Who is liable for boiler repair

kel456

Hi all, we had a boiler fitted in January and since then we have had 3 leaks from our water tank. We have never had any problems with it before hand, the boiler was the problem and just needed updating (15+ years old). I asked the plumber about changing to combi and he advised against, also asked about needed a new water tank and he said it was fine so just a straight forward boiler swap. The first time he came to repair the leak, he flooded my airing cupboard emptying the tank and we had a water fall in the newly decorated lounge, the next leak was from the actual boiler and now the third is from the water tank again, leaving a wet patch on the ceiling! He leaves us waiting for days, giving various times he will turn up, but I feel I can't complain as he won't repair it as he hasn't actually fitted the water tank, although it's part of the same system but no problems occurred until he began working on it. Where do I stand? Can I be a little firmer with him? Can I ask for my ceiling to be repaired? Any advice would be great. 

Sandtree

It would be useful to speak to someone who is knowledgeable on boilers etc as to how the replacement of a boiler results in the water tank to then spring a leak. 

What did he say when the first water leak from the tank started? Did he accept that he caused the problem or simply agreed to deal with it as a gesture of goodwill? The duty of care owed by someone doing a favour is significantly lower than someone being paid to do a job or fixing an issue in relation to a paid job.

shaun_from_Africa

Sandtree said:

It would be useful to speak to someone who is knowledgeable on boilers etc as to how the replacement of a boiler results in the water tank to then spring a leak. 

The only way that I could see it happening is if the boiler is fairly close to the tank and when the boiler was replaced, the pipe going to the tank was disturbed too much and this caused the leak either where it goes into the tank or on a union close by.

bris

Theres never a problem until theres a problem. It could just be coincidence, or higher pump pressure to old fittings but One things for sure it's not the installers fault. When the boiler goes it' doesn't mean the tank has to go too.

I and most people give a warning about leaks when power flushing old systems but tbh it's rare with tanks to leak with new boilers so theres nothing really the engineer did wrong.

JJ_Egan

Two water tank leaks and One Boiler leak .

Where was the boiler leaking ?? qajoint .

kel456

The boiler was leaking from a joint, that he had to weld again. The tank is now leaking from the magnetic filter he fitter to the tank. And the previous leak was something with the over flow, I believe, and he had to drain the tank but had not done so fully so when he 'opened it' the tank was not empty and it came flooding through my ceiling. My ceiling is completely ruined it has bubbled in several places and lots of cracks. Had to rip up flooring in airing cupboard to dry it out. And now the new leak has caused another 'bubbled' patch in ceiling. 

eddddy

From your descriptions, it sounds the leaks are all caused by the incompetence of the plumber.

In legal terms, it doesn't sound like he has carried out the boiler installation with "reasonable care and skill". That would mean the plumber is in breach of contract, and you can claim your consequential losses (e.g. the cost of repairing the ceiling) from the plumber.

But whether you can convince him to pay is another matter. Ultimately, you might find that the only way to progress the claim is by taking the plumber to court.

It's probably worth photographing the damage and keeping some records, in case you do want to take it further. 

DoaM

Have you checked whether the plumber has liability insurance?

kel456

He has come back and said he does have insurance and the ceiling can be repaired through that 😁 However it seems a little pointless until we know all the leaks have stopped (how will we ever know!!) 

bris

Ok new information, so the tank isn't leaking after all. You now mention it's leaking from a poorly soldered joint and a magnetic filter and a flood due to not emptying the tank properly. This information would have been useful at the start. 

This is the engineers fault (plumbers don't fit boilers but plumbers can of course also be gas engineers) and he should be held liable. I would ask about his liability insurance and give him a bill for the damage.