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  1. Had brand new boiler fitted by British Gas on Tuesday. Since then its broken down three times and I've had two engineer visits. The engineers they send seem clueless and British Gas seem totally uninterested. Its -5 outside and I've got no heating or hot water. Got a 5 year old and an autistic teenager (this is setting him off). Something has got to be done. If this was a physical item I could take back to the shop and demand a refund but its a boiler fitted onto the wall. What are my consumer rights here? Can I reject it, get the boiler removed and ask BG to collect and cancel the entire deal?
  2. Hi, We're renting privately at the moment and our boiler broke on the 18th of January 2019. We informed the estate agent who got an engineer out on Monday 21st January 2019. He informed them and our landlady that the boiler needed replacing and subsequently gave them a quote to do the work. We were then informed on Friday 25th January that our landlady wanted another quote done, so it took her 3-4 days to decide she wanted another quote, this doesn't seem reasonable to me? Surely she should just get a few quotes done as soon as she knew the boiler needed replacing. This second quote was done on Tuesday 29th January and as yet we have received no update about when the work to replace the boiler will begin, which is all I have been asking for as I know it'll take several days to replace but we're now heading into the third week without a boiler in the middle of winter, with a 2 year old child, and I really don't know what else I can do. I've asked for a rent reduction as we've not been able to stay at the property but I've not even had any response back for that, even when I've asked the estate agent to chase the landlady about it. This is the second time in 2 years that this has happened, the first time we had to move out of the property for about a week as it was the middle of winter. It just feels like trying to get blood from a stone when I have to chase the estate agent all the time. The landlady hasn't been in touch once to let us know what's going on.. We've been here for 3.5 years and always paid our rent on time (£915 per month), caused no problems and this is the thanks we get. Luckily we're moving out in a month so I think she is delaying it because of that? Good luck to her trying to rent out the property with no boiler then..
  3. Hi folks, If this isn't in the right place could the mods move it please, it concerns a boiler I had installed in April 2016. When my wife and I moved into our current home in March 2016 we had the heating system replaced by a company called Ecovolve. Ecovolve have subsequently gone out of business. The boiler is an Alpha 28KW model. The boiler has developed a fault whereby it loses pressure over time. I have had my usual heating engineer out to inspect it and he has diagnosed a faulty pressure vessel within the boiler itself. After pressurizing the vessel and filling the system it will continue to operate for a period of time before the same thing happens. It is confirmed in each case that the pressure vessel has lost pressure. I have contacted Alpha (by email) to inquire about a repair but they have responded by offering me some sort of service plan, which of course they want me to pay for. My understanding though is that any fault should be covered by the Sale of goods Act, or am I wrong? Any help much appreciated, I'd like to be more knowledgeable before responding.
  4. Dont know if this is the correct section: We have a 13 year old boiler and have paid Boiler care cover for 11 years which also covered pipes, electrics etc... Basically their top cover. Over the past year we have had boiler failures around 4 times and its usually the odd filter, pump etc... although 4 months ago they changed the circuit board. They did advise during the last visit that we would really need a system flush at over £500 but we thought this was steep so didnt get that done but at the same time not advised that failing to get that done could cause damage that would result in our boiler not being covered in the future. Yesterday the boiler just wouldnt reset so we called them out again and it turns out that the heat exchanger is leaking which has leaked onto the circuit board. The engineer called his boss but they are refusing to cover the claim because we didnt get the flush done. The options they gave were: Fix the parts at £400 or get a new boiler. So we now have a sticker on the boiler saying its unsafe to use. They said that the cost of parts previously used to repair the boiler is more than the boiler is worth itself, but the way we say it was that thats why we took out the £30 per month cover. Called a few companies for quotes but its also going to be a few weeks without hot water and heating so no good with 3 kids. Im trying to find our contract to read the terms although i know that they will have covered themselves. Anyone else been here with them? Thanks
  5. Hi, the boiler installed in the flat started to loose pressure in March, we notified it to the landlord and, due to he wasn't able to explain us how to refill it, he send a builder to check it. The builder checked the system and find that the valve under the sink to open the circuit was missing, so he used a wrench to open it, and refill the boiler. He checked his tools and said "i'm sorry i don't have a valve fits this junction, this pipe is too old. Don't worry it shouldn't happen again. If it happens again there should be a leak in the system". We reported to the landlord underlining that the builder wasn't able to install a valve. After about 5 months, it happened again and we reported to the landlord, this time we explained him that we are not able to refill the boiler cause this lever is missing. He send us again the same builder which rechecked the boiler, he didn't find any proof of leak, then he tried again to find a valve filling the junction, but he didn't have the right one, so he just refill the boiler using a wrench tool acting on the pipe. After one week we received a phone call from the landlord that he receive a debrief from the builder and he suggest us to buy the appliance so we can top up the water by ourself and if he need to call out a builder and no work has found we have to pay for it. I'm expecting the have a proper boiler installation with a proper valve to under the sink in case we need to refill it, is it my consideration wrong? Should I really buy a wrench and acting to the pipe junction by myself ? What happening if I act in this way breaking the junction and put too pressure into the boiler, maybe break it?
