New boiler installation by Glowgreen not completed but they are demanding payment court action

oldswanste

Hello everyone,

I was hoping to get some advice.
I had a new boiler installed in the summer of last year. The price was reasonable but the installation was a bit of a mess. I took the day off to allow access for the boiler engineer who arrived on time. Unfortunately he did not have the boiler with him and he asked me if I had received a delivery of the the boiler which I hadn't. He called Glowgreen who told him the boiler was on its way to my address. After waiting an hour or so and still no delivery of the boiler, the engineer told me he would not likely be finished on the day if the boiler didnt arrive soon. He was quite upset and fed up with Glowgreen and proceeded to tell me that this often happens. He also predicted that the boiler would not arrive with the correct amount of flue if it arrived at all. I called Glowgreen for an update who informed me that the boiler was out for delivery that day but they couldnt give me a ETA. I asked them very kindly to keep me updated as the boiler man was having doubts on whether it would be possible to complete and they said they would let me know by calling me back. They called the boiler engineer back (not me) and told him it was on its way and should be there before 13:00. The engineer then proceeded to rip out my old boiler (which was working at the time). Needless to say the new boiler did not arrive and after many telephone calls with Glowgreen, I was promised a call back to let me know in good time if I needed to take another day of work and when that day should be. I never received this call back but the boiler engineer was contacted and informed the boiler would be delivered the next day. In any case he was right in all he had predicted as the flue was not long enough and there was no pump for condensation which was also required. He left around 16:00 after confirming he would be back the next day. I changed my plans with work and cancelled all my appointments to be with him the next day. I never received a call from Glowgreen or any correspondence for that matter from anyone, I received no explanation and no apology.

The next day the boiler arrived with all the necessary parts and the engineer installed the boiler. The new flue was installed but in doing so the engineer blew the face of the exterior wall render of the side of my house, about 12" diameter. He finished the installation and apologised for the damage. He said he had noted it in his report and that Glowgreen would be in touch to arrange repairs. He gave me a brief demonstration on how to operate the boiler and left. 
The engineer did not come into the house to check, bleed or balance and radiators and I received no documentation, no job report, no certificate, no instructions - nothing.

A few weeks passed and I had been having trouble with the heating. We were constantly having to bleed the radiators on an almost daily basis. I assumed this was normal for a short period after a new boiler had been installed but in addition to this, only some of the radiators were getting warm, even after bleeding them. It was summer so we only really had the heating on to test but whenever it was on, we had these issues.

Glowgreen contacted me around three weeks after the installation to say they hadnt received my payment. I paid 50% of the total cost upfront and the remainder was due to be paid via monthly instalments. On agreeing the price of the boiler, paying my deposit and having a credit check all prior to the boiler being installed, I was given a link to Barclays finance website with log in details that didnt work. I called Glowgreen to explain that the link did not work and they said they were having a few customers say the same thing so they would mail me the finance documents. This is all prior to the installation. Now several weeks after the installation, the finance team are calling me chasing payment.
I explained the situation and that whilst the boiler has been installed, I believe there is an issue with the installation in terms of air in the system. I also explained that my house had been damaged during the installation of the flue. Although this was the finance department I was speaking to they were very understanding and apologetic and told me they would look into the issues I was having and get back to me.

A month or so passes without word and I have another call. Once again, from the finance team asking me for my payment. I explain the whole thing again and ask why nothing has been done about the damage or the air in my system. I was still regularly bleeding the radiators and experiencing the same issues at this point. Again, the finance department were in complete agreement with me and this time asked if I could send them some pictures via email. I took pictures and wrote a brief account of everything much the same as this post. I received a generic reply stating that my email had been received and nothing else for over 2 months. 
Now about five months after the installation I received another call, again, not from customer services or the complaints department but from the finance team. This time the call was a little more agressive as they were suggesting that my finance application had expired and they were calling to set up a new one. I explained the issues again and after several minutes the operative was once again in agreement with me and very apologetic. He made statements during that call such as "I wish I could say this was an unusual occurrence" Implying that he often has to deal with similar situations and that it makes his job very difficult. He told me he would personally take my compalint on and that I would be dealing with him from now on. 2 days later I received an email from him explaining that he would unfortunately not be able to help me and my complaint was being dealt with elsewhere in the company. I received no updates on my complaint and no engineer returned to my house.

On the 11th of December I received (completely without warning) A county court claim form informing me that I was being taken to court.  I was so frustrated. I have never received a phone call or letter or email from anyone at Glowgreen with the exception of the finance department since the day my boiler installation took place so how can they jump straight to legal proceedings. By chance! I received another call from the finance team and I informed them of the letter I had received and gave them the whole story so far. They told me that the best thing to do to avoid court action would be to do another credit check and open up a new finance agreement. Feeling beaten down I agreed. I did the new credit check on the phone and the new finance documents were sent to me electronically however, in order for the bank to release the finance money to Glowgreen, I had to sign a customer satisfaction for stating that I was satisfied with the work carried out. I couldnt bring myself to do it. I had to respond to the court papers within 14 days (Christmas day!). I couldnt find any on line help or legal advice during the holiday season so I contested their claim and now it looks like I will have to go to court.
If you're still with me then thank you for reading this. My questions are as follows:

1. Can I request that they send me the recorded telephone conversations so I can use them as part of my defence? I'm not sure these will arrive in good time and I'm worried that I will not have any evidence on the day in court.
2. I believe Glowgreen should have followed the pre action protocol which they haven't, is there anyway I could get an extension on the time I have to reply?
3. Just generally from anyone with any experience, what would you suggest I do?

