New Boiler Dropped on Floor

[customer]

Hi,

Sorry to gate creah but i am not a plumber however i have come here becasue I don't know where else to turn at the moment.
As you can see my username is 'customer' and that is becasue i am currently using a plumber to install a new boiler for me. The reason i am here is becasue yesterday one of the two plumbers working on my job went to pick up my brand new boiler which was sitting on the floor inside one half of it's polystyrene packasging. He picked it up rather aggressively and becasue he grabbed the polystyrene it gave way and the boiler wnet tumbling to the floor. He promptly checked the insdies for any loose wires and said everything was fine. I checked the boiler myself and the front cover has taken a hit on the bottom edge and is now scratched and miscolloured from the building crap on the kitchen floor. It's not awful and some of it my clean off but the scrathes may remain. I havn't been able to locate any other cosmetic damage in the 5 mins i have looked at it. The plumbers have assured me all will be ok when they finally fit the boiler and fire it up and that if it isn't they would call the manufacturer and tell them there is a fault...or something like that. Apparently the plumber is insured.
Now, i am rather nervous about this boiler, for instance if any problems come up in 6 months time i'm going to be tempted to blame the fact that it was dropped. Also, technically the boiler is now damaged cosmetically. As you are all plumbers here can you advise what yu would expect one of your customers to do in this situation: As them to buy me a new boiler immediately before they try to install? (forgot to mention that i purchased the boiler at their request). Wait until they fire it up and see whether it works and then decide to negotiate a discount based on the fact that my boiler now has cosmetic damage? if they do not co-operate refuce to pay for materials and labour so far spent?

Any ideas? I want to be fair to these people but they didn't even apologise for dropping it and then just tried to sa there wouldn't be an probs and not to worry etc.

thanks

 

[unguided1]

boilers are pretty robust but the fact that there is visible sign of damage to the casing you are going to be paying them at least a couple of grand, would you accept it if this was a new car or a telly, no get em to replace it. it may well be that 6 months down the line, something will happen to the boiler, the manufacturer comes out sees the damage and voids the warranty, and in the mean time you end up stuck with a boiler. IMHO

 

[GQuigley67]

post a picture if you can....im sure it was just a mistake. Was it a bad fall ?

 

[gasmanscotty]

Accidents happen. If its only the casing that's damaged, i'm sure you could get the installers to obtain a new case from the manufacturer.

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

boilers are pretty robust but the fact that there is visible sign of damage to the casing you are going to be paying them at least a couple of grand, would you accept it if this was a new car or a telly, no get em to replace it. it may well be that 6 months down the line, something will happen to the boiler, the manufacturer comes out sees the damage and voids the warranty, and in the mean time you end up stuck with a boiler. IMHO

I agree, if you saw a selection of boilers in a shop you would not buy this one as it is scratched and not your fault

 

[gaspastemania]

Your paying the wages and materials if your not happy then say so , personally i would ask for a different just in case .

 

[Blackcatgas]

Id swap the case, as long as the boiler works.

 

[tamz]

Boilers are kicked and thrown around long before you ever see it so it is unlikely to be the first drop it has had. I doubt if it will make any difference to the running of it but get them to get you another and they can keep that one. They probably won't be happy but if you keep it neither will you. Next time you get a big job done get a supply and fit.

 

[customer]

Thanks all for the advice. A little bit of a mixture and i'm leaning towards asking them to replace the boiler and to keep my one for themselves. But i am going to go home tomorrow (I have moved out while the works are being done) and it a proper check over before I decide what to do. If i find anything worth a photo I will post

 

[Resolute]

Will the boiler be on show and therefore the marks visible?

 

[Dannypipe]

Seems funny that they requested you buy the boiler...perhaps they're trying to stay under the VAT threshold, or possibly they're skint!?

I'm sure any problem with the boiler will be obvious quite soon after it's commissioned. However I personally would be gutted that my new boiler had been dropped, and would want a replacement. I am a fussy bugger though.

 

[customer]

Will the boiler be on show and therefore the marks visible?

Yes, it is not in a cupboard and it has been purchased as part of a complete shiny new kitchen! The boiler we have uninstalled was still working fine but it looked an eye sore, we wanted it moved so it would be in line with our kitchen units and along the same wall, and it was approximately 25 years old so we felt an A rated efficient boiler would be a good move.

