What’s reasonable Compensation?

MyRealNameToo

ButterCheese said:

It is easy to put a price on material losses, but not on emotional trauma.  

Actually it is easy to put a price on emotional trauma, the courts do it all the time. 

Easiest one to look at is the whiplash reforms which converted soft tissue injuries from RTAs into a fixed table of damages. There is two columns, one for soft tissue only and the second for soft tissue and modest psychological injuries confirmed by an appropriate medical report. For those with injuries lasting up to 3 months the addition of psych injury is worth £25, for those lasting 2 years its £125 with a sliding scale between the two. 

Generally the courts accept life isnt always great and very minor issues generally won't get any compensation. If it's warranted seeing doctor and being prescribed either medication or therapy then medical reports are created and general damages start being considered. If you are diagnosed with PTSD and consultants agree you are likely never to recover from it then the general damages can become material subject to how it impacts your life though special damages for loss of earnings etc are fairly likely to outweigh the general damages for PSLA

FrugaiMacDugal

Ask for a years free electricity.

PonyTeaPot

Love that idea !! The tumble drier would definitely be wheeled out of retirement lol!! 

Scot_39

I hope the company takes the complaint seriously and does something to address the work standards of the fitter.

I'd definitely second the linked fire alarms and heat detectors - there actually now a legal requirement in Scotland - in kitchens, halls and living spaces - but not bedrooms - and in Scotland they can be sealed battery units and linked wirelessly - rather than the ones I have.

The Scotland mandatory locations here - 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-and-smoke-alarms-in-scottish-homes/pages/what-each-home-needs/

Had standalone in those locations - so was sceptical about need to link - but they now have to be linked in Scotland's homes.  

We tested the standalone - with closed bedroom and living room doors - definitely muted - so older sister with tinnitus prefers the linked - its certainly far louder upstairs now than the old living room or kitchen units behind closed doors.

Since fitted an extra two in other rooms - spare room downsatairs and her bedroom - after a hairdryer went up in smoke unattended - and the fuse burned out smoked the plug and heat damaged the socket.

Sisters and her partners flat done originally by local electrician he'd used before - he used battery FireAngel Pro's - iirc around upto £50 each - plus about 1 hr  fitting total for visit and fitting the basic 4.  Its DIYable if able - they cannot do ladders

I just did an Amazon search - the linked Status ones in ASDA for £20 arent much more than the unlinked ones - are even cheaper c£15 online - but not sure I'd go for the lowest when it comes to family safety.  But if money's tight and they work....

Swipe

Boohoo said:

PonyTeaPot said:

Thanks everyone for your input - I definitely felt it was ‘put on the spot’ question so I side stepped it and said that it was hard to put a figure on at this stage - interesting to hear it’s not uncommon,  it’s a good tactic - Definitely caught me off guard!!  

 

The smart meter had been fitted by a sub contractor company and my main reason for raising the complaint was for education/ training purposes. I dont really blame the engineer who installed it - having done a bit of reading up i understand they are under enormous pressure and I feel this type of incident is more likely down to over ambitious targets.
We do have smoke alarms, evacuation plan and fire extinguishers at home and everything went just as it should - but what bothers me is someone else could easily be less fortunate. Thank you for the suggestion of heat alarms - I’ll look into that as well.

In terms of the seriousness/ inconvenience - i absolutely get the “cant compensate for what might of happened” thats a valid point & tbh It’s not really about the money. Ive no problem changing our rooms about so everyone feels safe - it was just the only tangible thing I could put a figure on that relates to the event.

For me, this is about trust - mains electric isn’t something you can fumble, things as important/ dangerous as this need to be more than numbers and targets - and sadly I think that often comes down to financial implications for companies ….. but having never asked for compensation before ive no idea what’s a general “we’re really sorry and we’re mighty relieved we’re not paying out for fire damage” amount!!

thanks everyone - much appreciated 

Is this incident something you have to declare to your insurance company now or when you get a renewal or take out new insurance?

Not sure but something to bear in mind going forward.

Only if you want to pay more for your premium

Boohoo

Swipe said:

Boohoo said:

PonyTeaPot said:

Thanks everyone for your input - I definitely felt it was ‘put on the spot’ question so I side stepped it and said that it was hard to put a figure on at this stage - interesting to hear it’s not uncommon,  it’s a good tactic - Definitely caught me off guard!!  

 

The smart meter had been fitted by a sub contractor company and my main reason for raising the complaint was for education/ training purposes. I dont really blame the engineer who installed it - having done a bit of reading up i understand they are under enormous pressure and I feel this type of incident is more likely down to over ambitious targets.
We do have smoke alarms, evacuation plan and fire extinguishers at home and everything went just as it should - but what bothers me is someone else could easily be less fortunate. Thank you for the suggestion of heat alarms - I’ll look into that as well.

In terms of the seriousness/ inconvenience - i absolutely get the “cant compensate for what might of happened” thats a valid point & tbh It’s not really about the money. Ive no problem changing our rooms about so everyone feels safe - it was just the only tangible thing I could put a figure on that relates to the event.

For me, this is about trust - mains electric isn’t something you can fumble, things as important/ dangerous as this need to be more than numbers and targets - and sadly I think that often comes down to financial implications for companies ….. but having never asked for compensation before ive no idea what’s a general “we’re really sorry and we’re mighty relieved we’re not paying out for fire damage” amount!!

thanks everyone - much appreciated 

Is this incident something you have to declare to your insurance company now or when you get a renewal or take out new insurance?

Not sure but something to bear in mind going forward.

Only if you want to pay more for your premium

So it doesn't have to be declared then?

That's good to know for future reference.

Swipe

Boohoo said:

Swipe said:

Boohoo said:

PonyTeaPot said:

Thanks everyone for your input - I definitely felt it was ‘put on the spot’ question so I side stepped it and said that it was hard to put a figure on at this stage - interesting to hear it’s not uncommon,  it’s a good tactic - Definitely caught me off guard!!  

 

The smart meter had been fitted by a sub contractor company and my main reason for raising the complaint was for education/ training purposes. I dont really blame the engineer who installed it - having done a bit of reading up i understand they are under enormous pressure and I feel this type of incident is more likely down to over ambitious targets.
We do have smoke alarms, evacuation plan and fire extinguishers at home and everything went just as it should - but what bothers me is someone else could easily be less fortunate. Thank you for the suggestion of heat alarms - I’ll look into that as well.

In terms of the seriousness/ inconvenience - i absolutely get the “cant compensate for what might of happened” thats a valid point & tbh It’s not really about the money. Ive no problem changing our rooms about so everyone feels safe - it was just the only tangible thing I could put a figure on that relates to the event.

For me, this is about trust - mains electric isn’t something you can fumble, things as important/ dangerous as this need to be more than numbers and targets - and sadly I think that often comes down to financial implications for companies ….. but having never asked for compensation before ive no idea what’s a general “we’re really sorry and we’re mighty relieved we’re not paying out for fire damage” amount!!

thanks everyone - much appreciated 

Is this incident something you have to declare to your insurance company now or when you get a renewal or take out new insurance?

Not sure but something to bear in mind going forward.

Only if you want to pay more for your premium

So it doesn't have to be declared then?

That's good to know for future reference.

Not unless you have made a claim or they specifically ask about such an incident.

Bigphil1474

You don't normally have to report incidents in your home to your home insurer, unlike car insurance. If we did, I'd be on to them every week when my OH cooks