GAS ENGINEER REFUSED TO REMOVE OLD BOILER

geek84

Hi Folks

I have had a new boiler installed at my property.  However, the gas engineer refused to remove the old boiler by saying that it has got asbestos material in it, and can't touch it.

How can I find out that he his telling the truth?  Isn't it his responsibility to remove the old boiler?

Thanks

Ayr_Rage

What does your contract say regarding removal and disposal of the old boiler?

Hoenir

geek84 said:

How can I find out that he his telling the truth?  Isn't it his responsibility to remove the old boiler?

Individuals have to be registered and hold a valid licence with the HSE to handle asbestos. 

tacpot12

Hoenir said:

Individuals have to be registered and hold a valid licence with the HSE to handle asbestos. 

Only businesses have to have a valid license. Individuals can handle asbestos. So you could remove the boiler yourself. If you educate yourself on how to manage asbestos, you can do so safely - you just have to figure out how the professionals would do it, and follow all their processes and use the right PPE. 

MeteredOut

geek84 said:

Hi Folks

I have had a new boiler installed at my property.  However, the gas engineer refused to remove the old boiler by saying that it has got asbestos material in it, and can't touch it.

How can I find out that he his telling the truth?  Isn't it his responsibility to remove the old boiler?

Thanks

Did your contract with him detail him removing the old boiler?

If not, then that's that. If so, and he could not do so because of asbestos (as it his right) then I'd argue you could claim some form of refund as that part of his service was not delivered. But, you can't force him to remove a boiler when there's asbestos at play - that's a specialised job.

I presume he did isolate the gas to the older boiler, and otherwise made it ready to remove?

Section62

geek84 said:

I have had a new boiler installed at my property.  However, the gas engineer refused to remove the old boiler by saying that it has got asbestos material in it, and can't touch it.

How can I find out that he his telling the truth?  Isn't it his responsibility to remove the old boiler?

Have you checked the make/model/approx age to confirm whether or not it is likely asbestos was actually used in it?

Keep_pedalling

The use of asbestos in boilers was banned in 1985, was your boiler made before then? 

35har1old

tacpot12 said:

Hoenir said:

Individuals have to be registered and hold a valid licence with the HSE to handle asbestos. 

Only businesses have to have a valid license. Individuals can handle asbestos. So you could remove the boiler yourself. If you educate yourself on how to manage asbestos, you can do so safely - you just have to figure out how the professionals would do it, and follow all their processes and use the right PPE. 

Where is he going to remove it to

ThisIsWeird

Hi Geek.
As others have asked, could you give us the make and model of the old boiler, please? A photo should help too. And, where is it located, in relation to the new?
Should the plumber have removed it? In most - almost all - cases, that would be a definite 'yes'.
This part of the job should ideally be included and mentioned in quotes, often as summat like "remove old boiler and any associated tanks and fittings, leaving the site tidy..." or similar - and most customers would reasonably expect this to happen. Even if not mentioned, most folk would still expect this to occur - many folk wouldn't even bother asking about this, as it's considered a 'normal' part of 'new/replacement boiler' jobs.
But then, in most cases, the new boiler goes where the old one is.
If a plumber replaced a boiler in the same or adjacent location, and left the old boiler sitting there and not taken away, the customer would - I think - have been 'misled' over the job - unless this was made clear in the quote or initial discussions. Or, even more weirdly, if the new boiler was mounted adjacent to the old, the old being left in place. No-one wants, or expects, a defunct boiler to be still sitting there taking up space. But the situation could become hazy if, say, the old boiler was in a completely different location such as a fireplace (a back-boiler), where its continued presence might not be considered an issue as it cannot be seen. Also, to remove such a boiler would be significantly more work than a straight-swap would be.
What should happen in such a case? The plumber should clarify what isn't part of the quote as much as what is. And, really, if the customer wanted the back boiler removed, they should have asked about it too, when they knew that the new boiler was going to be a wall-mounted jobbie in a different location.
A lack of communication from both parties?
Soooo, I'd say it really comes down to what and where the old boiler is, and how it compares to the new. And what was said at quoting-visit time. And what was written in the quote.
Could you clarify, please?
In essence, tho', it would appear that the plumber may not have been clear about what was included in your quote; he either had no intention of removing the old boiler - in which case, they should really have discussed this with you and said so - or else he had planned to remove it but changed his mind after having discovered the risk of asbestos. For the latter possibility, I think he should have anticipated this issue (he's a pro plumber after all) and planned for it, and so is still liable for at least a large part of the cost.
But, it comes down to the detail - can you provide it?

geek84

Thanks for all your advice, folks.

Much appreciated.