  6. Hi All, Need some help with how to proceed with my issues, story below; We have had a boiler installed via Eon earlier this year and about two weeks after having the boiler installed we have noticed an issue when using the shower mainly, I contacted the installers Rothwell Plumbing Services Ltd and they took a while to get back in contact but at the time it would only do it maybe once a week so I didn't chase it too much. What will happen is the water will all of a sudden go ice cold for about 60-90 seconds and then heat back up, there is no pressure drop whilst this is happening. To test if it was my shower mixer I turned on the bathroom sink hot tap and that was also ice cold too indicating it is an issue with the boiler. It would only do it on the odd occasion and it has just started happening more and more to the point it is doing it every other time the shower is being used. Rothwell Plumbing Services Ltd have come round today and say that our water pressure is too low and is only 8L/PM instead of the recommended 16-18L/PM and this is what they think is causing it. They have said they can remedy the issue by fitting a pump within our house to increase the pressure but this will cost me £700 approx. I don't want to pay this after paying £2.5k to have the boiler installed thinking that was it we would have a shiny new boiler after the one in the property started leaking in a couple places and that one kept the water hot at least, we only purchased the house a few months prior so money had been tight being our first home. I have emailed E-ON as I can never get through to the installation complaints department via phone it just dials out and dies. "To Whom it may concern, We have had a boiler installed via Eon earlier this year and about two weeks after having the boiler installed we have noticed an issue when using the shower mainly, I contacted the installers RTS and they took a while to get back in contact but at the time it would only do it maybe once a week so I didn't chase it too much. What will happen is the water will all of a sudden go ice cold for about 60-90 seconds and then heat back up, there is no pressure drop whilst this is happening. To test if it was my shower mixer I turned on the bathroom sink hot tap and that was also ice cold too indicating it is an issue with the boiler. It would only do it on the odd occasion and it has just started happening more and more to the point it is doing it every other time the shower is being used. I have got in touch with the installer and they think it is down to the water pressure as they ran tests and have come back saying that the pressure is only around 8L/pm when it should be around 16-18L/pm, they have said they can fit a pump within the property to increase the pressure at the cost of approx £700 that should remedy the issue. So seeing as you are the ones that came out to survey and recommended a boiler based on the results of the survey conducted within the property I would ask that you either come out and confirm their findings and if you don't agree fix the issue or if you agree pay for the additional work that needs to be done so we can use the boiler that we are now paying for with no issues. I have asked them for a copy of the report so I can forward it to you and if needed I will also get an interdependent boiler expert out to give me a report and I will forward that along with the invoice to pay if you need a second opinion. It has caused me a lot of issues personally as I have had an operation on both of my big toes and I need to shower daily and when the water goes ice cold it causes me to jolt forwards sending pain across my foot and up my leg. I have tried contacting your office a few times but each time it just rings and rings and then cuts out. If you wish to contact me directly my phone number is XXXXXXXXXX. Regards XXXXXX" Do you think I am right with what I have said above in my email and asking for them to pay for it as they are the one that completed the surveys and tests and recommended the installed boiler based on this ? Apart from waiting for a reply what should my next steps be ? Thanks in advance PIXeL
  7. Good Morning Caggers I got STL Heating to install a New Intergas Boiler for me. The initial Installation was fraught with issues, but they corrected the mistakes I pointed out to them. However, the system has not worked properly for the 2 months since installation. After no HOT Water again, I had to pay £145 for a gas engineer to come out to tell me that their installation was incorrect with several issues. I got this on a finance package with them through HITACHI, however, STL aren't taking my calls. What level of recourse do I have as the local Gas Engineer says the boiler works, but by STL Heatings own admission on the sign off paper, it highlights an installation. The cost to fix is circa £1000. Many Thanks
