Possible unfair terms claim? (Heatable)

kittennose

We have had a combi conversion done via Heatable. One of the key motivators for this system was the extra space it will free up in our loft and airing cupboard where we have 2 large plastic water tanks and in the airing cupboard a cylinder.

On their website they clearly state the work includes "Removal and recycling of all tanks and waste" they also say when you click a 'more' info button "Includes: Removal and safe disposal of your existing cylinder/tanks if it is safe and accessible to do so."

I enquired at the time what defines 'safe and accessible' and was told this refers to the loft access and so long as there is a ladder and the access to the loft is "safe and accessible" this would be fine. *I do not have a record of this chat session. Our loft is borded and we have drop-down ladder access.

On the day the installers refused to remove the tanks stating "the tanks won't fit through the hatch". I said of course not and asked why they wouldn't simply cut them up. They stated they are not contracted to cut them up with Heatable, but they are with Boxt (main competitor).

This was seemingly at odds with what we had read before booking.

I raised this with heatable who sent us their full terms which states the following:

Any redundant materials including but not limited to; your old boiler, packaging, hot water cylinder, storage tank and pipework will be removed as standard with every installation, providing it is safe and accessible to do so.

But then goes on to say

Should your supplies or any equipment be accessed via loft, or roof access, we will not remove these from the property, but will ensure that they are made safe and redundant before completion of the install. 

I concede that this clearly states they won't be removed. My issue is that this is at odds with what was advertised at the time of booking and I wonder if there is a case for complaint / possible compensation.

Some points:

1) At no point through the booking process are customers made to agree terms.
2) They publish a clear 'what is not included' during checkout and this is not mentioned.
3) The only terms they have are inside the footer of their website.
4) The standard location for cold water storage tanks are in the loft - they even state this on their own website

Overall I feel this is misleading advertising and it will form the basis of my complaint; I wonder if anyone else would chime in with their thoughts whether this is a reasonable case or if I a barking up the wrong tree.

Veteransaver

You may have a case. But have they disconnected and drained the tanks? There would only normally be 2 tanks, the smaller one should fit through a loft hatch, the larger one maybe not.
Are the tanks plastic or galvanised steel?
Plastic would be easy to cut and many are designed to be flexible enough to squeeze through the hatch anyway.
It's quite a job to cut up a steel tank, which is why you see so many left up in lofts!

Ectophile

Maybe by "tanks", they meant hot water tanks, and not tanks in the loft.

HillStreetBlues

I would agree, it should be stated in "what's not included"
I think you would have a very good case

RefluentBeans

It depends if they think they’d be able to cut the tank or not. As said above, plastic tanks can be cut fairly easily but if it’s a steel tank then I would think the risk (non-ventilated small area, with lots of dust and potentially insulation to catch fire) is probably too high, so to remove it would require ‘specialist access equipment’ to remove it (either by cutting a hole in the ceiling or going through the roof - neither are small jobs). 

I think you’ve got a potential case, but I also don’t think it’s a slam dunk for you. Have you exhausted all the complaints process from them? First line customer service staff often just follow a script to solve issues, and if it requires a more customised response, they may not be able to provide you with that, but more senior customer service often can. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Might they argue that "cylinder/tanks" does not mean cylinder and tanks?  They took the cylinder away, so they've met the definition of cylinder/tanks.

Does seem a bit silly though, and I agree that the later terms suggest they should be included.  No harm in complaining, but do so nicely and they might offer a reduction or a gift voucher or something.

kittennose

Veteransaver said:

You may have a case. But have they disconnected and drained the tanks? There would only normally be 2 tanks, the smaller one should fit through a loft hatch, the larger one maybe not.
Are the tanks plastic or galvanised steel?
Plastic would be easy to cut and many are designed to be flexible enough to squeeze through the hatch anyway.
It's quite a job to cut up a steel tank, which is why you see so many left up in lofts!

We have 3 plastic tanks approx. 2 x 75 gallon and a f&e. They removed the f&e but refused the other. To be fair I don’t blame the installers the problem is more the misleading promise and subsequent terms.

surely in 95% of properties cold water storage tanks are in the loft so it makes no sense to say they’d remove them from every room but a loft.

kittennose

Ectophile said:

Maybe by "tanks", they meant hot water tanks, and not tanks in the loft.

That’s cylinders not tanks and they removed that.

Veteransaver

kittennose said:

Veteransaver said:

You may have a case. But have they disconnected and drained the tanks? There would only normally be 2 tanks, the smaller one should fit through a loft hatch, the larger one maybe not.
Are the tanks plastic or galvanised steel?
Plastic would be easy to cut and many are designed to be flexible enough to squeeze through the hatch anyway.
It's quite a job to cut up a steel tank, which is why you see so many left up in lofts!

We have 3 plastic tanks approx. 2 x 75 gallon and a f&e. They removed the f&e but refused the other. To be fair I don’t blame the installers the problem is more the misleading promise and subsequent terms.

surely in 95% of properties cold water storage tanks are in the loft so it makes no sense to say they’d remove them from every room but a loft.

I think they should have removed them. I suppose it's a case of how much effort do you want to go to pursuing rather than just spending half an hour sawing them up and doing it yourself

Golden rule with tradesmen is don't let them leave or pay them until they've completely finished the job!

kittennose

Veteransaver said:

kittennose said:

Veteransaver said:

You may have a case. But have they disconnected and drained the tanks? There would only normally be 2 tanks, the smaller one should fit through a loft hatch, the larger one maybe not.
Are the tanks plastic or galvanised steel?
Plastic would be easy to cut and many are designed to be flexible enough to squeeze through the hatch anyway.
It's quite a job to cut up a steel tank, which is why you see so many left up in lofts!

We have 3 plastic tanks approx. 2 x 75 gallon and a f&e. They removed the f&e but refused the other. To be fair I don’t blame the installers the problem is more the misleading promise and subsequent terms.

surely in 95% of properties cold water storage tanks are in the loft so it makes no sense to say they’d remove them from every room but a loft.

I think they should have removed them. I suppose it's a case of how much effort do you want to go to pursuing rather than just spending half an hour sawing them up and doing it yourself

Golden rule with tradesmen is don't let them leave or pay them until they've completely finished the job!

It's definitely not a 30 min job. We have 2 x 75 Gallon tanks, both of which have a LOT of standing water plus pipes and plenty of lagging to get rid of. We will certainly not be doing it ourselves.