Flood barrier failure

ericonabike

Our house was flooded, to a depth of around two inches, a year or so ago. We confined the damage to rooms with hard flooring and did not claim on the, insurance. But we had three removable flood barriers fitted as a, result. The recent rain tested them. One failed as it had been installed over block paving. Water flowed through the gaps, as though the barrier didn't exist, and we were flooded again.
The contractor is coming out to do remedial work, but I am angry that we have been again put through the, stress of flooding and the consequent clearing up.
To me this seems an appropriate case to claim compensation for distress and inconvenience, but I am curious as to whether other forumites have experience in this field. TIA as ever🙂

eskbanker

You'd first need to establish that the contractor breached the contract (by reference to any binding commitments made and the terms of the agreement, plus installation standards/procedures, your instructions, etc) prior to any discussion about consequential losses or distress and inconvenience.

ericonabike

Seems more clear cut than that - they have accepted the work was sub standard and are coming out to put it right. But that still means that our house was flooded due to their incompetence. 

Aylesbury_Duck

ericonabike said:

Seems more clear cut than that - they have accepted the work was sub standard and are coming out to put it right. But that still means that our house was flooded due to their incompetence. 

So quantify your losses and ask for them to compensate you accordingly.

ericonabike

We were able to contain the flood water to two rooms with hard flooring. After a lot of work, mopping and scrubbing, lifting and moving furniture, running dehumidifier and fan heater, there is no visible damage, although the floors are, still drying out. My point is that we were put to all this work and stress (if you've ever been flooded you'll understand the latter point) because of a third party. And I think that party should pay compensation as a result. But I suspect no one on here has relevant experience. 

MattMattMattUK

ericonabike said:

We were able to contain the flood water to two rooms with hard flooring. After a lot of work, mopping and scrubbing, lifting and moving furniture, running dehumidifier and fan heater, there is no visible damage, although the floors are, still drying out. My point is that we were put to all this work and stress (if you've ever been flooded you'll understand the latter point) because of a third party. And I think that party should pay compensation as a result.

Different people handle stressors differently, some people respond by becoming stressed, others deal with the issue without becoming stressed, two people experiencing the same situation will have different psychological responses. I have dealt with a flood (burst pipe, not weather related) and I did not become stressed, other people become stressed at someone with wet shoes walking in the front door, most people are somewhere in the middle. There is no standard response.

ericonabike said:
But I suspect no one on here has relevant experience. 

There will be, but the answer is "it depends", your stress, almost certainly not, but depending on the terms and conditions it may be reasonable to claim for the energy used by the fan heater and dehumidifier. They may also be willing to offer a "gesture of good will" rather than compensation, that might be as simple as a bottle of wine and some flowers, if it is monetary it might be small, possibly in the form of a gift voucher. 

It would be worth reading their terms and conditions properly to see what they say. 

born_again

ericonabike said:

We were able to contain the flood water to two rooms with hard flooring. After a lot of work, mopping and scrubbing, lifting and moving furniture, running dehumidifier and fan heater, there is no visible damage, although the floors are, still drying out. My point is that we were put to all this work and stress (if you've ever been flooded you'll understand the latter point) because of a third party. And I think that party should pay compensation as a result. But I suspect no one on here has relevant experience. 

There are your quantifiable losses.