Anyone ever had to claim on there public liablity I need some advice

[coonster]

Hi guys some advice needed

I recently attended a property to replace a faulty drop flush valve, while there I was asked to have a look at a radiator behind a bed which never gets hot. I quickly discovered that the valves were closed so opened them and TA DAHH! hot radiator.

I got a call yesterday and the lady informs me that the room below has now got black stains all over the curtains and carpets, I returned to the property and discovered a leak from the bottom compression nut on the flow side of the radiator along with a lot of corrosion on the pipe which looks a lot older than the 24 hrs she claimed to have the leak.

I explained to the customer that I hadn't touched that part of the valve and that the leak must have been either coincidence or she has bumped the pipe while pushing the bed back against it, the customer as nice as she is says she is holding me responsible for the damage and wants my insurance details, I have told her I will not be accepting liability and she can claim on her own insurance!

I'm not to sure what to do next as I've never had this problem before, I've took photos etc just in case, but any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated

 

[justlead1]

Hi. The problem has probably laid dormant, waiting for some unsuspecting plumber to turn on the rad. With the heat now passing through the rad slight movement caused by expansion has increased the weep. And you have become Dr Barnardo custodian of all leaks. Make sure the photo graphic evidence depicts the corrosion and scale associated with such a time bomb. Good Luck

 

[Dave]

Phone your liability up and explain the situation..they will advise what to do..

 

[REDSAW]

did you charge for the radiator part, or was it a freebie?.

 

[coonster]

Thanks for the responses guys.

In reply to REDSAW yes I added a few quid for the rad part.

Would I be right in saying that unless it can be proven that I have been negligent then I cannot possibly be held liable?

I dont see how I can possibly be at fault with 100% certainty, and that would need to be proven if liability was to be accepted.... any lawyers use this site ha ha!!!

I will call them on monday for advice either way I wont be admitting the leak is my fault, surely thats my right!

I still thing its possible they have give the minibore a nudge when moving the bed!

Merry Christmas hey!

 

[Renewable M]

If you are a member of the FSB (that's the federation of small businesses, not the Federal'naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti, the russian secret service) they will deal with this for you.

Did the rad get hot while you were there? Did it leak from below the rad valve or the rad side of the valve???

There was always water there below the rad, so if thats where its leaking from, then she has done it pushing the bed back. It would have leaked before. Simple.

If it's after the valve, it's tricky because you have a duty of care.

It would be unfair of a customer to hold you responsible for this, but not outside of the law. The statute on negligence says would it be reasonable for someone to expect your leak, and clearly in this case the answer was "no" and it didnt leak while you were there i suppose.

Would be interested to know your outcome and wish you well.

 

[peteheat]

Hi,

Advice I received from a very expensive Solicitor many years ago was never confirm to a customer that you have a policy in force, customers tend to take the line of least resistance especially with spurious claims and claim off the house insurance.

 

[REDSAW]

interesting pete, and i understand the phylosophy behind it.

 

[wnjswozo]

dont admit liability,they are trying it on.

 

[so-solar]

Tell her you have no insurance and see her response! I take it you have got an excess and your premium is going up next year if you claim, how much is a carpet clean and curtain clean? If you speak to your insurance company they wont want to pay either, they are on your side! They will send an assessor out and the decision of liability will be made! If the customer has had the work done before your insurance has assessed the damage then the customer wont get a penny!

 

[migoplumber]

just wanted to say good luck, hope it works out well. as of yet not been there, my time will come i'm sure, however all the above seem correct

 

[Puddle]

You can refuse to give your details and see if she goes away
But you should still contact your liability insurance company and report the incident, so they have it on record and you are obliged to report any possible liability to them straight away
They will do nothing just record it, if woman does nothing, it’s forgotten but customer may claim from their insurance as you suggested and may tell them she thought you were to blame, two months down the road you get a letter from them claiming against you
This you will have to show your liability insurers and they will not be too pleased that you did not report it in the first place, indeed there may be a clause that says if you do not report possible liabilities within reasonable time,the cover becomes invalid

