Charged for asking for boiler to be looked at by landlord

[alex2258867]

Hi guys,

 

My colleague has asked me for some advice and I would appreciate any input you may have.

 

She called her agent as there was a strange noise coming from the boiler. The agent sent a maintenance man, he inspected the boiler and found no fault.

 

The noise persisted and when my colleague investigated, she found there was a screw loose on the boiler door and this is waht was causing the noise. She tightened the screw and the noise stopped.

 

Today she received a bill from the agent asking her to pay £50.00 as no fault was found.

 

Obviously she doesn't want to pay...and ideas?

 

Many thanks

[Chiro]

Did the boiler make the noise when the maintenance man was there?

 

Did she report back that she has found out what the problem was & sorted it herslf with the help of a colleague?

 

I can see where the agent is coming from in sending the bill if no fault was found, often there is a fee payable when no fault is discovered. Not that it's right as you have said that you & a colleague have identified the fault & fixed it.

[alex2258867]

Hi Chiro,

 

It seems they weren't present when the guy checked out the boiler, but she got a call from the agent to say he had looked at it and found no fault.

 

When she got back to the flat, she switched on her heating, the noise started again. They decided to have a look themselves and found the loose screw was the cause of the noise.

 

If I have any kind of issue with my boiler, I immediately contact my landlord as you obviously can't mess around with these things. If a fault is found or not, I have never been charged.

 

I read her tenancy agreement and there is absolutely no mention of charges being applied should someone be called out and it was a false alarm.

 

The landlord is responsible for maintaining the boiler, my colleague believed there was an issue with the boiler as there was a strange noise emanating from it, she did the right thing...called the agent and reported it.

 

We have written to the agents and told them to poke it...lets see what happens next!

 

Many thanks for your input, much appreciated

[Chiro]

1. I think it would be good to point out the problem being a noise (that was not known as to how serious it was) which was not realised by the maintenance man or found on his visit.

2. You're absolutely right about who is responsible for the maintenance. Also the fact that the noise was not noticed by the maintenance man asks the question of what he did on the visit.

 

I personally think it was a quick visit not addressing any point you have mentioned here. Was the noise actually pointed out when contacting the agent? If so then it should have been found by the maintenance man.

 

I would make sure she points out what the issue was & that it has been fixed & how it was found & fixed. Point out the noise was not discovered by the maintenance man.

 

Good luck.

 

(By the way, I am a landlord. Just one flat so far. Just wish all LL's were fair like me & took responsibility for there properties & duties. Especially where safety is concerened).

[JimmySpangle]

Where was this screw? You are not allowed to touch the gas boiler unless you are a Gas safe registered engineer, other than to turn the boiler on or off as a user.

 

Why did you not just call them back while you were there?

[Steve__M]

Get your colleague to send them a £50 bill for the repair that was done - this would not be intended as a real bill, it would be just to show that you aren't going to be intimidated by their stupidity.

 

Sounds like a "screw on the boiler door" does not count as something that must be done by a Gas Safe engineer.

[lawdoctor]

If the tenancy document does not provide for this fee/penalty then they cannot enforce--end of. Even if it did it is unlikely that it would comply with the UNFAIR TERMS IN CONSUMMER CONTRACTS REGULATIONS 1999

Edited January 25, 2010 by lawdoctor