Vaillant have put a block on my boiler

P933alilli

Hi again,

   my local engineer now seems to have gone missing , conveniently enough! So, im not happy with him or Vaillant. The H&S rule i understand and, like i say, ive not had time to get round to it through one thing or another  but am willing and agree to get a loft ladder in place. I have been up there to check the pressure using my own functioning ladder. I do have crawling boards up there but they arent screwed or nailed down! I have knee arthritis and also in the lower back. Irrelevant but i just think theyre a waste of space! To think that they could block my boiler especially at this time of year!
    Secondly the local engineer! Ive had three separate issues since it was installed! The broken condensate pipe last november, how did that happen? It wasnt me!  And two cases of the boiler stopping working! He services the boiler , next one february 1st! 
   So, im thinking about buying a loft ladder and getting rid of the engineer and getting someone else to do the job! I'd then also need a service once a year. 
   But have i got a leg to stand on if i put in a complaint? If i have do i complain about both my local trader and Vaillant?

daveyjp

This is a good example of why having a boiler in a loft is not always a wise choice.

Permanent access, a permanent walkway and permanent lighting were all pre requisites when a colleague had a boiler put in his loft years ago.  

Does your local guy wear a stetson and arrive on a horse?

roddydogs

Memo....? Don't have a boiler in the loft,!

sheramber

If there is no legal requirement to have aloft ladder, your local engineer can use his own judgement as to whether he requires a loft ladder tor not o access your loft.

As a company , Vaillant have to abide by   H&S for their employees or their insurance will not cover them, as opposed to their being a legal requirement for a loft ladder.

But you didn't use Vaillant.  Vaillant would not have fitted the boiler without a loft ladder so you do not have any complaint against them.

If you local engineer is happy to access the loft without a ladder then you don't have a complaint against him.

Complaints about the   standard of work by your local engineer are a separate matter.

P933alilli

Yes, that makes sense sheramber! 

TELLIT01

I understand that Vaillant can apply H&S rules to what their employees will do, but can they also say that the warranty will be void if a 3rd party does any work, when that 3rd party was the person who did the original installation?  On what basis could they invalidate the warranty?

giraffe69

If the boiler's operation is critical to you(and at this time of year I can well understand it is) then using the "I haven't had time to get around to it" excuse for not having a loft ladder seems pretty weak. I think that should be a priority to avoid future problems and then you can separately deal with the shortcomings of the local engineer.

sheramber

TELLIT01 said:

I understand that Vaillant can apply H&S rules to what their employees will do, but can they also say that the warranty will be void if a 3rd party does any work, when that 3rd party was the person who did the original installation?  On what basis could they invalidate the warranty?

According to their website 

Vaillant Boiler Guarantee Registration

Your Vaillant guarantee covers you for the repair of any defects related to the manufacture of your Vaillant appliance. The repair has to be completed by one of our Vaillant Service Engineers and will cover both parts and labour.

Your guarantee does not cover defects which are unrelated to the manufacture of the product or a result of misuse. We'll send you the full terms and conditions of the guarantee along with you guarantee confirmation. Alternatively, you can read them here.

I keep reading on here a manufacture can  set the terms of a warranty, as opposed to your Consumer Rights against the  retailer,

Undervalued

TELLIT01 said:

I understand that Vaillant can apply H&S rules to what their employees will do, but can they also say that the warranty will be void if a 3rd party does any work, when that 3rd party was the person who did the original installation?  On what basis could they invalidate the warranty?

A warranty will have certain terms and conditions attached to it. Almost certainly safe and easy access to the appliance will be amongst them.

The company that fitted it also have a duty to make sure that they do not invalidate any manufacturer's warranty that is included with the purchase.

Basically it seems that is what has happened here. The local installer has fitted it in such a way that the warranty can't be used without further expenditure on proper access arrangements. The OP may(?) have a claim against them for the additional costs and / or loss or warranty benefits.

TELLIT01

It still seems odd that Vaillant seem to be happy for any registered engineer to do the installation but not for the same person to diagnose and repair a fault.  That said, British Gas installed a boiler for me, and that work included running the condense pipe over the corrugated plastic roof of the carport.  The installing engineer happily climbed up to do the work but when there was a problem the next BG engineer refused to go up there citing H&S rules.  This was within months of the initial install.  On that basis nothing really surprises me any more.