Wrong diagnosis. Who pays?

fabfor

born_again said:

fabfor said:

The water on my combi boiler was running hot and cold so I called in a  heating engineer who came highly recommended on a local forum. 

He diagnosed a fault with the heat exchanger and quoted me £425.00, which I accepted. 

However, the fault was still there after he'd replaced the part and he then said the problem must be with the diverter valve, which he duly replaced and charged another £65 plus parts. 

I requested a refund but he refused saying that he couldn't be expected to work for nothing and he refused even a partial refund. I kept my cool. 

I've since checked on YouTube and there are videos explaining that the problem could be caused by the diverter so it's a commonly known fault. 

I would like to claim for a full refund of the £425.00. Where do I stand legally and how best to pursue this? Thanks

Danger is he puts the old bit back & even after diverter fitted it still does it. or even refunds & removes new part & walks away 🤷‍♀️

Not doing that leaves you in a better place than you were before. Which I think is covered in regulations?

The old H.E.'s gone - he asked me to dispose of it and yes, a refund is what I think I'm entitled to. 
I'd appreciate advice on how best to proceed to claim a refund, please.

Aylesbury_Duck

Write to him and ask for one within 14 days or you'll commence court proceedings.  It may get a positive response.  If it doesn't, you'll have to decide whether to take your chances in court and hope the court agrees with you, or let it go.

GDB2222

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Write to him and ask for one within 14 days or you'll commence court proceedings.  It may get a positive response.  If it doesn't, you'll have to decide whether to take your chances in court and hope the court agrees with you, or let it go.

The OP needs to be able to prove their case in court. That really needs some sort of expert opinion.

 I don’t think that the plumber was at fault, really. I had a boiler with similar symptoms, and it was indeed the heat exchanger. So, the OP may spend money on an expert opinion and find that it doesn’t support his/her claim. 

One approach may be to bluff it out, and send a letter before action without any supporting evidence. For the price of a stamp it might be a good bet. 

Undervalued

fabfor said:

born_again said:

fabfor said:

The water on my combi boiler was running hot and cold so I called in a  heating engineer who came highly recommended on a local forum. 

He diagnosed a fault with the heat exchanger and quoted me £425.00, which I accepted. 

However, the fault was still there after he'd replaced the part and he then said the problem must be with the diverter valve, which he duly replaced and charged another £65 plus parts. 

I requested a refund but he refused saying that he couldn't be expected to work for nothing and he refused even a partial refund. I kept my cool. 

I've since checked on YouTube and there are videos explaining that the problem could be caused by the diverter so it's a commonly known fault. 

I would like to claim for a full refund of the £425.00. Where do I stand legally and how best to pursue this? Thanks

Danger is he puts the old bit back & even after diverter fitted it still does it. or even refunds & removes new part & walks away 🤷‍♀️

Not doing that leaves you in a better place than you were before. Which I think is covered in regulations?

The old H.E.'s gone - he asked me to dispose of it and yes, a refund is what I think I'm entitled to. 
I'd appreciate advice on how best to proceed to claim a refund, please.

Well unless he gives in you will have to take action in the small claims court.

You will need an expert opinion that most competent tradesmen would have gone about it in a more cost effective way. Also that his diagnosis wasn't a reasonable one (which is not the same as a correct diagnosis).

It is unfortunate that you have disposed of the part as he may try to argue that it was part of the problem. If you still had it then it could be tested. If it was in good order that would have strengthened your case.

Many years ago I had a similar saga. However my boiler was on a service contract so, apart from the inconvenience, I wasn't bothered how many expensive parts were changed before the fault was fixed.

kinger101

Next time, hire a clairvoyant to diagnose the problem and a plumber to fix it.

fabfor

Thanks guys. Any ideas on how to go about getting an expert opinion?

Undervalued

You could try GasSafe (used to be CORGI) to see if they have a list of respected experts. Otherwise other heating / plumbing trade bodies.

It needs to be somebody at least as experienced / qualified as the person who did the work but they could possibly be recently retired. Obviously not a relative or friend of yours, even if otherwise qualified!

You will need to pay for their report but you can add the cost to your claim so you should get the fee back assuming you win your case.

Was the plumber you used signed up with Check a Trade of similar? Some such bodies have an element of insurance / guarantee built in.

Finally, does your house insurance include legal expenses / helpline? Sometimes people don't realise they are covered.

fabfor

Thanks, Undervalued. Just moved in so no house insurance. Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction; appreciated.

mcplumb

So what is the total cost so far and how many hours has he been on site?

A faulty diverter wouldn't usually cause temperature fluctuations, normally just cooler hot water than usual as the plate isn't receiving full flow 

fabfor

mcplumb said:

So what is the total cost so far and how many hours has he been on site?

A faulty diverter wouldn't usually cause temperature fluctuations, normally just cooler hot water than usual as the plate isn't receiving full flow 

The diverter was intermittently switching over to the heating circuit while the hot water was running, hence the water temperature fluctuations.
Total cost was £525.00. Hard to say how long it all took... 3, 4 hours?
I supplied the diverter (eBay).