  8. Hello A couple I know have for the last 4 months been rented a 3 bedroomed property. In November their energy company contacted them advising that a £13k bill had accrued since they moved in. The couple had a gas engineer look at the boiler and saw that a condemned sticker had been removed, this was prior to them moving in. The engineer tested the system and it was discovered that the system was burning gas at £35.00 per hour. After this the couple rang the letting agency and explained the situation. It took them 6 weeks to do something about this and the couple had to buy electric heaters and keep them going 24/7 has the rooms were really cold. Have they got claim for compensation against the letting agency for this? Thanks
  9. Hi all. Been a good tenant for 10 years now, but have the worst Landlord ever. He has many properties, and trades as a business. We are down to get a new boiler in 2 weeks time, but the old one sprung a leak a couple of weeks ago. It was manageable, and we still had hot water and heating. Unfortunately, the water has got into the electrics and if the boiler is turned on, all the electricity in the house blows. They sent a man out this morning who does all the gas safety checks for them, and without even opening up the boiler, he told us that it is beyond repair, and we will have to try and get the new boiler fitted quicker. This cannot happen, so now they are expecting us to go without heating and hot water until 3rd of March. We have kids, so this can't happen. I really think the old boiler can be fixed, but they just don't want to pay for it, when we will be getting a new one in 9 or ten days. I am going to ring them and tell them this is not acceptable, but I don't know where I stand regarding the law. Please help. Thanks in advance.
  10. Sorry this may seem like a long winded question, but I have tried to explain as best as I can. In March 2016 I had a new combi (condensing) boiler fitted under the “Green Deal” due to me being disabled and my old boiler being quite old. The company that fitted it was ESI Scotland Ltd. At first I was more than happy with what appeared to be a great job, however, there soon appeared problems. The waste pump failed and water was leaking all over the cupboard. When the company came out to check they stated that it was as a result of condensation on the exposed pipes and put lagging around them. The leak continued. Someone from “Green Deal” came to inspect the completed work, but were not happy with several things, wires had been left dangling and not clipped, the exhaust pipe looked as if it was too far out and of course the leak. They arranged for someone from ESI to make good the repairs, the guy who came to fix the exhaust pipe just literally pushed it into the wall. The next person stated there was no leak despite showing him images of where the water was dripping. Eventually the leak became so bad that we had to have a bucket under the pump to catch the water which we had to empty twice each day. They decided to replace the pump. The carpet in the cupboard was ruined and had to be thrown out. All then seemed to work fine until Just after the bells on New Year we noticed that there was no hot water. On opening up the cupboard we could smell gas. The Gas Safety Engineer came out and slapped a “DO NOT USE” sticker on it. After contacting ESI they came out and stated that the issue was with the boiler and so was a manufacturers problem under warranty. T oday Vokera came out and after spending some time examining the boiler decided that the issue was not the boiler but the exhaust. ESI then came back out and after removing the exhaust discovered that it had disconnected internally and although they have made a temporary repair (which they say will be fully rectified tomorrow) I feel that this is a result of shoddy workmanship particularly as a result of them shoving the pipe in when they came to repair it. Over the New Year I had no hot water or central heating but did have a Gas Fire which I had to have on almost continually to keep the house warm. Due to my disability I am unable to keep my body temperature regulated properly so relied on this fire to help, now I dread my next Bill. Who can I complain to if there is anyone?
