Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Hi, my boiler has been turning off by itself a lot recently and I think it has finally broken down last night since I couldn't turn it back on any more no matter what I do (turning on the washing machine used to work).

My landlord's plumber is a bit unreliable and still hasn't managed to figure out the issue having attempted to solve the problem for almost 3 weeks.

My landlord has promised to send someone to check it out this afternoon. But since my landlord (a rental agency) isn't opened on weekends, I am now fearing that I might need to go without heating and hot water for the weekend if the landlord's engineer still cannot fix it (half the time they don't even bother showing up!)

I asked my landlord if I can hire my own guy on weekends to look at the boiler and if they can cover the cost.

They told me they will only pay for me if its under £100, which is really annoying since a couple of places I have gotten a quote from both charges around £125 per hour on weekends.

I don't mind paying that extra £25, but it just annoys me immensely that it is the landlord's responsibility to sort that kind of thing out (my rent is not even cheap!). And I don't want to pay for another £125 if the repair goes over an hour.

I have never hired a plumber before. Is £125 reasonable for weekend repairs?

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IMHO if a plumber has failed to fix it then it's not something simple. It could take considerably more than an hour, plus parts, plus VAT so the chances of it being £125 are slim.

That's very true...

I might just leave it and stick to maybe one cold shower this weekend......

My rental agency is incredibly slow, the way they operate with regards to repairing is very strange as well. They would send someone to the house upon request while you are at work - which I don't mind - but they would never call you back to let you know whether something has been fixed or not. Sometimes they even forget the problem exists. They just don't like to communicate much...

That's why I thought I should hire someone else myself to fix this problem once and for all.

Thanks!

If turning on the washing machine used to fix it, it may be a problem with the water pressure.  That isn't an easy issue to fix.  If I may be so bold, you'd be better off getting it sorted by an engineer from the boiler manufacturer rather than a bog standard plumber.  Valliant, for example, have their own engineers who carry all the diagnostic kit with them and are excellent.

For Vailant this guy is good and covers our area http://www.full-flame.co.uk/

Has an £85 call out fee but any spares, etc are going to be on top of that (although that's the case for anyone).

Yeah, it is definitely something off with the water pressure. The landlord's plumber replaced a leaking vault last week and made the boiler more stable for a short while until it stopped working again.

The landlord thinks its a PCB board issue. I am going to call them again in a few minutes to see if they actually bothered to send someone to take a look.

I would like to use the guy you recommend, but at the end of the day it is up to the landlord / rental agency, and believe me they are stubborn as heck! :(

Thanks

I wouldn't want to be without heating and hot water in January though! Life's too short to be cold and grubby...;-)

I know :(

I just called the landlord people, she said someone actually went to check the boiler yesterday and that they are sure it is not working because the PCB board is faulty. And they can't get hold of a replacement until Monday.

I think I am just going to wait, because I don't know how much extra it could cost me if I hire a plumber to work on weekends. Just gonna have to use my electric heater veerrry strategically.

Cheers

Felix, are you sure the guy the agency sends around is a plumber & not a general repairs person? If it is water pressure that's the problem you could try locating the valve (tap) for the water inflow. Open that up slowly and watch the water pressure gauge as the needle moves up the pressure scale. Normally about 1.5bars pressure is enough.

If it's not switching on at all it could be an electrical problem. Not all plumbers are confident with electrics which is why a bigger company is better to deal with as they will have someone with those skills.

If the agency is slow to help suggest that this service might encourage them along the right path :) http://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/

Hi Matt, thanks for the suggestion :)

Now the agency is saying that they are certain that it is the PCB board that is faulty and that they can't get hold of a replacement until Monday.

I am going to try the valve thing tonight, but I doubt it will work since the washing machine wasn't able to trigger the boiler to turn on, it is probably an electrical problem now.

Thanks!

Check your fuse board as well ...

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