Shower fitted breaking UK Water Regs Nightmare

GoJohnnyGo

Bathroom company installed new bathroom in 2023, they were instructed to use our existing shower which has an integrated pump built into the shower. In 2019 we had extra pipework fitted so this shower was connected to the cold water tank and not the Mains water supply. The Bathroom installers were aware of this and disconnected the shower for the new bathroom refurbishment.

The bathroom was fitted successfully everything worked well for a year. In June 2024 the shower stopped working and on inspection by an engineer, it was apparent that the pump had burnt out.

I ordered a replacement like-for-like model

 And instructed a plumbing company to install it. 5 days later the shower sprung an internal leak in the middle of the night when not in operation. The same plumber came out and spotted that a seal next to the pump had broken. He was perplexed how a shower that was supposedly tank-fed only stopped leaking once the Mains water supply was turned off and questioned me if the shower was actually Mains-fed.

I contacted the Bathroom company who fitted the bathroom from 2023 and it has now been confirmed that the shower had been fitted to the Mains and not to the Tank-fed supply. Thus breaking UK Water regulations. They added extra more extra pipework so that the tiles in the bathroom didn’t have to be removed and another replacement shower can be fitted.

My problem now is - I have disputed the invoice from the second plumbing company who fitted the replacement shower as they too have broken UK Water Regs. They say that I told them just to replace the shower (which I did), but surely they bear some responsibility for a bad installation that breaks Water Reg and not the words of a complete layperson? I am after all paying for their expertise and experience

Am I covered by the Consumer Right Act (2015) which states “Goods must be correctly installed”. The second Plumbing Company is now threatening me with getting their money through a Collections Agency.

At present I’m between £700- £1,000 out of pocket and I still have no Shower in my bathroom. If anyone could tell me where I stand on this it would really help me out. Thanks in advance.

Grumpy_chap

GoJohnnyGo said:

Bathroom company installed new bathroom in 2023, they were instructed to use our existing shower which has an integrated pump built into the shower. In 2019 we had extra pipework fitted so this shower was connected to the cold water tank and not the Mains water supply. The Bathroom installers were aware of this and disconnected the shower for the new bathroom refurbishment.

The bathroom was fitted successfully everything worked well for a year. In June 2024 the shower stopped working and on inspection by an engineer, it was apparent that the pump had burnt out.

I ordered a replacement like-for-like model

 And instructed a plumbing company to install it. 5 days later the shower sprung an internal leak in the middle of the night when not in operation. The same plumber came out and spotted that a seal next to the pump had broken. He was perplexed how a shower that was supposedly tank-fed only stopped leaking once the Mains water supply was turned off and questioned me if the shower was actually Mains-fed.

I contacted the Bathroom company who fitted the bathroom from 2023 and it has now been confirmed that the shower had been fitted to the Mains and not to the Tank-fed supply. Thus breaking UK Water regulations. They added extra more extra pipework so that the tiles in the bathroom didn’t have to be removed and another replacement shower can be fitted.

My problem now is - I have disputed the invoice from the second plumbing company who fitted the replacement shower as they too have broken UK Water Regs. They say that I told them just to replace the shower (which I did), but surely they bear some responsibility for a bad installation that breaks Water Reg and not the words of a complete layperson? I am after all paying for their expertise and experience

Am I covered by the Consumer Right Act (2015) which states “Goods must be correctly installed”. The second Plumbing Company is now threatening me with getting their money through a Collections Agency.

At present I’m between £700- £1,000 out of pocket and I still have no Shower in my bathroom. If anyone could tell me where I stand on this it would really help me out. Thanks in advance.

The company did exactly what you asked of them.
The fee to install would have been much higher if the plumber had to trace the pipework through the house to verify whether mains fed or tank fed.

It is quite possible that water regulations have not been broken.  Many shower units incorporate double check valve regardless, even if "tank fed only" as the "tank fed" part refers to the design pressure for the inlet.

GoJohnnyGo

The instructions on the replacement shower states that it must be connected only to the "Tank fed pipes" and that it must not be connected to the Mains. "Connection to Mains invalidates the Warranty." Surely I am relying on a Plumbers expertise, not the other way round?