  11. I have applied for boiler grant through one of the big 6 energy companies. The subcontractor called and told me I can have boiler and installation if I contribute few hundreds of pounds, reduced from around £2000. Then I have applied through [removed] again - as first company didn't want to tell me what boiler exactly will I be getting. Not even output power... [removed] told me that I'm not eligible for grant at all as my current boiler is too effective [above 86%, but leaking]. I met all other conditions. I don't know what to think now. Is first subcontractor taking me for a ride, trying to flog some old type of boiler or maybe it is proven to be bad quality and maintenance cost will be high? I'm not giving names as I don't want to imply anything. PS - Am I right to think that '[removed]' is government and impartial?
  12. Im not sure where to post this but was looking for a bit of advice, my gas boiler started acting up last month, got onto this mybuilder network thing about trades men looking for work ,had a gas boilerman call me, said he would look at it on the Saturday, told him I wanted the boiler servicing and it wasn't working, left him to it. He said the spark initiator wasn't working right after servicing it, he went away to get it, came back twiddled around with it, got the boiler working and asked me for £165, this was for the service, the part and a years warranty. Like a mug I paid him cash, then I spent the rest of the week chasing up the receipt for the money, eventually someone came round with a receipt. The boiler worked ok that week, I went away for three weeks, switched everything off. came back last week, wasnt able to switch the boiler on, sent him a message sunday night, called him Monday morning he tells me its too late to send someone round, he sends someone round Tuesday night, bloke doesn't seem to have much of an idea, says it might be this that or the other, as hes going out the door he tells me he will call me today sometime (Wednesday), no calls at all. where does this leave me, hes got my money, warranty don't seem to be worth nothing. What can I do???
  13. Hi All , Looking for some advice regarding a current issue with Scottish Power and my boiler cover....... My boiler has developed a pressure loss and water loss which SP has put it down to the heat exchanger and due too the boiler age 8 years in there professional option the boiler is beyond economical repair (BER) but can't tell me how they reached that decision The boiler is excellent condition as it has always been serviced mostly by SP and the engineer's boss asked him on the phone regarding the excellent condition I made a complaint to SP and was contacted by a member of the complaints team who just said " in there professional option it was BER " and won't provide any document to back this up .... What I do know is the parts will cost around £600 which may sound a lot of money to repair a boiler but taking into account to replace the boiler for the same spec and have it installed - which SP don't do would cost in the region of £1500+ I also asked them what was the definition of BER which they couldn't tell but me looking at the law directory and other sources this is normally based on 80%. Looking thru my t&c's there is a condition which mention about BER but doesn't state a figure therefore I assume 80% is the figure. As the two figures are no where near the BER threshold I can't see why the boiler won't be repaired under my policy... The other thing is SP didn't advise if I can still use the boiler ???? What are my rights as a consumer to request the following [*]Engineers report [*]A copy of the formula used to determine BER [*]Copy of parts required to make boiler right I would be grateful for any information you can provide to enable to further challenge SP
  14. Took out a British Gas homecare agreement a few months back and paid a £99 initial call out charge where they come out and inspect/fix your boiler and then you pay £22 a month for a minimum of 12 months. If they don't want to take on a boiler they reserve the right to not take on the agreement after the initial inspection. They took on my boiler and 4 months down the boiler has broken down again. The engineer came out today and advised that the boiler is not worth throwing more money at and cancelled my agreement. When I spoke with British Gas they said that the Ferroli no longer supply the parts but I just got off the phone with them and they have plenty in stock. I think its due to the fact that its gonna cost them £400 for the part. (combustion box) Can they do that mid way through a policy as it doesn't suit them?
