servicing unsafe appliances

[essexsi]

Good afternooon gents.
When attending for the service of an appliance and before touching it you have serious doubts over it passing the relevant spillage/flue flow safety tests do you normally-

A Service the appliance as normal, carrying out all safety tests and then adopt the correct IUP . Then charge the customer for the work.

or

B Inform the customer that their appliance is very unlikely to pass the safety tests and that if you were to carry out the service and tests the appliance would in all probability be turned off/disconnected. No charge to customer.

Or is there a C?!!!!

I ask, as I attended the above situation with the RGI I am doing my experience with and he did B.

Cheers Si

 

[gas4you]

As I have a minimum attendance fee of £50 + VAT for the first hour whatever the customer chooses will cost them, so I usually service and test then they know for certain.

I assume your RGI turned it off, disconnected and issued a ID on it then?

 

[scatmanjohn]

B Inform the customer that their appliance is very unlikely to pass the safety tests and that if you were to carry out the service and tests the appliance would in all probability be turned off/disconnected. No charge to customer.

Or is there a C?!!!!

So did he not test it because he thought it would fail?

If that is the case then you want to be finding yourself someone else to work with.

 

[nickso]

hmm i would have thought it safer to have serviced it and labelled it accordingly. some customers prefer not to know the bad news even if its staring them in the face, but why bother phoning a guy to service your boiler and then agree not to do it when the guy says it "looks" dangerous.....false economy.

if he thought it was going to fail a "safety test" simply from his visual inspection then he should have left it at risk surely.

either that or he saw it was a dusty old wreck and simply couldnt be arsed.

i agree with scatman.....i would be looking for a more responsible employer

 

[doyle]

best option would have been to do the test mark it correctly then advise the customer of it and offer service at a price

 

[gas4you]

either that or he saw it was a dusty old wreck and simply couldnt be a***d.

i agree with scatman.....i would be looking for a more responsible employer

I agree totally with above.

 

[cjb1971]

I did refuse to service a dfe fire today-room had no ventilation at all-issused warning notice and turned it off,then did same to boiler as the innner flu was rotting away!bet they glad they called us out now

 

[nickso]

I did refuse to service a dfe fire today-room had no ventilation at all-issused warning notice and turned it off,then did same to boiler as the innner flu was rotting away!bet they glad they called us out now

thats different though......i dont service appliances that have no vents if they need them.

at least you did the right thing after you visually inspected it.


i found an open flued boiler with a rotten flue hood a while back. the woman was almost in tears when i ID'd without even touching it cos her husband was going to go mental when he got home as he didnt like the boiler being serviced and she'd done it off her own back. she wasnt at all concerned about the fact it was spilling into her family home.....just her husbands reaction.

 

[mehran]

I did refuse to service a dfe fire today-room had no ventilation at all-issused warning notice and turned it off,then did same to boiler as the innner flu was rotting away!bet they glad they called us out now

thats different though......i dont service appliances that have no vents if they need them.

at least you did the right thing after you visually inspected it.


i found an open flued boiler with a rotten flue hood a while back. the woman was almost in tears when i ID'd without even touching it cos her husband was going to go mental when he got home as he didnt like the boiler being serviced and she'd done it off her own back. she wasnt at all concerned about the fact it was spilling into her family home.....just her husbands reaction.

you have to be careful in that sort of situation, i have been in a house where it was clear that the husband was violent. i hope you described in detail how dangers it was on the notice.

some people are funny like that, don't want to touch it because it is working

 

[nickso]

I did refuse to service a dfe fire today-room had no ventilation at all-issused warning notice and turned it off,then did same to boiler as the innner flu was rotting away!bet they glad they called us out now

thats different though......i dont service appliances that have no vents if they need them.

at least you did the right thing after you visually inspected it.


i found an open flued boiler with a rotten flue hood a while back. the woman was almost in tears when i ID'd without even touching it cos her husband was going to go mental when he got home as he didnt like the boiler being serviced and she'd done it off her own back. she wasnt at all concerned about the fact it was spilling into her family home.....just her husbands reaction.

you have to be careful in that sort of situation, i have been in a house where it was clear that the husband was violent. i hope you described in detail how dangers it was on the notice.

some people are funny like that, don't want to touch it because it is working

the thought did cross my mind but there was little i could have done about it. i left my mobile number and encouraged him to phone me to discuss it but he never did. i did feel very sorry for her as she must have been concerned enough to get it serviced in the first place.

maybe the hubby is just a terminal cheapskate and gets in a bad mood if he has to spend money......kind of like when i buy yet another car and get dodgy looks from the breadknife as i drive it up the drive.

 

[scatmanjohn]

you have to be careful in that sort of situation, i have been in a house where it was clear that the husband was violent

Don't you just hate that On a couple of occasions i have been on a job when the husband has started shouting at his missus in a aggressive manner.

What are you meant to do? I feel like saying something but don't just in case it makes it worse for the woman after i had gone.

 

[nickso]

you have to be careful in that sort of situation, i have been in a house where it was clear that the husband was violent

Don't you just hate that On a couple of occasions i have been on a job when the husband has started shouting at his missus in a aggressive manner.

What are you meant to do? I feel like saying something but don't just in case it makes it worse for the woman after i had gone.

ive also heard of the reverse once. BG pal went to service a WAU and ended up getting chinned by the woman for putting it at risk. when he walked out with all the guts of the WAU lying on the floor he looked back and saw the woman laying into the hubby saying it was all his fault. he was just sitting on the couch taking the blows like they happened everyday.

 

[gas4you]

Sounds like my mother in law No wonder father in law is in the pub every day from about midday

 

[bobthebender]

Or is there a C?!!!!

There is a C for me
I have worked on many,many,many council service contracts and when you get paid by the boiler/appliance you service first and then switch off.

 

[mehran]

you got to love the cheap ones.

"what? you want a cheap job? got a lovely £350 B&Q special 24kw boiler which is just the ticket for your 5 bathroom house"