Some advice please regarding insurance claim

[bigbohan]

Hey guys, I realise that this is DIY related but I was hoping someone could offer some advice here.

Last week we had new radiators and pipework installed. After the engineers had completed the work, we ran the new heating system that night. Everything was great. The next morning I noticed the boiler had cut out and that the pressure had dropped to zero. I refilled the system and though nothing of it. That evening the same thing happened again - no pressure in the boiler. Next day I rang the engineer and he came around that night. He checked all around the house for obvious faults, aside from our bedroom - as my girlfriend was asleep in there. He noticed that there was a slight leak coming from the radiator in the kitchen. He tightened the connections, refilled the system and told me to call him if there was any other problems.

Next day, the same problem resurfaced - no pressure in the boiler. He asked me check around the house to see if there was any evidence of a leak anywhere. I said that there was nothing obvious. We made arrangements for him to call back after the weekend.

He came back as promised, with his original colleague and they went about identifying the problem. Long story short, the pipework in our bedroom was not connected properly. As such the leaking water has affected the ceiling and carpet in the dining room below. He said it wasn't much water and should be ok. The stain in the ceiling is getting bigger by the days and I feel that it needs to be rectified.

I am unwilling to claim on our home insurance (do not want my no claims bonus affected) and feel that he should rectify the issue.

He IS Corgi/Gas Safe Registered and my questions are as follows:

Do Corgi engineers legally have to have insurance?
If not then how do I go about getting him to pay for any damages?
What's the best way to get him to deal with it (simple phone call or letter)
If he fails to acknowledge blame or refuses to do anything about it, where can I go for official complaints etc?

I am not wanting to make a fuss over this, I just want the problem resolved. I do not want him to come along and just paint over the stains and be done with it. I want a proper assessment of any damage and remedial actions to take place.

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated and received.

 

[Agile]

I am not wanting to make a fuss over this, I just want the problem resolved. I do not want him to come along and just paint over the stains and be done with it. I want a proper assessment of any damage and remedial actions to take place.

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated and received.

My view is that you are making a totally unnecessary fuss about it. Its a VERY minor problem and all it needs is for the engineer to add a little paint to cover the patch when its dry.

If you were petty enough to take it to court then I would hope that it would be thrown out with costs awarded against you.

This should happen because the engineer came out promptly when you called him but YOU refused to let him have access to check in the bedroom. Someone sleeping does not prevent the pipes being inspected.

For all we know, you invented this situation by loosening a connection and preventing the engineer checking in that room just because you wanted your ceiling redecorated. Yes, that kind of thing DOES happen, there are some very nasty people in this world. If you disagree, then how do you explain that so many cars and homes are broken into to steal things? About 3% of the population are criminally minded.

 

[bigbohan]

Firstly, let me point out that I AM NOT of the mindset of fraudulent claims or indeed any unjustified claim. As stated, the very fact that I have NO CLAIMS bonus would prove that!

At no stage did I say that I was going to put in a claim. I am just trying to understand what my options are. I will reiterate my earlier point - I am not trying to make a big fuss out of it - merely trying to rectify the problem but also gauging what my options are if he refuses to resolve matters.

You are right to point out that my girlfriend being asleep should not have prevented him from going into out bedroom. You are wrong though to assume that I was the one who stopped him. I did no such thing. In fact I asked him if he needed access to our room to which he said no.

I agree that there some nasty people out there. I am not naive and I do know that these kind of stories are often fabricated just to get redecorated. Although, as you point out 3% of the population are criminally minded which statistically means there is 30x more chance that I am NOT criminally minded...but you jumped on board the doubt factor.

 

[Agile]

I am not wanting to make a fuss over this, I just want the problem resolved. I do not want him to come along and just paint over the stains and be done with it. I want a proper assessment of any damage and remedial actions to take place.

If the leak has stopped then painting over the stains is all thats required.

But for some reason you will not agree to that although you have not said what you expect.

Its a fact of life that occasionally some small leaks will occure during plumbing work.

You should have insisted that he inspects the pipework in the bedroom. Its your property and in your interest to have him inspect it. Any reduction in pressure indicates that water has leaked out.

There are considerably more that the 3% criminally minded population who want to jump on any excuse to reduce the cost or get money back.

All that you should expect is that he reinstates to the original condition and all that normally involved is repainting.

What else do you expect?

Tony

 

[expertgasman]

As daft as it sounds, there is NO legal requirement to have PLI. Even if he has (and he probably does) his excess is probably such thast he wouldn't claim off it.

On the assumption that all is above board, I would suggest that you allow him to repaint, with a (possibly written) asurance thjat he will agree to a more intense rectification if it subsequently proves necessary.

MOST fitters are honest people and we all have bad days.

 

[expertgasman]

If you were petty enough to take it to court then I would hope that it would be thrown out with costs awarded against you.

For all we know, you invented this situation by loosening a connection

Having a bad day, Tony?

 

[spraggo]

All reputable tradesman will have a public liability insurance for obvious reasons, but this is not compulsory. Have you asked him if he has one and is he willing to claim on it.

If not the only option that I can see is to claim on your insurance and ask him to pay the excess, other than taking him to court.

 

[kevplumb]

jeez you go to kip for an hour and the plumbing forum has gone

 

[bigbohan]

It does seem absurd that PLI is not compulsory.

I do not want to take him to court and go into a long legal wrangle. Thank you 'expertgasman' for what seems a sensible and fair approach. One which I shall adopt.

I will ask him to repaint the area and seek assurances that he will rectify the issue should it prove necessary at a later stage.

 

[Agile]

Thats exactly what I suggested in the beginning.

Tony

 

[joe-90]

It beats me why the OP couldn't see the wet ceiling or wet carpet in the room below. After all he did suspect a leak. Sounds like a scammer to me.

 

[spraggo]

It beats me why the OP couldn't see the wet ceiling or wet carpet in the room below. After all he did suspect a leak. Sounds like a scammer to me.

Come on mate, give the OP some credit. I have had instances where a leak has not shown any signs on the ceiling for days after,especially if leak was only slight and of a short duration

 

[Onetap]

It beats me why the OP couldn't see the wet ceiling or wet carpet in the room below. After all he did suspect a leak. Sounds like a scammer to me.

Maybe he is or maybe he isn't. Who knows? Who cares?

The Gas Safe fitter could show that he has not been negligent by producing the witnessed certificate of his pressure test. Oh, he hasn't got one? So none of the new pipework and radiators have been pressure tested? It wasn't tested and it was leaking? Well, I'm so surprised. That's what happens when you use a fitter with gas qualifications and no heating qualifications.

Ask him nicely if he'd please sort it out.
Write him a nice letter if he doesn't respond to a phone call.
If he doesn't respond to a letter, sue him; job jobbed.

 

[joe-90]

You only have to look at the thread title to see he was looking for a new ceiling - not a solution to a tiny problem. Just a chancer.

 

[Onetap]

You only have to look at the thread title to see he was looking for a new ceiling - not a solution to a tiny problem. Just a chancer.

He may be trying to milk it, as some shifty people do; don't know, don't care. It is 5 or 10 litres of water, maybe half a bucket or so. Water evaporates.

If it has stained the ceiling, then half a day's work for a decorator. As for affecting the carpet in the room below, he's got to be kidding. It's a mistake, it happens, the man should rectify it. It's not a 'refurnish-your-house-at-my-expense' ticket.