My wife noticed an electrical burning smell yesterday, which was strongest in the kitchen. As we have had a fire at home before, we were very keen to trace this in order to prevent another one.
We managed to identify the smell as coming from the boiler, a relatively new Glow Worm model.
Upon opening the front cover, I noticed that the front edge of the PCB was badly charred and melted and one of the neon indicator lights had failed and the bulb was blackened and burnt.
I asked my wife to turn the boiler on and saw a small flickering flame and smoke rising from the board. Not what you would expect to see on the electronic control board of a gas appliance!
We turned off the heating and hot water and spent a cold evening in the house and I intended to contact Glow Worm this morning in order to solve this issue.
Upon discovering that their telephone lines for Customer Care, Technical Help and After Sales were all engaged, I resorted to calling their Spares line - reasoning that, in keeping with most companies these days, they only want to sell, not listen to problems because what they have already sold is not working.
Finally, I managed to speak with an engineer, who confirmed to me that the PCB's fitted inside their boilers should not fail and should "last forever."
I then sent this message via their website.
We managed to identify the smell as coming from the boiler, a relatively new Glow Worm model.
Upon opening the front cover, I noticed that the front edge of the PCB was badly charred and melted and one of the neon indicator lights had failed and the bulb was blackened and burnt.
I asked my wife to turn the boiler on and saw a small flickering flame and smoke rising from the board. Not what you would expect to see on the electronic control board of a gas appliance!
We turned off the heating and hot water and spent a cold evening in the house and I intended to contact Glow Worm this morning in order to solve this issue.
Upon discovering that their telephone lines for Customer Care, Technical Help and After Sales were all engaged, I resorted to calling their Spares line - reasoning that, in keeping with most companies these days, they only want to sell, not listen to problems because what they have already sold is not working.
Finally, I managed to speak with an engineer, who confirmed to me that the PCB's fitted inside their boilers should not fail and should "last forever."
I then sent this message via their website.
My (model boiler) has failed, due to a manufacturing fault.
I have discovered that this is a common failure and that this part (part no: XXXXXX) has been revised now four times.
I eventually managed to speak with a member of your technical department this morning who informed me that the board should not burn and fail in the manner that mine has and should last, in his words ''forever.'' This is also my contention and given that the rest of my central heating system is in perfect working order and that this failure is clearly due to a manufacturing fault or poor design, I would like to suggest that you contact me in order to replace this board without delay.
Should I be forced to purchase one and have it installed then I will be looking to you to reimburse me for any expense incurred.
I have contacted Consumer Direct, who have passed this on to Trading Standards on my behalf as they consider this matter to be a serious safety issue.
I have photographs of the burnt board, still in situ and will be happy to provide these to you.
Finally, I would like to point out that providing a list of telephone numbers that are either permanently engaged or that simply do not get answered does not constitute “Customer Care” and my experience today has fallen far short of the lofty promises made in the “Our Mission” section of your website. Furthermore, I find it most ironic that the opening line of your “Service & Technical” page begins “You’re in safe hands with Glow-worm” – just how safe is a gas appliance when the PCB controlling it bursts into flames?
I look forward to your prompt response.
I have discovered that this is a common failure and that this part (part no: XXXXXX) has been revised now four times.
I eventually managed to speak with a member of your technical department this morning who informed me that the board should not burn and fail in the manner that mine has and should last, in his words ''forever.'' This is also my contention and given that the rest of my central heating system is in perfect working order and that this failure is clearly due to a manufacturing fault or poor design, I would like to suggest that you contact me in order to replace this board without delay.
Should I be forced to purchase one and have it installed then I will be looking to you to reimburse me for any expense incurred.
I have contacted Consumer Direct, who have passed this on to Trading Standards on my behalf as they consider this matter to be a serious safety issue.
I have photographs of the burnt board, still in situ and will be happy to provide these to you.
Finally, I would like to point out that providing a list of telephone numbers that are either permanently engaged or that simply do not get answered does not constitute “Customer Care” and my experience today has fallen far short of the lofty promises made in the “Our Mission” section of your website. Furthermore, I find it most ironic that the opening line of your “Service & Technical” page begins “You’re in safe hands with Glow-worm” – just how safe is a gas appliance when the PCB controlling it bursts into flames?
I look forward to your prompt response.
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