  15. Hi Folks I am trying to help sort out my father’s finances. He defaulted on a boiler loan, and the loan was sold on to another company who want £3000. Im suggesting he appeal either to fin ombudsman [though I have read here that they are not much use] or court eg. The decision to sell on the loan, the repayment levels. He took out a loan for a new boiler in 2008, and has defaulted. The loan term was 120 months/10yrs. Apr 20.8%. ‘Current monthly rate 1.468%’ My father paid on time by direct debit until he defaulted in late 2013, early2014. He defaulted as he as didn’t keep an eye on his finances. The total my dad paid, was from 2008 to 2014: £4031.97 (excluding any interest charges). I need help with a few things. 1: At the start of the loan how much did he actually have to pay including interest. Going thru the original papers see photo: boiler loan 2ed. It looks like £3819.29 for the boiler and installation. And £4620.91 interest. So a total of £8440.2 is correct? In photo Img_0007ed, The amount owed in march 2014 was £3084.79, and the Shortfall of capital was £2576.08. so an approx total £5660.87. So what is the correct amount? 2: The repayment level makes no sense, see photos: imged to img007ed. Each month he paid £68.21 a month, however in the same month approx £50 of interest was added back to the loan amount. Meaning only £15 to £20 a month was paying off the loan. Which would amount to approx a maximum of £240 a yr, or £2400 for the ten year loan period. Which does not even pay back the boiler price of £3819.29. Were the monthly repayment level and other interest calculations, additions, details correct? thanks Jon boiler loan 2ed: [ATTACH=CONFIG]60502[/ATTACH] Img_0007ed: [ATTACH=CONFIG]60503[/ATTACH]
  16. Hi, I am new here, but I have an issue that is cause myself and my family quite a bit of stress and I am hoping and Looking for a bit of advise. We have a Boiler service agreement/Insurance with one of UK energy suppliers for a Vaillant Boiler, and have done so for nearly 3 years. Now we have only had to make use of it once (in August this year they replaced the expansion vessel as pressure was dropping), but around a week ago it brought up an F75 error and would not heat central heating system or hot water. I immediatley called the customer service line, and they said they could not get someone out until after the weekend. So Monday came (after no heating or hot water all weekend), and the engineer turned up (different engineer to the previous 2 that we had - now both left the company). He dismantled the boiler to take a look and said this doesnt look good, and then said that it needed various parts, and that because the amount of parts that it needed he wouldnt be able to order them up without speaking to his field service manager. So he made some notes and looked at the water (took a sample - visual test) and said that the water appeared to not have any inhibitor in and should have in a hard water area. He then went out to his van to make the call to the field service manager who said that they would not be able to carry out the work. The problem I have with this is that I personally put inhibitor in the system (max of 3 years ago - which he said it needed doing every 3 years), our system also has an in line Furnox TF1 filter which I explained to him. This engineer said that there were notes on our account to say that they had seen scale in the boiler when did the first service but I was not advised of this (we have a booklet but most of the notes in the booklet are totally unreadable). The engineer also mentioned that two of the parts that need replacing have been an issue on this particular model of Boiler (which he has seen personally), and Vaillant have updated the parts over the years, but have not admitted there is a problem. So obviously what I am axtremely angry about is that we have been paying for this agreement, and all along they have noted that they have seen scale in the boiler and so could at any point use it to not honour a repair to the boiler if it was water related, but because nobody eveer told us of this we were not to know of the issue. Also the expansion vessel in a boiler obviously carries water and so why was this changed only 2/3 months ago? Should they be testing the water for inhibitor when they do a annual service and then advising if the level is low? I feel now right or wrongly the two previous engineers were the type of guys that just went for the easy life and didnt advise us of anything that may cause a future issue, and should the 2nd engineer have agreed to replace the expansion vessel if there was a water issue. It seems that they may have been doing us a favour short term, but obviously now it feels they may have let us down (conveniently they have now left the company), and then it would seem we have had the complete opposit guy attnd last Monday and he wants to do everything by the book. So if I wish to pursue this - do I stand any chance at all, and if so what should my stance be (as I feel there are several historical errors on there part)?
