disgracefull shoddy work.!!

[herman291]

hi all. im new to this thread but felt i had to join and post to tell you all my story,and if possible get some advice as to the next course of action.my name is dave.

about 5 months ago my system started playing up.hot water wasnt getting hot enough and nor were the rads. i think ive got an old combie boiler.it always worked fine prior to this. anyway i put off till today to get the gas board out and take advantage of their repair scheme.phoned up this morning and sure enough the chap arrived this afternoon.great i thought. he proceeded to carry out the necessary checks to accept responsibilty of my system. 'blimey' he said this boiler is well coked up. he cleaned it done one or two other things then put a smoke thing to check the flue. problems start all here.
i live in a two bedroom ground floor flat with my flue from the boiler going up into the upstairs flat and then through the roof.off he goes to check outside ,comes back 10mins later.'i cant find your vent 'he says.he goes to the flat upstairs...yep its there. he checks the loft above and he nearly faints. turns out that the nice council roofing contractors who put on a new roof end of last year just cut off my vent and didnt bother to replace it. so ive been pumping carbon monoxde straight into matey's loft for the last 6/7 months.well the **** hit the fan then.he was in shock..matey is uncontrollabel(understandably) and i just want to knock someones head off.upstairs has one child.i have two cboys and a partner. i dread to think what could have happened.
so gas man completely shuts down my boiler system and condems it.rightly so. i get on to the council emergency number. after 25 mins of ring tone its answered. nothing they can do untill monday morning.so im taking the day off work to go and face em and tell em what i think.. gas man reckons my boiler problems were caused by this outrageous blunder.
in adddition it surfaces that matey upstairs has developed mood swings in the last 5 months and is on anti depresents. and thinking about it my partner realised that she has been feeling lathargic when getting up in the morning.something we put down to just getting older,but wer're not sure now.
anyway.im hoping that some of you guys can offer advice as to what i can do to prevent this from happening to someone else.i really dont know how i would have felt if anyone would have died as a result of my bolier.
any advice is welcome.
ill keep this post updated of any further info. thanks for reading.
regards
dave.
(herman291)

 

[Mike Jackson]

Has the gas man issued a RIDDOR notice? This needs to be reported to the HSE.

Mike

 

[herman291]

no mike. gas man didnt issue a RIDDOR notice as far as i know. he said my first port of call was telling the council to get it right. today's first job.!
im assuming that this will be part of the council's process during their investigation as to what happened. if i dont get any joy or they try and fob me off ill do it myself and ive decided to go to local papers,tv and my solicitor and ill drag it out publicly if i have to. hopefully they wont like that.
dave.

 

[plumbnuts]

Get back onto BG and tell them that you want a RIDDOR, they are obliged to complete one. This form will then automaticly report the roofing company to the HSE.
Steve

 

[buffy27]

cannot believe what i ve just read.
somebody would have died.in ireland an average of 40 people die annually from carbon mon . poisoning.not sure of the stats in uk but there would have been another 2/3 people added only for your findings.well done to the plumber.u go an make an issue of this , can t be swept under the carpet.

 

[herman291]

well as promised here is an update so far...

woke up this morning to literally find the phone ringing..! turned out to be head of property maintenance.names shall remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. l
ive had dealings with him before and was as useful as a chocolate firegaurd. he used to be a corgi engineer before he sucummed to the corporate ladder and inevitably politics.. he basically informed me who to ring because he just subbed the job out to another firm. he told me what he would do if he was me,but he could nt tell me what to do because 'it wasnt his place to'. what a load of twoddle. i thought ,here we go,round in circles cos everyone is cacking themselves about blame and court cases etc.
just about to get in the car when another phone call. this time from the contracts manager of the firm who carried out the works..
result...!!! he's going to drop everything today and come straight round to 'get this mess sorted'.
hour later he turns up.sheepish and on the back foot prepared for a mouthfull. however im impressed with his frontage and make good consversation..he accepts full liability.his main priority is putting a new boiler in,sorting out upstairs and then worrying about the paperwork. what a great chap.


so an engineer is booked for tomorrow to asses the job,he delivered a couple of heater fans cos the heating is off,took an electric meter reading so he'll pay for the power usage of the fans and immersion, and has promised to oversee the works personally.
so far im a happy chappy.

we also contacted RIDDOR and gave a full and frank verbal report.
just as a back up ive also booked an engineer from bg on wednesday just in case they fob me off with a cheap boiler.

then last thing this afternoon,he calls back and says im trying to get the situation resolved as quick as i can.(im thinking ..yep..and where is the but?).but all the different bosses are arguing about who should pay for the works,because in their eyes if they agree to pay for the works ,then they are accepting responsibility.im trying to get you a deal where if the works is carried out .ie a new boiler fitted,then that will be the end of it and ill forget all about it.

now normally that would blow one of my fuses cos thats bribery,however. i beleive he is doing his best cos i know how scared everyone is for liabilty.i am a little fish in a big sea,and in my eyes if i get a brand new boiler fitted,then i am prepared to let it drop.i did tell him that if they argue too long ill just go straight to local press and tv.

my partner rang up one of her friends who happens to be a health and safety trainer and he basicically said that the **** will hit the fan anyway and we're literally talking hundreds of thousands in legal matters.

anyway sorry for the length of this post and ill continue to keep you all informed. once again any information or opinions are welcome.
regards.
dave

 

[Mike Jackson]

Be very wary of accepting anything as a full and final settlement. Take legal advice if necessary but you or your neighbours may suffer long term effects from the CO exposure and you certainly deserve compensation for the suffering for the ill effects that you have already suffered. You need to make sure that blame is properly apportioned otherwise you, as the owner of the appliance, may find yourself on the wrong end of a court case from your neighbour.

