Taking British Gas to small claims court

purple_reign

user1977 said:

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?

We would like the bill discounted or written off. We haven't paid as it is incomplete. We allowed them to return to remedy the missing items but the engineer that arrived said he wasn't trained or able to do it. We then we had to chase them. We filed a complaint due to the issues which they made difficult. They proceeded to lie and say the heating was safe and fully functioning when they left it. It wasn't. Things escalated to a point that we don't trust them to do the work competently. 

purple_reign

MattMattMattUK said:

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.

Hi, by not compliant I refer to part L of the building regs. 
They quoted for the items, we had to question them and point out that they hadn't fitted what was on the quote. The installers just wanted to get off, so in the end they said they didn't have time. It was a week before Christmas.
The engineer that came a month later left a report which said he couldn't say the installation was safe and that he would escalate the issues. He wasn't able to fit the missing items.
We bought a carbon monoxide monitor ourselves. We could do that bit and it gave us peace of mind. I couldn't rest knowing we didn't have one.
We have corrected the name on the court papers, we naively used the name on all correspondence we received from them, so we have corrected this and have found the process of small claims ok so far. 
We are awaiting a court date for a hearing but BG file everything on the very last day, so it's quite drawn out. 
I've had some difficult family issues to navigate this past year so apologies for not checking back sooner. 
Thank you all for the replies