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Hello I am looking for advice on this matter.
I work for myself a virtual assistant supporting a number of tradesmen and other businesses, one of my clients is a heating specialist and my mothers home had a leak and she needed someone urgently. Because I do work for this company and I have seen their work and reviews I thought they would look after her and her home and I put my trust into them. I never expected her to be treated any different apart from one of his normal customers. I spoke with my mother about the heating prior to his arrival the next day as it is a very old system installed in the 1970s, it is a 2 bed bungalow.
When he arrived the next day he said it would be £1,000 to fix the leak so we spoke to him about having a new heating system, he explained that due to the neighbours flue he could not install it on the internal joining wall so stated it had to go over the other side of the loft told us where it had to go and that he would build a platform for the boiler to be mounted on. So we were never asked if we wanted it to go else where in the property, we were told where it had to go!
He stated that he would not attached new radiators to the existing pipes under the floor and he would not take the floor boards up, which we were happy with. He then told us it would be 5k for the lot, so he said I can position all the radiators in the bedrooms and lounge where they were already situated and the hallway he explained he would bring pipes down to it from the ceiling and because she did not want the pipes on view she opted to not have the hallway radiator replaced. He advised that he could put a towel rail at the end of the bath and she questioned if the condensation due to getting wet and it being just above the bath would be a problem and he said no. So she was happy and booked him with him, he asked for a deposit in cash which we said we can not so she wrote a cheque which bounced due to the signature so done a bank transfer.
After the visit we received no itemised quotation, no terms and conditions and no payment terms but due to my working relationship with him we never questioned it as we put our trust into him. So a few days before he was due to start he contacted me and said I forgot to measure up when I was there can you measure up for me, so that was ok we didn’t mind doing that as it was a simple mistake.
He arrived on the Monday like a whirlwind and started to rip the old system out, no protection put on our lino flooring and at this stage no real communication about the new install. He told me that he had arranged for someone to come and collect the old radiators but he did say we would have to arrange that which again we had no problem at all doing it. We have 3 dogs and one of them does not like the loft ladder so he barks a fair bit when it is used and we did explain that to them, but they kept moaning about him and barking back at him. While they were taking the old system out they kept criticising the age of the house and the old system and we apologised a number of times that due to the old systems never breaking we have never had them updated. I noticed that they seem to moan a lot if things would mean more work for them.
The new installation began once they had taken the system out so started by fixing the new radiators to the wall and at this point still no communications with regards to the rest of the installation so we left them to it. Next thing we know is there are holes being drilled in the ceiling and pipes fixed through without even asking us where we wanted the pipes bringing down from the ceiling so the damage had already been done before we knew it. When they mounted the towel rail onto the bathroom wall they drilled to far through and came out the other side of the wall creating a hall in the wall. We fully understand they would need to turn the water off and at some point the electric but when they were doing the electrics for the boiler (which at this point was carried out by someone who was not a certified electrician) I was by the switch and the guy said I need to turn this off which I replied no problem my laptops on battery, I then got told “I don’t care about you” and also moaned about my business line keep ringing.
Once the installation was finished we soon realised that we were not happy with the install because we felt they installed it for the convenience for themselves so quick install and onto the next job. Before they left and he was completing some paperwork he gave me an invoice and started talking to me about my business payment terms for my clients saying he does not do that he expects payment once completed and I felt like he was pressuring me to pay there and then by telephone bank transfer which I would not do due to him being in the same room and knowing that my mother and myself weren’t overly happy with the lack of the communication and how they just installed things without consulting either of us. He did no final check round or even asked us if we were happy, or made good any exposed holes from the radiator fixings it was all left. They also damaged our flooring where the piping cut into it when they dropped it on the end on the pipe.