Thank in advance for reading and for any advice you can offer

visidigi

Summary.
Boiler fitted.
Fitter damaged house.
Boiler not performing correctly.
Supplier repeatedly seeking payment - despite being told of problems
Zero follow up from supplier on reported issues, just asking for payment.
Court Papers issued.

My advise - take them all the way to court - they're in more trouble than you are (as long as your credit rating isn't impacted by missed payments (which it shouldn't be as you haven't yet setup the payment agreements).

theoretica

You have still not received any documentation?  Especially building control notice? 

unholyangel

You mention Barclays finance, did you actually take out a finance agreement? If so, this isn't straight forward as you have two agreements, one for the works and another for the finance. Although they're linked, they're separate agreements and if the works weren't satisfactory, you should have still made the payments to the finance and could have made a section 75 claim against the creditor for the damages. But that ship may have sailed as I believe the ombudsman will only consider complaints that a court hasn't dealt with and the company may not agree to suspend action to allow them to do so.

You've told us that you disputed when they contacted you to ask for payment, but haven't told us of any instances you initiated contact to try and resolve it. Please tell me you have done. 

I seem to recall something in FCA's guidance that stops a creditor chasing you for payment if it's disputed (including court action), but I can't remember the exact circumstances it applies without checking. I can't promise I'll have time to check either so you may want to look into it yourself, just be mindful not to hinge your hopes on it. 

Them not complying with pre-action protocol doesn't stop the claim or change time limits, it does mean you could ask for the courts not to award costs to them though. 

Ectophile

Can I request that they send me the recorded telephone conversations so I can use them as part of my defence? I'm not sure these will arrive in good time and I'm worried that I will not have any evidence on the day in court.

There is no guarantee that they will have recorded the phone calls.  But you have a right to request all correspondence with them, any other documentation they have regarding your order, and any recordings or transcripts of phone calls that they do have.

oldswanste

visidigi said:

Summary.
Boiler fitted.
Fitter damaged house.
Boiler not performing correctly.
Supplier repeatedly seeking payment - despite being told of problems
Zero follow up from supplier on reported issues, just asking for payment.
Court Papers issued.

My advise - take them all the way to court - they're in more trouble than you are (as long as your credit rating isn't impacted by missed payments (which it shouldn't be as you haven't yet setup the payment agreements).

Thanks ,Visidigi,
Yes, that's it in a nutshell. My credit rating is fine, I haven't missed any payments because the finance application is not considered to be completed until I sign the satisfaction form. I'll try to attach a picture so you can see what I mean.

Thanks again,

oldswanste

theoretica said:

You have still not received any documentation?  Especially building control notice? 

Hi Theoretica,

Thanks for your reply. I wasn't sure I needed anything such as a building control notice but in any case, I haven't received any documentation for the installation. Not a receipt, log book, instructions, commissioning documents - nothing.

oldswanste

unholyangel said:

You mention Barclays finance, did you actually take out a finance agreement? If so, this isn't straight forward as you have two agreements, one for the works and another for the finance. Although they're linked, they're separate agreements and if the works weren't satisfactory, you should have still made the payments to the finance and could have made a section 75 claim against the creditor for the damages. But that ship may have sailed as I believe the ombudsman will only consider complaints that a court hasn't dealt with and the company may not agree to suspend action to allow them to do so.

Hi Unholyangel,

Thanks for reading and replying. No finance agreement has been taken out as yet. I need to sign the satisfaction document in order to complete the application. I'm struggling to upload a picture to the post which would show you what I mean. 

unholyangel said:

You've told us that you disputed when they contacted you to ask for payment, but haven't told us of any instances you initiated contact to try and resolve it. Please tell me you have done. 

Yes, I contacted them via email with a full list of the issues I had and pictures of the damage to the outside wall.unholyangel said:

I seem to recall something in FCA's guidance that stops a creditor chasing you for payment if it's disputed (including court action), but I can't remember the exact circumstances it applies without checking. I can't promise I'll have time to check either so you may want to look into it yourself, just be mindful not to hinge your hopes on it. 

Them not complying with pre-action protocol doesn't stop the claim or change time limits, it does mean you could ask for the courts not to award costs to them though. 

Good to know, I'll take a look myself and if the worst happens on the day, I'll ask the courts to consider removing the costs.

Thanks again for your help.

oldswanste

oldswanste

Hi Everyone,

Managed to post a copy of the above. Notice it says they do not expect me to sign until completion. I dont believe the work has been completed and I certainly have no documentation to show it has been completed. Not to mention the outstanding repair works required for the exterior wall. 
It also says "if you need any remedial work or have a complaint, the team responsible will be in touch" The only 'team' that has been in touch is the finance department to request payment.

I spoke to MCOL today and found out that I have until next Wednesday to enter my defence. I have sent a SAR to Glowgreen but will not likely receive any information or telephone recordings in time. Does my defence need to be detailed at this stage or just a summary of the reasons why I don't believe the payment is due yet?

Thanks all,

waamo

At this stage you are not expected to submit a comprehensive defence. What you must do is outline all the points you wish to rely on. You cannot, as a general rule, add new defence points after.

Later in the process you will be asked to submit a witness statement where you can expand on your defence. You cannot add new points in your witness statement.