Engineer ... Bad experience

[James007a]

Hi,

Advice is needed please?

My boiler was installed a few weeks ago and after the installation a leak occured in one of the pipes leading to the boiler. This lead to a leak which has damaged the ceiling (beige stains on paint), a wooden facia which covers a support beam has warped and come apart at the joins, the carpet has a lost its grip at the door jamb (there is no weave for the grippers to 'grip' onto) and lifts up from the sides where the engineer lifted the carpet to look at the underlay and the wooden floor boards and also the bay window has water marks where the water tracked.

We have spoken to the engineer and he said people would come round to repair the work, no-one has come. We then then asked him to contact his insurance company, he did not, so we found his details on MyBuilder.com and contacted them ourselves.

Problem is he cancelled the insurance.

When the pipework was done he was on the roof with the roofer and his assistanne/subby did the soldering.

So who needs the insurance, our guy or the subby?
What can we do now?

We have house insurance, but don't have legal expense cover.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[misterdubya]

3 different threads now - all about the same subject.

 

[James007a]

I did that because each has a different concern, although all are the same topic.

Doesn't it make it more sensible to seperate the concerns out so that each can be addressed seperatly?

I have to be frank, I don't need to be educated on where I can and can't post questions.

So what if I have posted three posts on the same subject, like I said above I've done that for the sake of ease when you guys reply and when I read the replies.

I don't need to be 'fighting' on here when I'm worried my ceiling is about to fall down beacuse some engineer has messed up.

If you have to comment then please be constructive.

 

[doitall]

Provided the insurance was valid when he did the work, cancelling it later shouldn't be a problem in my opinion.

 

[Agile]

I have to be frank, I don't need to be educated on where I can and can't post questions.

So what if I have posted three posts on the same subject, like I said above I've done that for the sake of ease when you guys reply and when I read the replies.

I don't need to be 'fighting' on here when I'm worried my ceiling is about to fall down beacuse some engineer has messed up.

Those words seem to indicate that you are an aggressive person.

You obviously don't appreciate how forums work! We like to see everything in one place all together. Someone just reading this thread would not know about all the others. You did not bother to comment or thank anyone for those replies!

You have already been advised on the best way forward but instead you seem intent on making a mountain out of a molehill.

I told you that the easiest and best solution would be for you to just claim on your own house insurance.

But you seem intent on bankrupting the poor installer. You say things are not going well for him and all you want to do is make them worse!

You don't seem to be a very nice person!

 

[James007a]

Agile,

I have summarised the subject in each of the threads, so that any intelligent person can read the summary and then comment on that particular concern.

Agressive ... Yes I am. My bloody house is looking like it's about to fall down and you're giving me crap about being calm.

Claim on my house insurance ... So I have to pay my excess and then next year pay the rise it'll cost me to renew, oh and lose the no-claims I have built up. If I made the mistake then fine I'd do it, I didn't make the mistake so I'm not going to pay any more.

Mountain out of a molehill ... Small hole, lots of water, ceiling falls down, lights explode, 1st floor support beam erodes and the kids bedroom falls into the lounge. That's the mountain, pretty f**kin' big.

And ...

Thank you for your reply.

I look forward to more replies and place my self in utter reverence to those that are above me.

 

[Agile]

If your installer had known what you are really like then I doubt that he would have taken on the job!

I would not have done!

But in your first post you did seem quite reasonable!

But when you did not make any comment or give any thanks for the replies I did wonder.

Just in case you think that we are paid for answering here, we are not! We are just professionals in the industry who like to help those who appreciate our efforts.

Unfortunately you are not one of those!

Tony

 

[pinetrees]

sorry to hear of your issues, I would ensure that you document everything (photos, time line etc) and check to see if you have legal advice cover in any of your insurance products and use them.

Personally I would write to the installer by recorded mail stating the issues and provide a final date for the issues to be fixed.
Can you take him to the small claims court?

 

[James007a]

What I am really like ... I'm a nice guy.

When a tradesman does does a job and it goes wrong and then I find out he has no insurance becasue he cancelled it then I get angry.

To everyone who has added comments to the other posts, I thank you all, I do apologise for not doing it earlier. I'll thank you all in this post, to keep it all in one place.

I needed answers and wasn't thinking about thanking others for the replies that been supplied.

 

[Agile]

When I do heating work for anyone I do not like to be called a "workman".

The image it creates is of an unskilled person digging up the road!

Not a graduate engineer highly skilled in dealing with gas boilers!

But then that term is often intentionally used to be demeaning!

I wonder what you do for a living?

Tony

 

[pumps100]

If it was me I would write to the person you contracted to do the work. Set out in this letter what you believe to be the problem and what you require to be done to remedy the situation.

Ask him to respond to you within 14 days or another reasonable period. Send all letters registered and keep copies.

Keep a diary of all conversations made and promises or undertakings given. Itemise all payments previously made. If you know the times and dates he was on site list these also including the labour on site. Take photos.

If he does reply or fobs you off again. Write again and advise that if work to remedy the situation has not commenced within 7 days you will have no alternative to get another contractor or contractors in to carry out remedial work and you will seek to recover these costs via County Court Small Claims.

On the assumption he does not return get a quote from a contractor, or contractor, to complete the work. Try to get more than one quote if you can.

As a last resort get the work completed by another contractor and keep a detailed record of all costs arising. Submit a claim via the CC.

Note you cannot claim back any of your time. For example if you did the internal decoration once the problem was sorted.

Regards

Ian

 

[Dan Robinson]

Regardless of my sympathies for the op I am not going to trawl multiple threads to find the relevant info. What is relevant should be for us to decide.

I'm out.

 

[James007a]

Pumps ... Thanks for the reply. I have started to compile the information and will take the course of action you have suggested.

Dan ... This thread is about insurance. The 'What do we do now?' is regarding insurance.

I don't expect you to trawl my other posts, if you had a question that needed answering to better understand my position, then ask the question and I'll answer.

I'm done with justifying my posts or how I post.

Agile ... I'm taking the higher ground. I've obviously inadvertantly upset you. Apologies about that.

Deleting my profile.

 

[pumps100]

I would not delete your profile. This is a useful site. I think sometimes people forget that this is a DIY site. Occasionally threads get hijacked by time-served tradespeople who unfortunately can tend to mock and rubbish the DIYer. They can also get a bit chippy for reasons known only to themselves. Just ignore.

Regards

Ian

 

[Boilerman2]

Just claim on your own insurance - Believe me if your insurer's think they can they will pursue the claim on the installer like a ton of bricks!!