wrote: »

... and I went out and bought heaters because I knew he wouldn't.

Did you ask him to? Or even insist he uses an engineer who can visit the property sooner? I sympathize, but I think the horse has already bolted.

Kynthia

I have BG boiler cover and just spent five days with no heating or hot water. Can't complain much about BG as they sent someone out on Christmas Eve, but the problem had temporarily gone away and they couldn't identify the problem, and Christmas Day to look at it. However once they identified the fault a part was needed and the bank holidays meant a wait for it to be delivered. The cold wasn't fun with a baby so we crashed with family, but there are times when this happens and even being the home owner and having boiler cover doesn't mean it will always be fixed immediately.