I have had a few try it on, the last was a bathroom suit I was fitting a few years ago,in a posh flat in London the customer went away for 2 weeks and I was due to start on the Monday,but was busy and had plenty of time to do ,so did not turn up until the Wed, there 10mins and a knock on the door, it was down stairs flat, complaining his ceiling was all cracked and carpet stained from water leakage over the last few days, went down stairs, indeed in was ,he said must have happened when I removed bathroom on the Monday
I took him upstairs and showed him bathroom still in not touched and I was not going to start until the next day, Thur
Apparently my customer had put a note through everyone’s door saying I was going to start working in flat on the Monday and apologising for any noise
Down stairs thought they would use this bit of info to get a new ceiling and carpet
Thought he had a good chance as he was a ....Barrister...little ####

 

[P4ULT]

You can refuse to give your details and see if she goes away
But you should still contact your liability insurance company and report the incident, so they have it on record and you are obliged to report any possible liability to them straight away
They will do nothing just record it, if woman does nothing, it’s forgotten but customer may claim from their insurance as you suggested and may tell them she thought you were to blame, two months down the road you get a letter from them claiming against you
This you will have to show your liability insurers and they will not be too pleased that you did not report it in the first place, indeed there may be a clause that says if you do not report possible liabilities within reasonable time,the cover becomes invalid

I have had a few try it on, the last was a bathroom suit I was fitting a few years ago,in a posh flat in London the customer went away for 2 weeks and I was due to start on the Monday,but was busy and had plenty of time to do ,so did not turn up until the Wed, there 10mins and a knock on the door, it was down stairs flat, complaining his ceiling was all cracked and carpet stained from water leakage over the last few days, went down stairs, indeed in was ,he said must have happened when I removed bathroom on the Monday
I took him upstairs and showed him bathroom still in not touched and I was not going to start until the next day, Thur
Apparently my customer had put a note through everyone’s door saying I was going to start working in flat on the Monday and apologising for any noise
Down stairs thought they would use this bit of info to get a new ceiling and carpet
Thought he had a good chance as he was a ....Barrister...little ####

thats naughty

 

[coonster]

Hi all

Just a quick update

I spoke to my insurer and they advised me to write a letter to the customer highlighting why I am not liable but they have made a note of a possible claim.

So I have sent a lovely letter with nice pictures with arrows and descriptions.... hopefully thats the end of it but I doubt it!

Cheers Fellas

Sean

 

[Puddle]

I would not have sent a letter,would not want to fuel the fire,would just hope it would die out its self

 

[Deleted member 2053]

I had to make a claim in my first year or so of trading as I made a silly mistake. Both of the couple living in the house were solicitors and were as sweet as could be about their kitchen ceiling being on the kitchen floor. My insurance assessor made an interesting comment when he turned up to inspect the damage, saying that for them to pay out it had to be clear that I had done something wrong. In this case I had, so there was no problem. Remember that it is your insurers that have to pay and they will fight not to if they think this is a try on. The correct procedure anyway is for the householder to contact her insurers and for them to decide that actually this is your fault and talk to your insurers. If she wants to contact them herself then fine but it is going to be a lot of hassle for her. She has no claim on you - only on your insurer. This is what you pay insurance premiums for.

Re the barrister story, we were told a lovely one on the gas course where a barrister tried it on on behalf of his mother, claiming that the refitting of a couple of rads that had been removed for decorating had caused the boiler to malfunction. He stated that the boiler must know how many rads there were, obviously believing that boilers now had cognitive thought processes. The boiler was inspected and found to have a wrong part - I think it was something as fundamental as the wrong burner having been fitted. When the mother (son was at work) was questioned she admitted that her son had paid a non-competent friend to repair the boiler. I don't remember the final outcome but I would like to think he was reported.

 

[Phil]

Regarding the first post about the corroded microbore and black carpets and curtains, surely the ceiling would have been damaged?

 

[dublin plumber]

next time only do the job you were asked to do , as it was an add on , people always try that on when you arrive 1 job works out to be 2 or 5 jobs , i always say i dont have time but i can book you in for this week !! one time it happened to me something similar , when i got to house the customer had a tin of paint and a brush and handed it to me , and said cover up the stain !!

 

[tackleburger]

You have to stand your ground. You turned a radiator on. If your insurance is worth it's salt they'll get out of it anyway.

 

[northcarr]

Good luck with that one mate we have all been there or might keep your chin up