Oil Boiler Installation went wrong

brightlights6

OK, so long story.
Oil boiler was installed but not properly - we were given a CD10 upon completion.
It leaked oil due to the connection between the inlet oil supply pipe not being correctly connected to the oil boiler. 
We thought the smell was sealant and it was leaking for about a week before the electrician arrived to fit the timer/thermostat and advised of the smell and to put some tissue under the connection to see if it was oil or if it was just sealant we could smell.
It was oil.
The fitting company sent someone round within an hour of me calling and the fault was rectified.
They mopped up as much oil as possible with tissues and left some for me to continue.
We are unsure if oil went under the base plate of the boiler on the concrete floor but it was down the side of the boiler on the concrete.  It was all inside the boiler on top of the base plate underneath the workings on the right hand side.  The motor is OK as this was removed and checked but the contents of the boiler could not be taken out and cleaned and checked.
We were told that there was no chance of fire due to the high ignition temperatures oil needs.  
We then got a visit from the boss as we were worried and he confirmed no fire risk.  I wanted the oil boiler taking apart and cleaning but he said it was not needed and the oil would dissipate.  I said what about when the central heating is needed and on for many hours a day in the winter.  The man in charge said not to worry he would not walk away and cover us in case anything happened (my concern is what happens if the business around for 30 years suddenly goes out of business or  business closes down or changes hands).  And what about the warranty as there was an oil leak on installation.
Secondly, and sorry for long post.
They did not cap off a pipe to the old system in the loft and we had water coming through the ceiling.  The ceiling is lath and plaster except for where a wall was taken out and plasterboard was put up instead with paper over and artex over this in a pattern of swirls.  The ceiling was far from perfect and this is where the water came through.  It caused the plasterboard to swell and then after drying for 2 weeks it is now slightly loose and moves when pressed and sags very slightly.  There are cracks which can be seen are new cracks alongside the old ones that have been filled with filler before me moved in.  The water came out this area where the filler was and went across the width of the room about 8 foot in length.  The company boss man came out as I was not happy with the builder saying he would cut the paper out remove it paint over the cracks to fill them and then stick the paper back, repairing the holes in the paper which were caused by one of the fitters using a vacuum to suck up the water as it flowed through the ceiling.  He wanted to use filler and try to match the pattern.  I want the whole area removed and re plaster boarded and then the ceiling to match completely like it did before - it is a large lounge/dining room and would need the paper coming off the entire ceiling and re-skimming or repapering (we don't mind which).  We have been offered some money to cover repairing the cracks which is a decent amount but will not cover us matching the whole ceiling once again.
We are completely stuck and it is wearing us down so much.  We have been given an ultimatum of accept the money for the ceiling (no offer of anything for the boiler, which is now working OK for hot water but no idea for central heating and no idea if it will OK in the future for this coming winter) or for them to call their insurance guys which they say would not give us such a good deal.
We're £6500 down, and do not have a new pristine boiler and we have a damaged ceiling.
HELP

PHK

With the regard to the first part. I'm not a heating engineer or qualified to comment if it is safe. Even if I was then I haven't inspected it so I can only give some basic consumer rights advice.

There is a dispute here. They says its safe, you say it isn't. They have the advantage of being qualified and have agreed to indemnify if anything untoward happens. 

So you need evidence to support your view and to counter their position. This should be from a suitably qualified person. Ideally not a rival firm because that gives the other side the defence that the rival firm is touting for business. 

Assuming the report goes in your favour it will recommend what action needs to be taken. You send a copy of the report to the firm along with a letter stating that you expect them to put the damage right and reimburse you for the report. Give them a reasonable period to respond (say 14 days) and a reasonable period to complete the works (this will depend on what needs doing)  End the letter by saying that if they do not agree to this then you'll have the job done by someone else and will take them to  small claims court * for the cost of putting things right + report + cost of going to court. 

But this is the nuclear option and you must go through with it if they don't respond. 

* if the cost of repair is above the small claims limit then you should seek legal advice. 

I'll answer the second part about the ceiling in another post, so we don't get confused. 

PHK

Regarding the ceiling. The problem you've got is that the ceiling was not pristine before the accident happened. You say it wasn't in good condition and there were filled in cracks. 

You cannot ask them to put you back in a better position than you were before, so I think you are unlikely to get a pristine ceiling. 

I can imagine that's disappointing  but I think the best you can hope for is a repaired rather than redone ceiling. 

I also think that if it goes to their insurance you'll have a lot more stress and probably the same outcome. 

This does sound like a really upsetting situation so I do wish you the best. 

IvanOpinion

brightlights6 said:

... which is now working OK for hot water but no idea for central heating and no idea if it will OK in the future for this coming winter

You need to turn the heating on to test it and make sure all radiators are heating correctly.
Better to do that now and get any issues fixed rather than wait for winter and find out you have no heating.

Can your household insurance not help with the bigger issues?