Taking British Gas to small claims court

purple_reign

We had a new boiler installation from British Gas that was incomplete and doesn't comply with current building regulations. No carbon monoxide monitor was fitted, no power flush was conducted and no magna filter was installed, the work wasn't completed in good time either. The boiler loses pressure every few days and some rads don't heat well, which they are aware of. 
BG had the opportunity to remedy the issues at a later date, but the engineer wasn't skilled so didn't attempt the work and left advising he would escalate it. We were left during the coldest months with insufficient heating and a child who suffers with asthma.
Fast forward many months and British Gas continue to lie and intimidate us into paying for the installation that they deem is "safe" and fully functioning. We are now unprepared to allow them re entry to our property without proper redress. We are also concerned that the lifespan of the boiler has been compromised due to them not fitting the afore mentioned things at install.
We have complained and been through ADR (who I can only assume work with BG as the reviews are shocking) and British Gas have given a version of events that is thoroughly incorrect.
They counterclaim that we should now pay interest on the balance owed and have instructed a solicitor who seeks to get the case thrown out of court because we brought the claim against British Gas, and they are technically British Gas Services Ltd - very pedantic! They suggest that we are wasting the courts time. We have sufficient proof that what they counterclaim is untrue, but fighting them is a real slog. I wonder how many innocent, vulnerable people have come up against this colossal company and been unable to reach a satisfactory resolution. It's sad that we live in a world where this is allowed to happen, but I seek advice from anyone that has managed to successfully take them to court. Any guidance or help is much appreciated as it's quite an intimidating experience and we have little legal expertise, but the small claims court is meant to be a system that normal people can navigate if I'm not mistaken?

Keep_pedalling

Dit the quotation include a power flush and CO monitor? 

user1977

It's not clear from your post what "redress" you're seeking, as it sounds like you haven't paid them yet? And that they're offering to come back to remedy matters, but you're not willing to let them? Can you clarify?

MattMattMattUK

purple_reign said:

We had a new boiler installation from British Gas that was incomplete and doesn't comply with current building regulations. 

What specifically do you class as not compliant with building regulations? Do you mean building regulations or gas safe installation regulations?

purple_reign said:

No carbon monoxide monitor was fitted, no power flush was conducted and no magna filter was installed, 

Did they quote for installation of a CO detector, fitting a magna filter and power flushing the system?

purple_reign said:

the work wasn't completed in good time either. 

What do you class as good time and did they give guidance of how long installation would take before you agreed to the work?

purple_reign said:

The boiler loses pressure every few days 

That could be an issue with the installation or it could be an issue with the rest of the heating system, have they or you established a reason?

purple_reign said:

and some rads don't heat well, which they are aware of. 

Did their quote include balancing the system after installation? 

purple_reign said:

BG had the opportunity to remedy the issues at a later date, but the engineer wasn't skilled so didn't attempt the work and left advising he would escalate it. We were left during the coldest months with insufficient heating and a child who suffers with asthma.

Did he leave a report detailing the issues or was it just something verbal? What did he say he was not skilled enough to do?

purple_reign said:

Fast forward many months and British Gas continue to lie and intimidate us into paying for the installation that they deem is "safe" and fully functioning. 

Be careful of defamation. On what basis do you think they are untruthful and what do you class as intimidation? Remember that telling you are required to pay and stating the way that they escalate ther debt collection process and it's consequences is not intimidation. 

purple_reign said:

We are now unprepared to allow them re entry to our property without proper redress. 

If by "redress" you mean money/compensation, that is very unlikely to happen, a small claims court will certainly not award you compensation, though it could award the cost of putting things right. If you are not willing to let them do the work then they will be unable to fix anything.

purple_reign said:

We are also concerned that the lifespan of the boiler has been compromised due to them not fitting the afore mentioned things at install.

Not fitting a CO detector will do nothing to the boiler, not fitting a magna filter could have a small impact but subsequently fitting one would deal with most of that, a power flush is not often needed and again none of that matters in legal terms unless their quote said they would fit them and they have not. 

purple_reign said:

We have complained and been through ADR (who I can only assume work with BG as the reviews are shocking) and British Gas have given a version of events that is thoroughly incorrect.

ADR schemes can be good or bad, but they will not investigate, only judge based on the evidence presented, they are often more favourable to a customer than a court would be. What factual disagreements do you have with their statement and can you evidence that they are incorrect?

purple_reign said:

They counterclaim that we should now pay interest on the balance owed and have instructed a solicitor who seeks to get the case thrown out of court because we brought the claim against British Gas, and they are technically British Gas Services Ltd - very pedantic! They suggest that we are wasting the courts time. 

Having to pay interest on unpaid debts is fairly standard and will be set out in the terms and conditions. They are not being pedantic, that is the way courts work, if you do not have the correct legal name for the entities or individuals involved then the court will always throw the claim out. The court would probably take the same view if you incorrectly file your paperwork on basics such as who you are trying to take action against. There are over a hundred limited companies with names that start with "British Gas" and "British Gas Limited" does not install boilers. Courts work on specifics, not vagueness. 

purple_reign said:

We have sufficient proof that what they counterclaim is untrue, but fighting them is a real slog. I wonder how many innocent, vulnerable people have come up against this colossal company and been unable to reach a satisfactory resolution. It's sad that we live in a world where this is allowed to happen, but I seek advice from anyone that has managed to successfully take them to court. Any guidance or help is much appreciated as it's quite an intimidating experience and we have little legal expertise, but the small claims court is meant to be a system that normal people can navigate if I'm not mistaken?