  17. Please advise...Thanks. Long Story: My cover With Homeserve was nearing expiry. I had a letter from them asking for £555 a year [approx.] to continue my cover. After a chat they were willing to reduce to about £32 a month. Still too expensive. I said I would let the cover expire. I then rang Homeserve servicing department and asked them if this years service was still covered. the lady said yes. I told her that my cover was due to expire. She said it did not matter as I had paid for this service with my cover. I booked a service and pointed out it was after expiry of my cover. She answered as above. The engineer duly came. he cleaned the boiler and put a new seal on the inner door of the boiler, checked the outside flue. That was it. He did not check the flue gases. I have never had any paperwork from the Homeserve subcontractors over 3/4 years! I then Joined Home Energy Service. They required a boiler inspection before the cover started. They came 2/3 weeks later and cleaned the inside of the boiler and tested the flue gases. They found it was "over the top" and was in a dangerous condition and disabled the boiler. The engineer stated he would contact his office to have the flue repaired on my cost as the boiler had to be in good condition before they would agree to cover it. He then gave me relevant paperwork. I phoned Homeserve asking them to pay for the repair. After saying that the policy had expired and I countered that I had already confirmed that the service was included, they came back to say that the company that carried out the service stated to them that a "full service had been carried out and the boiler was safe". Homeserve said they would send a copy of their worksheet and a letter confirming they would not pay. Every time I ring Homeserve they say "all calls are recorded". Do I pay £10 to get the information from them? Do I have to get an outside party to examine the flue before I do anything else please? My mother in law is a frail 97 years old person and we have no heating. Where do I stand please? I wish to go to the small claims court. Sorry it's so long.
  18. Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has found the Scottish Power Boiler Service contract to be appalling. A valve in my boiler started leaking in November and an engineer from Scottish Power told me he would order a new one to replace it. However, after two months of repeated phone calls, engineers turning up with the wrong valve (or not at all) it still hadn't been fixed. The leak got more severe and my boiler was becoming damaged. I finally received a phone call from Scottish Power saying that an engineer would come out to replace the valve on the morning of January 30th but nobody came. By this time I was very concerned about potential damage to the boiler and I therefore phoned a local plumber who replaced the valve for me the following day at a cost of £175. I have tried to get Scottish Power to refund the cost of the valve but they have refused as an engineer apparently turned up later that day rather than the morning (despite me telling them that I couldn't be there after 4 p.m.) and I wasn't there to "give them access" so it is my fault (according to them). The fact that I had made it very clear that I would only be there in the morning and the fact that I had already waited for two months is irrelevant it seems.
  19. I have just found this website while browsing, so I have signed up. This, my first post, is both to seek advice and, perhaps, to alert others to the problem I am facing. It does not concern a utility company as such, but the manufacturer/supplier of energy equipment - in this case Viessmann, a well-respected company who make gas, solar and other systems for domestic hot water (DHW) and central heating (CH). Having looked through the forums I am hoping that this is the right sub-forum in which to post: it seems that there are quite a few plumbing and heating experts who contribute to the discussions here. The essential details are as follows: In October 2010 (ie just over three years ago) we had our old, traditional system renewed/replaced. We had a Viessmann 343-F "tower unit" installed. This is a gas-fired condensing boiler, integrated with cylinder, pumps and solar water-heating circuit and controls, all packaged into one single box about the size of a domestic fridge. So as well as the mains gas, we have a panel of solar tubes on the roof which helps to heat the water. This tower unit stands on the floor of our utility room, in the corner, with all pipe-connections at the top. The system works superbly, is very efficient and has cut down our gas bills (since especially in sunny weather, the solar circuit heats most of our DHW needs). However...... several weeks ago we noticed a puddle (indeed a pool) of water on the floor around, beside and behind the boiler - or rather the tower unit. As it is located against the walls in the corner of the utility room there is very little visibility and vitrually no access beside or behind the unit - and of course it is immovable as it is plumbed-in and very heavy. We mopped up the apparent leak: it wasn't a pouring flood. But the puddle soon reappeared. There was much more liquid when