Power surge

flyer

Last Friday, we had a power surge in our area which knocked the electricity supply off for about one hour. Ever since then, our central heating/hot water controller has not worked and we have been told that it has "blown" as a result of the surge. Before I approach my supplier, does anyone have any views on liability? Why should I have the expense and inconvenience?

roger56

Perhaps obvious but have you checked in the supply line for blown fuses?
Typically the CH mains supply is on a switched and fused wall plate near the boiler.

lovelyjubbly

it was a few years ago, a power surge blew up my telly and my neigbours washing machine, we both got a electrician to visit and confirm in writing that the damage could only have been caused by a power surge, got him to fix everything and sent joint letters/bills to the power company, it took a couple of letters and the threat of taking it to the small claims court, but in the end they paid up in full, I hope that helps. Be persistent, but back it up with evidence, my neigbour even sent the part of the washing machine that was damaged! I was buying from manweb at the time if that is any help.

Cagey

I would say you have a good claim & it depends which Distributer supplies your electric as to whether they pay up or not.
I wouldn`t hold my breath but it shpouldn`t be like that

leccylite

Just some technical stuff here.

1. Power surges do not knock out supply, only over currents and earth faults cause this.

2. Equipment does break down when power is disconnected, or when power is restored. It just happens (for a multitude of reasons). But not the fault of the supplier

3. If a Sparky has told you that equipment involved has broken down as a result of a power surge, then he is talking out the wrong orrifice. You cannot say that from looking at any single piece of equipment.

Having said that - if there was other equipment that went down at the same time, then you may - just may - have a claim. If however, it was this and no other I don't fancy your chances much.

Most damage comes from "neutral" faults on the network - and these tend to damage things in more than one property.

Lastly, it does not matter who you are buying from this is the responsibility of the network operator (this can be the same or different to your supplier) so this is where you should go first. You should try, but I would go in hope rather than expectation.

flyer

Thanks leccylite. I suspect you could be right but it might be worth a phone call.

lovelyjubbly

leccylite
sorry you didnt agree with my post, I thought this was a friendly site, I just posted about my experience to see if it would help.

flyer

I don't think leccylite was having a pop at you lovelyjubbly.

littlereddevil

Last time we had a power surge the sky box blew.We contacted the electricity board who referred us to our household contents insurer.They paid up for a new dish but we had a £50 excess which we lost out on.

leccylite

No. No "pop" intended. Just pointing out that in your case, with multiple damage in more than one house has much firmer grounds than a "single" breakage. It's always worth a call and a letter as the people that tend to work in these depts tend not be to have a technical background - and so they make mistakes, sometimes in the consumers favour.
And, from experience, SOME sparkys are very quick to tell you "there's been a power surge" when they have no idea about it. One offs are rarely (but not never) the fault of the supplier. If you live in a very rural area, it is more possible as you could be the only consumer attached to a transformer.
Apologies for any offence caused.

lovelyjubbly

I apologise leccylite
I thought you were getting at me, now I see I was being over sensitive.