Gas boiler/Oven dangerous!?

michael2007

hi

sorry if long but we're very very worried and need advice.

we rented a house in february 2007, we had to move in there cos theyre was no where else available, i wouldnt have moved in there as my 1st choice as it is quite old, has a really old kitchen

recently we've been having terrible trouble..

last week we had a gas leak, which was terrifying, coming from the boiler, then the electricity fused at the same time, the fridge had to be replaced.

we called gas emeregency out they said it was unsafe and cut off gas. turned out it was a loose bolt and gas was seeping out. he said to get landlord to get corgi guy out

so i phoned landlord, and specifically asked for a corgi guy and he said he would get his mate to look at it, i should have asked if he was corgi when he came so i dont know if he was. the guy looked at it, tightened bolt and said it was fine, needed a clean.

we were still suspicious of it, and we didnt use the gas oven, as we thought that might be faulty, we tried it the other night and we thought it weird as the flame was really high even at 1 tempterature, making a loud gas sound
we turned it off

we tried the boiler the other night, and the heating came on, but no hot water. ive been having to use a kettle to wash my hair! there was a high pitched ringing coming from the gas meter. so we turned it off

i phoned gas emergency services out yesterday as we were worried about it all, the guy said he wasnt happy with either of them, the oven flame was dangerous as it was yellow (carbon monixde) and the safety regualtor isnt working and it has to be replaced he said.

he also said the boiler was bordering on hazadous, flame was partly yellow aswell, and needed a good service and internal clean.

so now im worried what to do, i know i must phone the landlord today! and say we need a new oven (however he's a tradesman and may be able to get a 2nd hand oven) how do we know that that is safe? should i get a oven certificate?

and i dont want that landlords same mate coming out as he left it unsafe and he would not service it, (when we asked) he said not until novemeber 2007, even though 2x gas emergency guys told us so.

ive been speaking to another indepedant corgi guy about all this that id be happy about coming out. so do i arrange for him to come out? and say to the landlord you'll have to pay the bill, or say to him 1st i want my corgi to come out not your guy. what if he says no i want my mate to come out?

we now feel unsafe living in the house, (me my girlf and our dog) at the moment, we've got no hot water, no heating, no oven, and its freeeeezing outside! i want to move, we arent tied to a contact but we would have to save to have 1st months rent, deposit, admin fees to rent another house.

i found out last night that the gas certificate we got in february for the oven and boiler didnt have a date on it, is that illegal for it to not have a date on it? therefore how do we know when it was last serviced?

could i claim for a reduced rent next month cos of lack of services? as i say our landlord has been quite decent about other stuff, he replaced fridge and came out last week.

plz advice

foreign_correspondent

Bloody hell, I nearly got carbon monoxided to death last year - didnt know we were being poisoned till carbon monoxide monitor went off... my advice is firstly - go and buy a carbon monoxide alarm today -(the sort that sounds a siren, not the colour changing dots) or you could get overcome without even realising it. I know they are £15-£20 quid, but they really could save your life here.
(ours went of, OH said it must be faulty, there arent any fumes or anything - when texted the boiler was giving out levels that would hae been fatal in 2 hours)
Alo, contact CAB and check your rights - by law the landlord has to have a current gas safety cert - if there is no date I would say this doesnt count as current!
Do stress to your landlord that he must send a corgi reg. gas man out - and ask to see their papers too!
good luck, please dont be fobbed off, this is too important!

michael2007

thanks for replying

glad ur ok, it really is dangerous, its playing with your life! look at those people abroad whose kids died! a £30 alarm could have saved their lives!

we got one, we got one as soon as the gas leak happened, thankfully its at 0 we got a digital one at £30 (worth every penny!)

we just want to move, we hate the house now. the problem is just getting the landlord to get a corgi guy out, i would rather get one myself.

cheers

mic

tripled

The landlord is legally obliged to have the boilers safety checked every year and shold provide you with a copy of the safety certificate. Do you have one of these? If not, point out his obligations to him.

Don't let the landlords mate in to fiddle with them again. If it isn't sorted, report this to the HSE. If he hasn't got a safety certificate he may well face a criminal prosecution.

Read through this, which has a lot of information:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-4044.cfm
(Specific legal obligations page http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-4049.cfm)

michael2007

re; problem

i phoned landlord, is replacing oven

but is contacting his mate (who was corgi registered to come and look at it)

should we let him? or should we get a new guy out?

should we tell the new corgi guy everything or see if he can figure it out to check??
plz advise!!!!!!!
mic

espresso

michael2007 wrote: »

re; problem

i phoned landlord, is replacing oven

but is contacting his mate (who was corgi registered to come and look at it)

should we let him? or should we get a new guy out?

should we tell the new corgi guy everything or see if he can figure it out to check??
plz advise!!!!!!!
mic

Surely your landlord is responsible for deciding who does the necessary work in his property. When you have your own property, you can choose who you employ.

michael2007

with regards to choosing a suitable engineer it is our lives on the line, so we have the right to push for someone else if we have given this other guy a chance before and he left it unsafe. we have been advised by 2x transco emergency guys that it is unsafe and he shouldnt have left it like this

therefore we are within our rights and the new guy is coming out.

inmypocketnottheirs

To the OP.

Have a look at http://www.trustcorgi.com/consumers.htmx. If you look in the box on the right you can check or search for corgi registered gas installers in your area.

I would want to check out if the guy is corgi registered.

HTH

espresso

michael2007 wrote: »

re; problem

i phoned landlord, is replacing oven

but is contacting his mate (who was corgi registered to come and look at it)

should we let him? or should we get a new guy out?

:rolleyes:

Canucklehead

Good morning: Before you let anyone into the property to look at the problem, ask to see his or her CORGI card, check reverse side to see if this person is qualified to work on central heating and cookers(2 separate qualifications), the expiry date(bottom left front) and the photo. Alternatively you could contact CORGI and report the unsafe installation http://www.trustcorgi.com/complain/complaint.htmx . There were 2 very recent threads in another MSE forum on a similar topic http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=514851&highlight=landlord+boiler

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=514155&highlight=landlord+boiler

As stated previously, your Landlord is required to have the gas appliances in the property inspected annually by a CORGI engineer and the tenant must be given a copy of the certificate http://www.trustcorgi.com/consumer/iamatenant.htmx

Assert your rights!

HTH

Canucklehead