Subsidence: Helibar Installation Warning

Annemos

https://www.yell.com/biz/helifix-brentford-3978136/#reviews

Please see this review. 

dunstonh

Seems to be a bit of a rant aimed at the wrong firm.  

Nearlyold

Don't understand either the point of the original post or the linked review. You can buy virtually any type of construction product quite freely at literally thousands of outlets throughout the UK. If a dodgy builder installs a product badly, how is that the fault of the manufacturer?

Annemos

There is a Subsidence Forum in the UK. 

https://www.subsidenceforum.org.uk/

This has many members on it from the Insurance Industry, including Insurance Companies, Claims Handling Companies, Loss Adjusters and Repair Companies. And also Helifix itself. 

The Subsidence Forum also states, that it is working to implement best practice for homeowners who suffer Subsidence. (The quality of advice and repairs etc.)

They have many meetings to discuss various issues during each year.

One might say, they should all get together and discuss, whether a home that is being repaired for Subsidence under an Insurance Policy, should ever have Unapproved Helifix Contractors sent out to that property to install Helibars. (Bearing in mind the property damage that can be caused, when it goes wrong.)

Annemos

The Agents of the Insurance Company sent out the Unapproved Installers. 

Norman_Castle

Annemos said:

There is a Subsidence Forum in the UK. 

https://www.subsidenceforum.org.uk/

I heard they collapsed due to lack of support.

Norman_Castle

Annemos said:

The Agents of the Insurance Company sent out the Unapproved Installers. 

If the work is sub standard the insurer should insist it is remedied. Is ScarletComputer79-1
you on another forum? Have Helibar stated the installation is below its standard?

Annemos

The Subsidence Forum is very active and has frequent meetings and training sessions. There are also many members on the Forum, from within the Industry. 


 There was ample proof about the substandard Helibar installation. Luckily the homeowner had taken several photos while they were doing it. At that stage the homeowner did not have knowledge about how Helibars should be installed. 

But the look of the property when they had finished the installation, alerted the homeowner that a big problem had occurred. 

The complaint, made with an Engineer's report, was upheld by the Insurance Company's Complaints Procedures. 

Now a year later, a new repair company has been out and removed all the helibars. And also done some remedial work. 

But the claim is still not signed off yet. There is still an ongoing discussion, about whether the property has yet been put back into the pre-loss condition. 

Once property damage has been done, it can be hard to rectify.  

Annemos

https://www.subsidenceforum.org.uk/events-seminars/

Norman_Castle

Annemos said:

The Subsidence Forum is very active and has frequent meetings and training sessions. There are also many members on the Forum, from within the Industry.

I'm pleased to hear they're on a firm footing.

Annemos

Update.   Good news for a change! In fact great news and I am at last happy after 4 awful years. 

You may remember this issue.... done by the Insurance Claim Process.......Too many helibars, done with no plan, wrongly installed anyway, ignoring every single one of the  Helifix instructions, bricks cut into top and bottom and becoming of reduced dimension and large scale colour loss on the walls. 


Well,  the 2nd company which was sent out by the Insurance Complaint Handlers a year later to remove all the wretched helibars and rebuild the walls and corner. It was another "all-trades" company instead of a dedicated skilled building company!

So that second company also did inadequate work, which did not correct the severe wall and corner damage that had been caused when the multiple helibars were installed by the utterly appalling first insurance contractors! The Complaint Handler and that Building company again tried to say the new job was just fine....they must all have lower standards! 

I hired an Engineer again and went to the Ombudsman. Long queue of course and then to-ing and fro-ing with the Insurance Company. 

So the claim has been extended by an extra two years and thousands of additional pounds by this nightmare. 


My local builder (from a dedicated and skilled building company) has now just been here at the instruction of the Ombudsman service and he has done a great, skilled and careful job. What a difference it is, when one has a good and skilled and dedicated building company! 

I am no longer ashamed of my home. 


Footnotes: 

I am still insisting that the Claim Cost must be corrected "to what it would have been if if had been done efficiently, diligently and properly the first time round".   (I have 22 Ombudsman's cases supporting this point.) This issue is still underway. 


Lastly. If anyone is asking why I did not have my own builder in from the outset. It's because with a Subsidence claim you want to protect the ongoing insurance cover with the same Insurer that did the repairs. That is easier to achieve if they have been in charge of the repairs company and the Ombudsman usually advises that this should be done. (If we have our own builder, we take over the responsibility if anything goes wrong. You can only imagine how relieved I was that my builder.....at my own risk.... has now managed to do such a fine job in the end.)