the CH was on. With DHW only, there was still a leak, but noticeably less. There is no local Viessmann agent in our area, and the firm which installed our system had ceased trading and no longer exists. To cut a long story short, telephone discussion with Viessmann UK customer services and tech helpline, and eventually a call-out to a local plumber, suggested that our initial fear - that one of the CH pipes or joints behind the boiler unit leading to and from the radiators had sprung a leak - was mistaken. Rather the suspicion was that there was a condensate leak. This tallied with the evidence that there was more of a puddle when the CH was on (boiler running long and often) than when DHW only (boiler running much less). Now here is the problem.... and the warning. Further checking with the help of a friendly local plumber revealed (a) that there was no flow at all out of the condensate drain pipe, which was normally plumbed in to the waste outflow pipe under the sink, and which we disconnected to check. Also (b) so far as we could see by tracing that drain pipe back, it had not become disconnected from the boiler, and the joints and connections (with jubilee clips) along its length inside the tower unit were all sound. BUT.... more checking eventually turned up the cause of the problem. The condensate drain pipe is a flexible ribbed plastic tube, like a thin vacuum cleaner hose or some washing machine outflows. This tube had been wedged, or crushed, beween a internal copper pipe and the casing panel inside the tower unit, just under the boiler components and above the HW cylinder. When we removed it and looked closely, we discovered a small but significant split on the underside (invisible until the tube had been removed). The good news is that - having found the source of the leak - the immediate solution is to replace the tube. Simples! There is however some bad news. It is obvious that this split was not sudden or recent. The tube had evidently been wedged and squashed under the other pipe when the unit was originally assembled. The tube was actually held inplace by cable-ties. So the split had been there for many months, indeed possibly years. The really bad news is that all the components inside this tower unit casing are very tightly packed-in, so inspection is difficult; but we established that the condensate seeping from the split plastic tube had flowed down through a gap in the panels on to, and into, the spongy insulation jacket which completely encases the HW cylinder. This means two things. First, that the leak had been there for so long that the condensate had eventually saturated the whole of the insulation jacket, and then soaked into the floor immediately below the unit, the skirting boards and the base of the walls below. Only then, and when the flow was substantial, did it begin to "puddle" on the floor-tiles under and behind the unit. Second, (and any plumber reading this will be ahead of me!) the fact is that condensate is highly corrosive. So.... we have had a boiler/cylinder assembly inside this tower unit casing where for many months, and possibly years ever since the new unit was first installed, the cylinder and all its pipe-connections have been sitting (so to speak) immersed and saturated completely in corrosive acidic condensate which was being constantly replenished. It is of course impossible to inspect, as all this is inside the moulded insulation jacket. Although condensate only flows when the boiler is running, I had assumed the discharge would only be a matter of a few cupfuls. Since the immediate short term repair of fitting a new drain tube, I have been staggered to observe that the boiler discharges around 5-6 litres per 24 hours. And the boiler has been running for over three years! I have reported all this (complete with photos) to Viessmann's service department, and made clear that I am looking to them to come up with an appropriate response - which to me means complete inspection, overhaul and replacement of all affected parts or (probably easier) replacement of the entire unit. Notwithstanding the fact that the unit was installed just over 3 years ago (the warranty is for 3 yrs) the evidence points clearly to a manufacturing/assembly fault or error, possibly a design flaw, and certainly a problem and a leak which has been present for many months at least (ie it arose well within the warranty period). I now await Viessmann's response. So in a way I am jumping the gun by posting this now in a forum. If Viessmann accepts responsibility and undertakes to replace the unit and make good the damage I shall be the first to applaud them. If however they don't, we could be in for a serious fight over liability and compensation. I, and I hope Viessmann, do not see that as in either of our interests. But on a contingency basis I am having to think about what that might involve. So, for anyone else who has or works on similar Viessmann units - check the condensate drain hose immediately and very carefully! For anyone who is a plumber - any comments on the nature and consequences of this problem? For anyone who has experience of claiming for a fault of this kind - any advice to offer if I have to go down that road?