I spoke to a number of people and they all questioned why it was in the loft and when I explained how the pipes had been done etc the loft pipes were right by our loft hatch and have made it hard to step up and also caused a trip hazard as they are above the floor boards. So people including the company who make the thermostat remote control said that does not sound safe at all. So based on everyone saying these things we arranged for an independent heating company to come out and to assess if it was installed safely. Plus it would be my 74yr old mother going in the loft to change things etc and with the pipes being a trip hazard and the electrics we were concerned things were not right.
He called me the following morning asked if everything is ok and I explained we weren’t happy about a number of things and questioned about the electrics etc and that the heating was in full blast at 4.30am so he said he could come out in the afternoon to make rectify things which I explained it maybe better if he didn’t as my mother was very upset and angry so would not go well and I would be in contact. About an hour later there was a knock at the door and it was him my mum answered the door she explained he was not having access to the property explained a couple of things that we were not happy with to which he got annoyed and threatened her that if she didn’t pay by the Thursday he would be taking legal action. My mum agreed for him to come back on the Tuesday the same week to discuss everything.
We had the meeting with them just me and my sister due to my mums health we felt it was better for her. I went through everything we had issues with and they both said very little. Because I had spoken with another heating engineer and he confirmed that the heating could of been installed how we would of liked it if they had chose to communicate and allow us to have input p. If it would of cost more in labour we would have been willing to pay it. I asked for them to confirm how they are going to rectify the issues and they have come back with an offer we are not happy with at all. Due to the upset the damage and the lack of trust in them now we do not want them to come back on site and are happier using another company to put things right. We have the balance still so we would like to state to them they have misinformed us and due to lack of trust we will be using this money to pay another company to rectify what they were adamant could not be done but in fact can be.
Where do we stand with this as the work they have done is not faulty but we are not happy, do we have the right to say we are using the money owed to have someone else to rectify what they won’t do and if the quote is less the balance they will receive the difference and if it is over the balance owed we will be making a claim against them for the extra costs they have caused us. Or do we have to pay them the balance as a payment in protest and then take them to court to get the costs back we paid to another company? Any advice would be appreciated and sorry for the long story
I work for myself a virtual assistant supporting a number of tradesmen and other businesses, one of my clients is a heating specialist and my mothers home had a leak and she needed someone urgently. Because I do work for this company and I have seen their work and reviews I thought they would look after her and her home and I put my trust into them. I never expected her to be treated any different apart from one of his normal customers. I spoke with my mother about the heating prior to his arrival the next day as it is a very old system installed in the 1970s, it is a 2 bed bungalow.
When he arrived the next day he said it would be £1,000 to fix the leak so we spoke to him about having a new heating system, he explained that due to the neighbours flue he could not install it on the internal joining wall so stated it had to go over the other side of the loft told us where it had to go and that he would build a platform for the boiler to be mounted on. So we were never asked if we wanted it to go else where in the property, we were told where it had to go!
He stated that he would not attached new radiators to the existing pipes under the floor and he would not take the floor boards up, which we were happy with. He then told us it would be 5k for the lot, so he said I can position all the radiators in the bedrooms and lounge where they were already situated and the hallway he explained he would bring pipes down to it from the ceiling and because she did not want the pipes on view she opted to not have the hallway radiator replaced. He advised that he could put a towel rail at the end of the bath and she questioned if the condensation due to getting wet and it being just above the bath would be a problem and he said no. So she was happy and booked him with him, he asked for a deposit in cash which we said we can not so she wrote a cheque which bounced due to the signature so done a bank transfer.
After the visit we received no itemised quotation, no terms and conditions and no payment terms but due to my working relationship with him we never questioned it as we put our trust into him. So a few days before he was due to start he contacted me and said I forgot to measure up when I was there can you measure up for me, so that was ok we didn’t mind doing that as it was a simple mistake.
