Shower fitter cracked my bath! were do i stand??

michellen34

Hiya,

I have posted this on the 'in my home' board but thinking this may be the correct board to post on??

I had a shower fitted yesterday and now there is a crack/leak in my bath. There has always been a mark on the bath but I've never had a problem with it. I went to clean the bath out when the shower had been fitted because the men had been standing in it to fit the shower and i noticed it is now a proper crack that leaks! i wanted to ask for advice on where i stood on this? Like i said there has always been a mark on the bath but until yesterday it had never leaked! I have phoned the fitter and left a voicemail (last night) but as yet he has not got back to me.

Typical really, its taken me 5 weeks to get my landlord to replace my very old and dangerous shower, so everyones had to have baths and now i can't even use my new shower or my bath! argh! lol x

hollydays

This is going to be difficult to prove he did it,perhaps it has been going like this for a while? Have you checked the ceiling below to see if there are any signs?I once had to have a whole ceiling replastered because I didn't notice the crack in the bath (happened when a shower head fell off the wall)

michellen34

Hiya, Thank you for your reply. Its never been cracked before, i have used it in the year that i've been here with no problems whatsoever.Its sort of hard to explain what its like, it was a round sort of mark that maybe felt like a scratch ? but now it's raised and you can see bubbles coming from it . I don't know what to do as my LL says i have to ring and get it sorted as he won't fix the problem as there was nothing wrong with it before they fitted the shower.

I haven't heard back from the fitter yet, and i don't know what to do?

thank you, Michelle.

hollydays

Do you have household insurance?

sarahg1969

Ring them and explain the bath has been cracked during the shower-fitting process. they should have insurance to cover it.

michellen34

Hiya,

I'm still waiting for him to come round (was supposed to be here between 4 and 5)

I don't have any insurance?

Thanks , Michelle.

andyrules

Hi
I had a workman damage something a while back, they just said it wasn't them and I couldn't evidence it.

However, in your case, as i assume you have been unable to use the bath, then you could check the ceiling as Hollydays says and if there is no mark then that might be evidence that it was caused by them.

Wayne3765

michellen34 wrote: »

Hiya, Thank you for your reply. Its never been cracked before, i have used it in the year that i've been here with no problems whatsoever.Its sort of hard to explain what its like, it was a round sort of mark that maybe felt like a scratch ? but now it's raised and you can see bubbles coming from it . I don't know what to do as my LL says i have to ring and get it sorted as he won't fix the problem as there was nothing wrong with it before they fitted the shower.

I haven't heard back from the fitter yet, and i don't know what to do?

thank you, Michelle.

Who arranged and paid for the shower fitter ? if it was the landlord then surely it's down to him to either chase them up on it or just replace the bath himself.

michellen34

Yeah it was the landlord who paid for it, the fitter came round last night and said he hadn't done it but offered £60 towards a new bath and i just said ok, as i'd never been in this situation before i didn't know what to say? in hindsight now i should of tried to ring my LL think i'm going to be in trouble now! But also at the end of the day he should have dealt with it, i did text LL last night but as usual he hasn't bothered replying.

olly300

OP do not accept the money from the fitter.

Inform the fitter that you cannot agree to accept anything from him as the contract is not with you but the landlord in the first place as he paid the fitter, and you will be informing the landlord that he broke the bath.

It is your landlord's responsibility to sort the bath out not yours.

I hope you noted down when you made your first complaint to the landlord about the mark in the bath, or complained in writing otherwise you are partially responsible for paying for the fitting of a new bath. (You need reasonable proof to prove that you made a complaint.)

Whether you did or not write a letter or email to the landlord asking him to sort the bath out as the fitter, who the landlord hired to fix the shower cracked it. Also take pictures of the ceiling below the bath and the crack in the bath asap preferably with a digital camera or even a mobile phone as they are time and date stamped to show that you didn't cause the damage.

Also all the landlords I've had will not respond to emails, telephone calls or text messages in the night unless it's an emergency i.e. been broken into. The best time to contact them has always been during normal working times.

hollydays

It is the landlords responsibility-It was him that paid.But did you request it to be fitted and did he attach any conditions to that? When i had to get my bath replaced,the tiles also had to be replaced (insurance policies often pay only for replacing the appropriate tiles btw ,they don't replace the whole lot to get a great finished job).. not that that's relevant here..