  20. The boiler broke down yet again yesterday and the letting agency just keeps saying we have to wait for the LL to OK the repairs and the LL has to provide any portable heaters I may need, this house has no other means of heating than the central heating, only hot water is now from the kettle, I am classed as disabled and this cold house is making me feel unwell to say the least. what I want to know is there anything I can do or say to the letting agency to get some sort of heating device to keep at least one room warm? And am I entitled to any compensation for the lack of heating/hot-water, also how long is reasonable for me to have to wait for repairs please?
  21. Help please, anyone... I have an insurance policy on my boiler. it pays for repairs / call outs up to 1500 per year. Made no claims over last three years or so. Have a leak at the moment, called them out, this was last weekend. heard nothing today, until out of the blue I received a phone call asking me if my boiler was working and that he could replace it for free but I had to pay the install charges of £1000!!!!! I asked my he was calling when I was waiting to hear from D&G about a part. He apologised and said that he probably shoulnt have called me and that I would probably hear from D&G in the next few days! I was disgruntled at this point. I left it a couple of hours and finally rang D&G, only to be told that the boiler had been written off days ago! no-one had bothered to call me to tell me. the policy states that in the event of a breakdown and not cost effective etc that a contribution could be offered from D&G of up to 1500.. ....oh no, not the case, they offered me £127.03..... in the space of an afternoon I have been told that a boiler that needed a part is now written off as the part is not available. my annoyance is that I am being penalised because the parts aren't available and £120 is not going to buy me a new boiler. I am a working mom with two small children, and after spending nearly two hours on the phone to D&G I don't know where to go next, so any help, or advice or anything would be appreciated.
  22. I had a boiler changed in a property I rent out by a big company. They came in and re-piped the entire system from the gas meter to the boiler in the kitchen. There used to be an old lady living in this two bed flat who didn't like gas cookers and used a microwave to cook everything. So in 10 odd years I never had a need for a gas cooker although the pipes for it were always there. Since then the old lady has moved out and when I came to plugging in a cooker the connection was no longer there. So basically when the plumbers re-piped the entire system they forgot to put in a provision for a gas cooker. I should mention that this work was carried out 6 months back for a set fee which I think was £800 and the rest was covered under a grant that the lady qualified for. The installers are now saying that there was no provision for a cooker in the first place which is wrong. Is there anything I can do?
  23. I have had an ongoing issue with British Gas since my renewal dropped through the letter box in September 2014 for £340/yr. A fairly simple telephone call you might imagine to negotiate a better deal to compare to competitors at around £200/yr for the same level of cover. Anyway, two telephone calls that failed to result in a new price, due to "computer issues". Followed by various methods of them delivering the same £340/yr renewal quote with no explanation. Plus my complaints via on-line message through the website and to various complaints/customer service email addresses has still not resulted in a resolution. The most annoying fact is after the initial phone calls they said I would continue to be insured, and they would take the direct debit at the monthly amount stated. Now they never did this, so i would assume I am not insured, but they have not responded to my questions to confirm this. Please give some thought before you take one of these policies, and not just with BG by the sounds of it. I am going to try and find a good recommended boiler service guy and hope that any breakdowns and repairs are not too painful. Thanks for reading..
  24. Hi all, I've posted before regarding my idiot landlord and ive got another problem. Thursday night while at work, I get a call saying boiler has packed in- no heat/hot water. I get landlords voicemail. Friday morning, voicemail again. Friday afternoon, I book an engineer. Saturday morning, still again, landlords voicemail. Engineer attended that afternoon and fixed it to the tune of £130. We have a 2 year old in the house and I really couldn't wait for some 20 year old to be bothered to turn his IPhone on. Where do I stand witholding/deducting this from the rent? Cheers all Bearington
  25. Have the nightmare scenario of boiler playing up. Local engineer diagnosed two faults, fixed them bit looks like it needs a more thorough diagnosis from a product specialist. BG doing this offer here, has anyone used this or have any negative feedback. https://www.britishgas.co.uk/rc-app-slot-booking/ Its the £99 fixed price repair with HomeCare 200. Have read the t&c's but see no hidden fees - anyone recommend it?
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