Faulty Carbon Monoxide Alarm & Subsequent Capped Gas

Bob872

Hello,

Hope you guys can help me.

I have a Honeywell Carbon Monoxide Alarm, in a new build property which is around 3 years old. The unit is fairly new with an expiry of 2021 and is a sealed unit.

Randomly last night the carbon monoxide alarm alarm went off, thinking the unit was faulty I called the manufacturers number on the unit however they were closed and the automated advice was to call the emergency number - so stupidly called this number...

Called the emergency number to be advised to open windows and a Cadent engineer will be with us within 2 hours and to switch off gas appliances (only a boiler and hob).

Engineer came out and surveyed the house fully and found no carbon monoxide, showed him the unit which went off again - and I said the unit is probably faulty. However he does not have any equipment to test any appliances. He can only advise there is no carbon monoxide in the house!

His response was they have to legally cap the gas because all appliances now have to be checked for carbon monoxide leaks by a gas safe engineer at my cost. I can refuse however he would cap the supply from the outside anyway and gave me a notice to say it's an offence to use a gas appliance until tested.

Called the manufacturer Honeywell this morning, and Honeywell just said that I have to pay for the gas safety check myself, they WILL NOT cover the cost and will only replace the unit - and confirmed on the phone that the unit sounds faulty and a replacement will be provided.

So, I'm left with a capped gas supply due to a faulty Honeywell carbon monoxide detector?

Should Honeywell not cover the charge? This sounds ridiculous. I asked Honeywell to send out one of their own gas engineers and they advise they only manufacture the unit.

My boiler breakdown and home emergency cover doesn't cover Carbon Monoxide as the boiler has not broken down.

Now I'm thinking I should never have called the emergency number!

Alfrescodave

If you contact Honeywell to replace the faulty Alarm which they have agreed to do; do they imply that the person they send will also do the safety test check? - which they say you will have to pay for.

If the replacement and safety check are completely separate then how can they make you pay especially as the replacement activity will require all gas appliances being working.

I would be asking Honeywell more about how they intend to provide you with a working replacement alarm.

Leo2020

Alfrescodave wrote: »

If you contact Honeywell to replace the faulty Alarm which they have agreed to do; do they imply that the person they send will also do the safety test check? - which they say you will have to pay for.

If the replacement and safety check are completely separate then how can they make you pay especially as the replacement activity will require all gas appliances being working.

I would be asking Honeywell more about how they intend to provide you with a working replacement alarm.

I read the Op that they, Honeywell, will send out a new alarm. What the OPs wants is a new alarm and, because the gas got capped by the National Gas Emergency Service due to a possible faulty alarm, they want Honeywell to pay the costs of this test/uncapping.

If the Gas Safe engineer finds an faulty appliance that is leaking Carbon Monoxide then the alarm is not faulty. I don't think Honeywell will have engineers, as they say they just make alarms.

NCC-1707

Was the CO monitor DIY fitted?

Alfrescodave

NCC-1707 wrote: »

Was the CO monitor DIY fitted?

My understanding is that the alarm is a wired in unit installed when the house was built not a stand alone that most of us have. If this had been the case then the action would have been to either replace batteries or buy new alarm.

NCC-1707 ...I assumed that Honeywell would arrange for an engineer (subcontractor) to fit the new alarm but thinking about it you're probably correct that Honeywell will just bung a new alarm in the post.

OP might be worth ringing around a few local gas registered guys, explain the situation and ask what the cost might be. Can't be a big job

bris

The biggest problem you have is that Honeywell have no contract with you, the retailer or supplier/fitter that sold and installed the alarm are liable for your consequential losses. Honeywell may give you a new unit under their warranty but it doesn't make them liable for your losses. This is a common theme on the consumer rights section of this forum.


I have only ever encounter one call out that turned out to be a faulty alarm but lucky for the homeowner I was able to rule out a faulty appliance so didn't need to cap the supply.


You however will definitely need to get someone in, just because Cadent couldn't find CO present doesn't mean there wasn't any. Remember you turned of the appliances and opened the doors and windows, this would have cleared the CO (if present) before they got there.

Bob872

The Honeywell Carbon Monoxide detector is one of those sealed units with 7 year battery. Model is actually H450EN and according to Honeywell is a newer unit.

After I called a Gas Safe engineer to test the boiler and gas for leaks (found nothing wrong with the boiler or hob). So the detector is infact faulty, and I've purchased a different model with an actual digital reading from FireAngel.

If this happened to elderly or people not in the know, you could easily have your gas capped and a £100 gas safe callout for a faulty detector. Just seems wrong when the manufacturer Honeywell is not liable.

The whole process doesn't seem right to me. I guess you live and learn. In this case - make sure you have a backup carbon monoxide detector to avoid a false positive.

kazzah

Bob - I don't know the legalities but it seems VERY unfair that youa re out of pocket for a faulty detector - I would write to Honeywell and provide any reports you have showing there was no gas leak anywhere and tell them that you had no option but to call out the engineer after their engineer capped your supply - all due to a faulty alarm - I think at the very least they should offer you half of the money you have spent on the gas safe inspection if not all - it[s potentially worth the price of a stamp

stuartJo1989

Bob872 wrote: »

Randomly last night the carbon monoxide alarm alarm went off, thinking the unit was faulty I called the manufacturers number on the unit however they were closed and the automated advice was to call the emergency number - so stupidly called this number...

:rotfl:

I can't believe that your response to a carbon monoxide alarm is to ASSUME that it is faulty and simply ring the number on the unit!!

That's how you win Darwin awards.

stuartJo1989

Bob872 wrote: »

In this case - make sure you have a backup carbon monoxide detector to avoid a false positive.

OR, leg it out of the building when the carbon monoxide alarm goes off and thank the company for carrying out checks to give you the green light that the property is carbon monoxide free.

Now I'm thinking I should never have called the emergency number!

Said no-one who has ever died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

abs02

I don't really understand how the engineer didn't have anything with which to test for carbon monoxide. It is important to test all your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms regularly - Test it Tuesday is the recommendation - and then you know it is working when you really need it. The fault noise from a CO alarm is an intermittent beep every minute - very different to the alarm which sounds when it detects Carbon Monoxide. My daughter died of carbon monoxide and we have an alarm on each floor and a couple downstairs. We were once told of someone who shut all the doors to their kitchen every evening and then their CO alarm went off. It turned out that there were low levels of CO in the kitchen which escalated during the night because the doors were shut.