boiler safety certificate question

james_smitha

High 5 All,


The Landlord's boiler annual safety certificate on the boiler is dated 2 months ago


On 29Th March the heating failed to come on when I manually turned it on.


This raises the question of just how well was the check carried out.


What kind of redress do I have?


Swale who are Best mates with the land lords don't give an any thing.


I phoned Swale up at 9AM, 'Oh yes we'll have some one to you before 5pm today' 3:30pm comes so I politely phone them to see what is going on only to be told they can't find any record of my phone call so it couldn't have taken place. They now demand that I sacrifice another day of my time on which they **MIGHT** bother turning up.

tacpot12

You have no redress, for two reasons: the gas safety check is a check that the boiler operates safely. Providing the boiler operates, the engineer can test that it does so safely and issue a certificate. If it fails to work the following day because say there has been a power cut, the system is still safe and the certificate was issued correctly. (The certificate is NOT a guarantee that the system will work reliably for the next 12 months; just that it was safe when inspected). Also, the landlord has the contract with the engineer, so ONLY the landlord could have any sort of redress from Swales.

You shouldn't be phoning Swales UNLESS the landlord has agreed that Swales will provide a callout service to his tenants. If this hasn't been agreed, you should expect to be billed by Swales for the work they have done for you.

Also, I wouldn't wait in for an Engineer. It is the landlords job to get the boiler fixed, so let the landlord let the engineer into the property while you are at work. (My tenants are happy for my letting agent to issue a spare key to the plumber that works for the letting agent, so the plumber lets himself in, fixes the problem, and locks up again.)

james_smitha

tacpot12

Yes swale do provide the call out to tenants.
If need be I'm happy to sue the Land lord's (Orbit) !!! off.


Although a bit extreme, I'd forgive the boiler not working because of a mains failure, but that did not happen, other wise I wouldn't have been able to phone them.


If your tenants are happy to let the boiler engineer in to their private space with out a witness that is their choice. But what if any thing went missing at a time the engineer was likely to have been there, and nobody else?

bris

A safety certificate can't magically make the boiler new again.


Boilers fail through wear and tear all the time, when it's time for the pump (example) to go it's going to go regardless of when the boiler was checked for safety.


You really need to get a grip, this is not the LL or the gas engineers fault, these things happen.

james_smitha

Well dose any one know where I can read up what the boiler annual safety check is in the context of what the checks are?
I don't know, but is the visual condition of parts checked, like I believe the condition of car tires during the MOT?

To me it seams that the boiler could blow up the day after the check took place and nobody would be held to account

DRP

james_smitha wrote: »

Well dose any one know where I can read up what the boiler annual safety check is in the context of what the checks are?
I don't know, but is the visual condition of parts checked, like I believe the condition of car tires during the MOT?

To me it seams that the boiler could blow up the day after the check took place and nobody would be held to account

tbf your car could break down or tyre blow out the day after an MOT - so....

A "safety certificate" just says exactly that,

Aylesbury_Duck

But it hasn't blown up, it's just stopped working. Which could be down to a variety of things, all, some or none of which could have been picked up by the annual service.

james_smitha

So where do I read what the boiler safety certificate checks and tests are, please?

james_smitha

Aylesbury Duck

As per earlier, in the belief some or none of which could have been picked up by the annual service. we'd hope some some. It raises questions as to how well the check was done

Alex1983

Your living in dream world if you think you have any come back on the service that was carried out 2 months ago because the heating has come on.

We dont know what boiler you have so cant tell you the correct service procedure and even then many companys carry out safety checks not service. Basic visual check, gas pressures and emissions and thats about it.

If you have a hot water tank system and the hot water is ok then the problem is very unlikely to be a boiler issue.

Aylesbury_Duck

British Gas say they carry out the following. Mine was serviced by SSE by same routine:

Our engineer will inspect your boiler and controls to make sure they are operating safely.
The inspection will include checking your boiler for corrosion and leaks.
Your boiler casing will be removed to check the functioning of its main components.
A gas pressure check will ensure your boiler is operating at the correct gas pressure.
A flue test will ensure that no unsafe emissions are being released from your boiler.
Your boiler!!!8217;s parts will be cleaned as required.
Your boiler!!!8217;s casing will be put back on and properly sealed.
Our engineer will leave a checklist with you including all of the relevant information you need about the safety of your boiler.