 

[paulnwales]

Make them replace it, dont let it be installed, yes im a plumber and i make mistakes, but i put them right. believe it or not its classed as criminal damage.. the other lads may hate me for saying this but at least im honest.. if you sent your car to rthe garage for a new clutch and it came back with a dented and scratched wing you would expect it to be fixed. If there is a problem the warranty will prob not be worth the paper its wrote on as its damaged , they will use that to get out of paying for it. and i doubt that boilers are THROWN around before you buy them... even if they wer there wraped to protect them. the fact there is physicall damage would be enough for me to claim against him.

 

[customer]

Seems funny that they requested you buy the boiler...perhaps they're trying to stay under the VAT threshold, or possibly they're skint!?

I'm sure any problem with the boiler will be obvious quite soon after it's commissioned. However I personally would be gutted that my new boiler had been dropped, and would want a replacement. I am a fussy bugger though.

Yes, that's a it how I am. I don't have a lot of money so that when I spend on big things or to be exact 'new things' I want it to be new - not damaged.

 

[Blackcatgas]

Seems funny that they requested you buy the boiler...perhaps they're trying to stay under the VAT threshold, or possibly they're skint!?

I'm sure any problem with the boiler will be obvious quite soon after it's commissioned. However I personally would be gutted that my new boiler had been dropped, and would want a replacement. I am a fussy bugger though.

I quite often get my customer to supply large items, especialy if I dont know/like/trust them.

 

[plumber0808]

just tell them when they get there that you're not too happy with the damage to the boiler and you want it replacing. if its got damage on and its clearly a problem for you it will only niggle away at you.

take it back to where you purchased it from with the receipt explaining installers opened it and it already had the damage on, can you have a replacement. the merchants wont argue they will swap it
or get them to take it back.

 

[cjg]

my view i dammaged it i repair/replace it , its the only way unless customer says no one will see it, and they are happy with that,

well that my1p worth.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

well i will stick my thoughts in,lets not have a massive drama attack here,if there is no damage to the inside of the boiler,just get a new case off the manufacturer,simple

 

[Guest123]

I'd get the boiler replaced. If I chipped a brand new bath, I'd never fit it or try to hide the damage and further down the line it could leak or cause problems, the same goes for your boiler. Sounds iffy that you had to buy the boiler for them though.

 

[Dannypipe]

I quite often get my customer to supply large items, especialy if I dont know/like/trust them.

I tend to not work for people I don't trust, you still can get knocked for the labour.

I always buy on my account and generally add a little profit on to allow for any call backs...which are rare. We all hate callbacks, that's one thing we can all agree on.

Personally think the customer deserves a pristine boiler, that's what they've paid for. Feel for the installer though, it was clearly a silly accident that could happen to anyone.

 

[tackleburger]

I quite often get my customer to supply large items, especialy if I dont know/like/trust them.

I do as well nothing wrong with it at least you know what's yours at the end of the job. It also saves the suspicion that your making a shedload on the item. To be quite honest I am happy if they want to do that as you are making very little on a boiler these days the internet has sorted that out.

 

[Guest123]

Just curious, what's the going rate/price for a boiler install, e.g new combi for old traditional boiler. Don't fit them, only bathrooms and wetrooms but had a few customers asking and I usually give my mates details to them.

 

[tackleburger]

Back to the boiler. I agree you never damaged it they did and they should put that right whether or not a new boiler is a fair shout i can't say as I have not seen the damage if it's just a scratch then I think you are being unreasonable asking for a replacement It will probably T Cut out.

 

[richw]

if they had supplied the boiler, the onus would be on them to provide you with perfect goods, its easy for you to refuse to pay for damaged goods. as you have supplied the boiler all they have done is damage your property, therefore its down to you to get it sorted and look to them for some sort of recompence. its an odd situation, there arnt many chaps that would fit a customer supplied boiler, as others have said its probably a work round for VAT. if id supplied the boiler id sort a new case or change it, but you may find it a bit different getting a mob who cant stump up for a boiler in the first place to buy a damaged one off you! dont think your boiler will be damaged in any other way, they have a tough life before you take delivery of them.
best of luck.

 

[WaterTight]

I can fully understand why they have acted the way they have and said the things they said - cracking a basin is a nightmare - this is a boiler!... It's a costly error. But if the boiler is fine inside then there is no reason they can't fit it on another job and get a new case for it and you can have a new one. If it's not fine inside you should have a new one.