Mike

 

[herman291]

interesting point mike ,ill keep that in mind.
i was chatting to the bg engineer on sunday and wondered how often something like this surfaces,he replied ..'its my first.lol'
he has a monthly meet with all the other engineers and they swap info etc. he reckons this sort of problem is 1 in a thousand.

i just wonderd if anybody else has come across this or something similar.?

 

[buffy27]

take my advice and go through your solicitor,make every move a legal on e. fellas will be very friendly when they make serious mistakes.
its like having a car crash and agreeing on the roadside to sort it out between yourselves.very rarely works out right .

 

[stevetheplumber]

im interested to know when the boiler was last serviced ?and whose responsibility the boiler is

 

[REDSAW]

your right there buf,
as its hermans boiler, in effect he could be seen as sweeping it under the carpet in agreement with the contractors, 'lets keep it quiet'. or with-holding evidence if you like.
problem is the people in the upstairs flat have now got illnesses, and unless they are stupid, they will now sue for damages.
so everything done from now should be with 'hermans' solicitors guidance.

 

[herman291]

hi steve.i have been living in this flat for 5 years and i have not had it serviced or looked at in that time. im probably going to get a load of flack now but its the truth. its never been any bother and only started playing up since the roofs were changed. the gas board chap has confirmed that the amount of crap he found built up inside the boiler has ,in his opinion.been a contributery fact in the boilers breakdown.. the last few days it began making a rushing noise every so often.im told this was the boiler being starved of air and searching for it, another factor of being coked up.
the boiler is mine and i am responsible for it.however the council has a duty of care to its other residents in this block and should have insured that the flue was replaced when the roofs were done. i was also informed by gb that only a corgie registered engineer can tamper with my gas flue,but got told conflicting information today by the useless council. an engineer certainly didnt inspect the work after it was complete,surely this would be grounds for gross negligence..
and just to clear things up in case anybody is wondering.im not after compensation or massive amounts of money. all im interested in is getting my boiler repaired or fixed to an exceptable standard.the contractors responsible will hopefully be brought to rights and never be allowed to make the same mistake again.
i am a contractor myself,allbeit in a different field and if i was to make a mistake on a similar plain,then id be for the high jump..
dave.

 

[plumbnuts]

Dave
The roofers have a duty of care and are not allowed to touch the flue unless Corgi registered. They have broken the gas regs in doing the roof and enclosing the flue. They should have got a RGI to alter the flue and test if this was appropriate on an old boiler.
Steve

 

[Deleted member 2053]

Write all this down with dates and times and who you spoke to if possible. Also take some pictures. If this goes to court then anything hard copy counts volumes as contemporaneous evidence. This kind of thing is actually more common than your post suggests, one of the favourites being the double glazinbg replacement people who remove an old window vent for an open flued appliance and fail to provide alternative venting. A good high-profile case will do wonders to shake these guys up a bit. You and your neighbour have escaped this time but your actions now may help to save someone else's life.

This incident also highlights the necessity of having your boiler serviced annually!

 

[Bernie2]

No its not new!

I went to many similar situations, its all politics though. Its usually last one there working on anything to do with the flue, gas train or ventilation before the fault was found is responsible.

Incidentally double glazing companies as well as roofing companies are supposed to know the appropriate section of the Regs as it relates to their job.

The HSE are the ones in overall charge of contraventions. But they are tough and usually go straight for the throat, if there is sniff of contravention. It doesn't do for any company to try a fast one with them and most know it.

I suspect, that whoever is responsible will get in right trouble.

 

[Deleted member 2053]

Incidentally double glazing companies as well as roofing companies are supposed to know the appropriate section of the Regs as it relates to their job.

I am sure that you have enough experience of double glazing companies to know that in most cases they are the ultimate cowboys.

 

[suburbanplumber]

Herman

Please keep us posted as to how this turns out.
While i'm new to being a certified plumber I'm not so new to legal action.

Make sure you take grahamep's advice, Take photos, collect witness statements ASAP, start recording telephone conversations. Nothing looks more convincing to a court than thorough record keeping.

Good luck
SP

 

[piscokid]

See a doctor - all of you - and get health checks - Carbon Monoxide is insidious and can have long term subltle or gross effects, such as poor circulation leading to a thrommy and amputation! - has been known (a horror story they told us at college). Don't take any kind of placatory gestures, kick a*se till your boiler is in, and then make sure they know you've got something on them - I live in a HA place and they are useless as a twenty seven b stroke six. The mentality is to make you pay for their embarrassment.

 

[herman291]

ok guys and gals here's the latest and probably my final post on this subject..!

the council replaced my boiler with a 'valliant' . . .lovely job done and the workmen were very helpfull and did everything i asked of them.,system was flushed and cleaned and basically i had the whole nine yards..
then they patched up all the old vent holes and gave me a decorating allowance..
job done.

matey upstairs gave a blood test .that came back negative and he's now going through solicitors persueing a private claim against the council. his legal bods asked me for a statemant basically slagging the council off to make his claim more of a case.
it might seem harsh but i declined to comment, as from my point of view the council did eveything in their power once the problem came to light to put it right. also it didnt help his case when the council went upstairs to inspect the situation and found a small canabis farm he was harvesting..!
i think he's now trying to cut a deal of some sort.

i did report to RIDDOR myself and gave a verbal statement so i think i've covered myself as best i can.

if i get any other info ill post up. thanks to everyone who'commented.

dave

 

[Mike Jackson]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad you've come out of it alright.

Mike