Biasi boiler warranty - negligent service to pregnant woman - legal recourse?

[ambermf]

Hello, my husband and I purchased a new boiler about 15 months ago from Biasi. It's is an ActivA Combi Boiler with a 5 year warranty.

 

We called for boiler service for the first time in December as it was making a horrific banging noise - they arrived to service it about 3 days after the call, took it out of commission as they said carbon monoxide levels were too high, and then took another 5 days or so to repair and turn it back on. If you'll recall mid-December was very cold - high temperatures around zero degrees.

 

We were extremely frustrated with and disappointed in the service, the responsiveness of the customer service team, and the performance/knowledge of the repairman. Each interaction was hostile, unfriendly, and exceedingly bureaucratic. I was about 33 weeks pregnant at that time, and despite alerting Biasi of this fact, they made absolutely no effort to prioritise our case.

 

Eventually the boiler was repaired/reactivated - but after they left it started to make a (new) strange noise. We called for service again last week. Again it took about 3 days to send someone out - the repairman arrived Saturday morning. He dismantled the entire unit, said the CO levels were too high and that the heat extractor needed replacing, turned it off and left. At this point it is -2 degrees outside and snowing, and I am now 39 weeks pregnant, due to pop any day. Again, we received hostile and unresponsiveness service, lack of commitment, lack of care. After 3 phone calls this morning they sent another serviceman out today, who tried to fix it by replacing another (cheaper) part - completely disregarding the assessment of the first technician. This failed. We are now at the end of day 3 without heat or hot water, in the dead of winter, about to give birth. We have no commitment to when this will be fixed, the necessary part has still not been ordered, and we have no follow up appointment scheduled. We have to begin the process again tomorrow morning.

 

I want to share this story as a warning - DO NOT BUY A BIASI BOILER AS THEIR SERVICE AND SUPPORT ARE NEGLIGENT AND AWFUL. Their service technicians seem to be focused on disabling the units and they do so while offering you no recourse, nor assurances, nor guarantees of when heat and hot water will be reinstated.

 

Second, I want to know if there is any legal recourse available at all. I have not found written documentation of Biasi's 5-year boiler warranty terms and conditions - if you know where I could find these I would appreciate the help.

 

Also I have the following questions: does a company providing a warranty have any legal obligation to provide those services within a specific timeframe? Does the fact that I am 9 months pregnant give them additional responsibility? Because the product is under warranty, we cannot go to another service provider to repair the product, or we will render the warranty null. Our hands are completely tied yet we enter day 4 without heat or hot water in the midst of below zero temperatures.

 

Any help or guidance on this issue would be appreciated.

 

thank you.

[nottslad]

The legislation which would cover this would be the Sale Of Goods Act 1979. Goods should be durable and fit for purpose.

 

As far as I am aware there is no legal timescale in which a repair should be carried out; it should be set out in the terms and conditions of the warranty which would then be a matter for trading standards if not adhered to as this is an unregulated industry; there is no Ombudsman service.

 

It may be worth drafting a letter of co-mplaint to the CEO of the company

[ambermf]

thank you - i will keep trying to hunt down the T&Cs and may take your advice and draft a letter.