The court system for small claims is pretty easy to navigate provided one takes ones time, I have used it several times in a private and business capacity and it is not difficult as long as one is methodical and factual. If you are going to take legal action you first need to make sure you have proper grounds and to be clear on that, "I don't like it" is not good enough, it needs to be a point of law, emotions are irrelevant. You secondly need to make sure your evidence supports your claim, your opinion is likely to carry little if any weight, you need facts, likely backed up by professional opinions. Your evidence will need to be clear, a timeliness is usually useful when issues have become protracted. Finally you need to make sure your paperwork is 100% correct, courts (not British Gas) have clear and specific requirements for paperwork and submission of evidence, get that wrong and your claim will either be thrown out or your evidence will not support your claim and you will loose.

If you can be clear on the specifics then people on here will be able to help, but a proper, coherent complaint to British Gas is more likely quicker and will result in a better result, although the relationship may have already broken down irreparably on both sides.

saajan_12

Few details that could tighten up to know your chance of success but the most crucial bit is the entity you're claiming from. It's not just a typo in the content of the claim that you must be able to change later. The actual legal company you're suing is very important, if the judge ignored it and awarded you the money from BG Ltd, you might still be able to claim something from BG Services Ltd again. Check you filling and get help from the court to correct it now (may mean refiling but it's better than the alternate)

RefluentBeans

What resolution are you looking for? 

To me there’s two situations at play here. One being the boiler fitting process, which you feel has not been carried out with reasonable care and skill. The other is the fact there’s still a debt associated with this.

You say the boiler wasn’t fitted to codes - is this opinion or has an independent GasSafe Registered Engineer looked and told you this? I would imagine if the latter was the case then you’d have had it repaired. There’s a clear difference between must do and best practice in terms of the codes. Example - it’s not a legal requirement to have a smoke detector in your house, but it certainly is best practice. 

This also seems to have gone for a long time. You say coldest months so I assume that you mean from either the end of last year or start of this year? They sent out an engineer who was not qualified to fix the issue (as it sounds like it’s a complex issue) - did they offer to send a senior engineer, and if so have you accepted this or declined this? 

As for the small claims court - you need to file against the right party. If you don’t, then it’s a pretty easy dismissal, I’m afraid. This is because it’s not based on the arguments that you make but rather not following the right protocol for court. 

The most important question, to me, is what is it you are seeking? 

MobileSaver

purple_reign said:

get the case thrown out of court because we brought the claim against British Gas, and they are technically British Gas Services Ltd - very pedantic! They suggest that we are wasting the courts time.

Issuing a court claim against the correct legal entity is the most fundamentally important part of any claim - it is not being pedantic. I don't wish to sound harsh but you absolutely are wasting everyone's time, including your own, by getting such a basic detail so wrong. 

The small claims process is relatively easy for non-solicitors like you and me to navigate but attention to detail is paramount. If you have a valid claim then many posters here will guide you through the process but first you need to be completely clear on who you are claiming against, what you are claiming for and on what basis...

pinkshoes

purple_reign said:

We had a new boiler installation from British Gas that was incomplete and doesn't comply with current building regulations. No carbon monoxide monitor was fitted, no power flush was conducted and no magna filter was installed, the work wasn't completed in good time either. The boiler loses pressure every few days and some rads don't heat well, which they are aware of. 
BG had the opportunity to remedy the issues at a later date, but the engineer wasn't skilled so didn't attempt the work and left advising he would escalate it. We were left during the coldest months with insufficient heating and a child who suffers with asthma.
Fast forward many months and British Gas continue to lie and intimidate us into paying for the installation that they deem is "safe" and fully functioning. We are now unprepared to allow them re entry to our property without proper redress. We are also concerned that the lifespan of the boiler has been compromised due to them not fitting the afore mentioned things at install.
We have complained and been through ADR (who I can only assume work with BG as the reviews are shocking) and British Gas have given a version of events that is thoroughly incorrect.
They counterclaim that we should now pay interest on the balance owed and have instructed a solicitor who seeks to get the case thrown out of court because we brought the claim against British Gas, and they are technically British Gas Services Ltd - very pedantic! They suggest that we are wasting the courts time. We have sufficient proof that what they counterclaim is untrue, but fighting them is a real slog. I wonder how many innocent, vulnerable people have come up against this colossal company and been unable to reach a satisfactory resolution. It's sad that we live in a world where this is allowed to happen, but I seek advice from anyone that has managed to successfully take them to court. Any guidance or help is much appreciated as it's quite an intimidating experience and we have little legal expertise, but the small claims court is meant to be a system that normal people can navigate if I'm not mistaken?

Why has this gone on many months?

You have given BG the opportunity to finish the installation but they couldn't do it.

Your next step is to get a couple of quotes to have the work completed, use the outstanding money from BG to pay for the completion of it, then take BG to court if what it costs to remedy their poor work is more than what was owed (or if it cost less that what is owed, then pay them the balance making it clear that you are paying them what they are owed less the amount to have the work completed which they failed to do).

You have a written contract surely? So you look at what the contract states. If it included a carbon monoxide monitor and power flush and magna filter then claim for the cost of having these added.  

macman

Since when has a power flush or CO monitor been a requirement of the building regs? However a flush may be a requirement for the boiler warranty. Have you checked with the manufacturer, since they provide the actual warranty?

Ectophile

macman said:

Since when has a power flush or CO monitor been a requirement of the building regs? However a flush may be a requirement for the boiler warranty. Have you checked with the manufacturer, since they provide the actual warranty?

Carbon monoxide detectors are covered by the building regulations.  See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6336e58be90e0772dc9651a2/ADJ_2022.pdf paragraphs 3.43 onwards.

Everything else would be down to contractual disagreements as to what British Gas said they would do.

purple_reign

Keep_pedalling said:

Dit the quotation include a power flush and CO monitor? 

Hi, sorry I haven't been able to check back since. The quote included the above mentioned