He arrived on the Monday like a whirlwind and started to rip the old system out, no protection put on our lino flooring and at this stage no real communication about the new install. He told me that he had arranged for someone to come and collect the old radiators but he did say we would have to arrange that which again we had no problem at all doing it. We have 3 dogs and one of them does not like the loft ladder so he barks a fair bit when it is used and we did explain that to them, but they kept moaning about him and barking back at him. While they were taking the old system out they kept criticising the age of the house and the old system and we apologised a number of times that due to the old systems never breaking we have never had them updated. I noticed that they seem to moan a lot if things would mean more work for them.
The new installation began once they had taken the system out so started by fixing the new radiators to the wall and at this point still no communications with regards to the rest of the installation so we left them to it. Next thing we know is there are holes being drilled in the ceiling and pipes fixed through without even asking us where we wanted the pipes bringing down from the ceiling so the damage had already been done before we knew it. When they mounted the towel rail onto the bathroom wall they drilled to far through and came out the other side of the wall creating a hall in the wall. We fully understand they would need to turn the water off and at some point the electric but when they were doing the electrics for the boiler (which at this point was carried out by someone who was not a certified electrician) I was by the switch and the guy said I need to turn this off which I replied no problem my laptops on battery, I then got told “I don’t care about you” and also moaned about my business line keep ringing.
Once the installation was finished we soon realised that we were not happy with the install because we felt they installed it for the convenience for themselves so quick install and onto the next job. Before they left and he was completing some paperwork he gave me an invoice and started talking to me about my business payment terms for my clients saying he does not do that he expects payment once completed and I felt like he was pressuring me to pay there and then by telephone bank transfer which I would not do due to him being in the same room and knowing that my mother and myself weren’t overly happy with the lack of the communication and how they just installed things without consulting either of us. He did no final check round or even asked us if we were happy, or made good any exposed holes from the radiator fixings it was all left. They also damaged our flooring where the piping cut into it when they dropped it on the end on the pipe.
I spoke to a number of people and they all questioned why it was in the loft and when I explained how the pipes had been done etc the loft pipes were right by our loft hatch and have made it hard to step up and also caused a trip hazard as they are above the floor boards. So people including the company who make the thermostat remote control said that does not sound safe at all. So based on everyone saying these things we arranged for an independent heating company to come out and to assess if it was installed safely. Plus it would be my 74yr old mother going in the loft to change things etc and with the pipes being a trip hazard and the electrics we were concerned things were not right.
He called me the following morning asked if everything is ok and I explained we weren’t happy about a number of things and questioned about the electrics etc and that the heating was in full blast at 4.30am so he said he could come out in the afternoon to make rectify things which I explained it maybe better if he didn’t as my mother was very upset and angry so would not go well and I would be in contact. About an hour later there was a knock at the door and it was him my mum answered the door she explained he was not having access to the property explained a couple of things that we were not happy with to which he got annoyed and threatened her that if she didn’t pay by the Thursday he would be taking legal action. My mum agreed for him to come back on the Tuesday the same week to discuss everything.
We had the meeting with them just me and my sister due to my mums health we felt it was better for her. I went through everything we had issues with and they both said very little. Because I had spoken with another heating engineer and he confirmed that the heating could of been installed how we would of liked it if they had chose to communicate and allow us to have input p. If it would of cost more in labour we would have been willing to pay it. I asked for them to confirm how they are going to rectify the issues and they have come back with an offer we are not happy with at all. Due to the upset the damage and the lack of trust in them now we do not want them to come back on site and are happier using another company to put things right. We have the balance still so we would like to state to them they have misinformed us and due to lack of trust we will be using this money to pay another company to rectify what they were adamant could not be done but in fact can be.
Where do we stand with this as the work they have done is not faulty but we are not happy, do we have the right to say we are using the money owed to have someone else to rectify what they won’t do and if the quote is less the balance they will receive the difference and if it is over the balance owed we will be making a claim against them for the extra costs they have caused us. Or do we have to pay them the balance as a payment in protest and then take them to court to get the costs back we paid to another company? Any advice would be appreciated and sorry for the long story
