British Gas complaint - help needed

[rhjones99]

I have an ongoing dispute with British Gas and would welcome anyone’s help and opinion as to whether they think I have a case. To explain the entire problem would be lengthy, so I have kept it brief, but can go into more detail if required.

1. I have 7 radiators in my house, which approximately 18 months ago became stuck on, so they were continuously blasting out heat.

2. I contacted British Gas, who firstly replaced a pump (did not fix the problem), but insisted I needed a powerflush to remove gunk in the system.

3. Powerflush undertaken and cost approximately £500, which has been paid.

4. Immediately following powerflush (within 2-4 weeks) 4 radiators leaked. The sill along the bottom broke and water flooded out bleaching the carpets. 4 radiators were turned off to prevent them refilling with water.

5. Contacted British Gas, who sent a technician to view the damage. The technician confirmed the leaking was caused by the powerflush and that it was the worst damage he had ever seen. I have homecare and therefore was told that the 4 radiators would be replaced free of charge. I agreed to replacement.

6. To maintain consistency throughout the house I also agreed to pay for the 3 good radiators to be replaced. Cost quoted at approximately £900. I was told that the 3 good radiators were not covered by homecare because they had not leaked.

7. Within a couple of weeks of the technician leaving radiator number 5 began leaking. Again bleaching the carpet, but also running through the ceiling and damaging the wall paper in my hall. Radiator 5 was turned off to prevent it refilling with water. I also turned off radiators 6 and 7 in anticipation of them leaking, and to prevent any subsequent damage.

8. Technician arrived and replaced all 7 radiators. British Gas have billed me for £900. The technician advised me when he fitted the radiators, that the powerflush was not the answer to my initial problem of the radiators being stuck on. I was told the problem actually related to the pump, so therefore the powerflush was unnecessary. Technician observed wallpaper and carpet damage.

I am disputing the bill for £900 and requesting reimbursement of the powerflush bill of £500. I am also requesting British Gas compensate me for the damage to my carpets and wall paper.

My contention is that the powerflush was unnecessary and that it caused the damage (confirmed by British Gas technician and I have his name). All radiators would have leaked in time, proved by radiator 5 and only prevented because I turned off radiator 6 and 7. I believe that all 7 radiators should be covered by my homecare agreement and replaced free of charge.

So far I have sent a letter to British Gas outlining my complaint. I have received a phone call from a lady (not particularly helpful), but the upshot of her call was that British Gas were unwilling to cancel the £900, not willing to refund £500 neither were they willing to compensate me for the damage to my carpet and wallpaper. Her reason being that I agreed to the powerflush and to pay for the 3 good radiators at the time of the technician’s first visit. However the lady, although I suspect not technically trained, did state in her call that a powerflush would not be the answer to the problem of stuck on radiators. But she also insists the powerflush did not cause the damage to my radiators, despite a technician saying otherwise. I have asked her to put her comments in writing, but have not yet received them. I did point out to her that my radiators had worked perfectly for 20 years, and only leaked after the powerflush. She was unwilling to accept the two incidents were related, but could not offer any explanation why the radiators had leaked.

I have to admit that her call took me a little by surprise, so I don’t feel I argued my point as well as I could have done so. I therefore called British Gas to discuss the complaint further, but I did not take the lady’s name so could not speak with her. I was told that the complaints/billing department was shut and that someone would call me back, but so far I have hear nothing. I was told that my complaint would be reopened.

Do I have a good case? And if so what should my next step be? I have considered small claims, but is that the next step? I am confident I could argue my case successfully, and suspect that for the money involved they would probably concede before it got to this stage, but is there any easier way?

Is the lady I spoke to, simply not at the correct level to deal with my request? Do British Gas have a legal department? And If I spoke to them would they be more receptive?

If it helps I have a copy of my letter to British Gas and can post it if necessary. It basically outlines the above in a bit more detail.

Any help would be appreciated.

[jotty]

If you deal with British Gas for anything, and I mean anything, send letters by recorded delivery to Sam Laidlaw Chief Executive, sorry I cant find full address but its on this site somewhere. I found the 'Customer nonservice' staff to be totally and completely useless.

Soon as you write to the top man things get done.

[nannamoon1]

Hi,

 

Anyone have the address of Sam Laidlaw Chief Executicw, I need to complain, I have a homeplan agreement whereby they are supposed to service the boiler yearly, and they have always been late by 2/3 months. I am going to ask them to refund the difference, plus compensation for breaching their agreement.

[rhjones99]

Thank you for everyones response so far. If anyone has Sam Laidlaw's address, please let me know.

[Wolly]

Complaints Management Team

British Gas

PO Box 3054

Eastbourne

BN21 9FD

 

Hope this helps!

Edited May 5, 2009 by alanfromderby
Address Update

[rhjones99]

Thank you for the address, I will send my letter to him recorded.

 

Having read my complaint, what are peoples' views on my case?

[mrsfoot]

Hi

I have read your thread with interest.

In my opinion you have a good case, and I would be inclined to take it to Trading Standards have a look at their websitre here Trading Standards Central - Trading Standards and Consumer Protection information for the UK

 

I had a complaint with British Gas and found energywatch extremely helpful, whay not have a look at their website and email them to see if they will help.

energywatch: Home Page

 

Keep at them. BG have the most complaints against them in the last 3 months of the financial year (see energywatch website for details) but getting a heavy on your side will help!

[andybugz]

as mrsfoot stated just goto energywatch and stop wasting your time sending mail to BG which will only delay the complaint longer, the changes within BG regarding OFGEM/ENERGYWATCH complaints means that when either of those 2 contact BG beleive me they will bend over backwards to settle the complaint

 

in regards to the result of the complaint i dont know what the outcome would be but you have a fair point from i what can see having read your original post

[MrHandyman]

Not sure if this has been resolved yet, but hope I can help. I work for british gas as a complaint handler in one of the offices.

 

With regards to the damage, call in to the office and tell them you want the details of your situation passed to the field manager for your area. This manager will contact you once passed the details, and, since it is property damage, they almost always call to inspect the damage and subsequently arrange a visit from our loss adjusters.

 

With regards to the misinformation, the valve stuck open can be caused by sludge, and it is a fairly common problem to be honest. Sometimes one problem can be brought to light when another is fixed.

 

Again, when the field manager visits, the claim this powerflush would not have remedied your problem will be investigated. If the charges are to be written off, it will come from the field manager's budget, so it's up to him.

 

When writing a letter of complaint, you should send it to your local office. If you're still not happy, leave a comment with where you live and I can point you to the right people.

 

Handyman.