Insurance company damaged by boiler

hungledink

I had an issue with my boiler last month, it wouldn't provide central heating. A fault was identified and a part was ordered. 
During replacement of the part however, things seemed to have gone wrong. The original part was damaged during removal, meaning a large part of the boiler was disassembled and put back together. 

It's now over a month later, 6 engineer visits and it's still not working. 

If they decide it's not repairable, would I be covered for the cost of a new boiler?

Aylesbury_Duck

hungledink said:

I had an issue with my boiler last month, it wouldn't provide central heating. A fault was identified and a part was ordered. 
During replacement of the part however, things seemed to have gone wrong. The original part was damaged during removal, meaning a large part of the boiler was disassembled and put back together. 

It's now over a month later, 6 engineer visits and it's still not working. 

If they decide it's not repairable, would I be covered for the cost of a new boiler?

Depends on the terms of your insurance cover.  At best, I would expect them to only be liable for the cost of a similar replacement, i.e. a contribution to the cost of a new boiler.  Anything more would be betterment.  Parts can become damaged during work, it's not always down to negligence.

How old is your current boiler, and what do the terms and conditions say about their liability in event of them not being able to repair it?

pinkshoes

hungledink said:

I had an issue with my boiler last month, it wouldn't provide central heating. A fault was identified and a part was ordered. 
During replacement of the part however, things seemed to have gone wrong. The original part was damaged during removal, meaning a large part of the boiler was disassembled and put back together. 

It's now over a month later, 6 engineer visits and it's still not working. 

If they decide it's not repairable, would I be covered for the cost of a new boiler?

So many factors here, but don't overlook the fact that you had a boiler that wasn't working, and you still have a boiler that isn't working...

There is not guarantee that the part would have fixed the problem, and not all boiler fixes are straight forward.

As above, how old is the boiler and what do the T&Cs of your boiler insurance say if the boiler is unable to be fixed?

bris

hungledink said:

 A fault was identified and a part was ordered. 

The original part was damaged during removal,

meaning a large part of the boiler was disassembled and put back together. 

Top-   OK so far so good

Middle-  So, if the part was faulty what difference does it make if it was damaged during removal, it's getting replaced anyway.

Bottom-   That's often the way with boilers, they are so crammed with parts that often other parts need to be removed to get to the faulty part. On older boilers this can be a real problem as disturbing old parts often leads to faults putting them back together again. Usually leaks, but stuck and rusted screws with no room to work can also be a real issue.

However I am not sure what the issue is, are you saying the engineers don't know how to put the parts they removed back together again? If so then this is I suppose their fault.

When in doubt I take lots of photos although most of the time it's pretty obvious.

hungledink

The boiler is approx 6 years old.

First visit to replace a part that snapped off during removal leaving half the part inside a pipe, causing most of the boiler disassembly. Since that visit, the boiler has a new fault, not the same as the original issue. 

After 6 engineer visits, each saying they don't know what the problem is and replacing parts which 'should' solve the problem in their words, this new problem persists. 

I have no way to know if they caused the new issue or not, but since it wasn't the original problem, I was trying to find out who would be liable. 

Aylesbury_Duck

hungledink said:

The boiler is approx 6 years old.

First visit to replace a part that snapped off during removal leaving half the part inside a pipe, causing most of the boiler disassembly. Since that visit, the boiler has a new fault, not the same as the original issue. 

After 6 engineer visits, each saying they don't know what the problem is and replacing parts which 'should' solve the problem in their words, this new problem persists. 

I have no way to know if they caused the new issue or not, but since it wasn't the original problem, I was trying to find out who would be liable. 

It's you who's liable unless you can prove the new fault is a result of their negligence.

What does your policy provide for in the event that they deem it unrepairable?