Why would an olive need to be changed?

[Jasmine]

Hi,

I had some taps changed last year and it turns out one had a very slow leak. It caused quite a lot of damage and the company that fitted them are trying to not accept liability.

The report from the engineer says ''IV to hot tap 3rd floor bathroom leaking, replaced olive, all dry and tested.''

The taps were fitted on the 29th of September and they were fixed on the 17th of December, is there any other reason the olive would need to be replaced so soon after being fitted other than being fitted incorrectly?

Thanks for your help!

 

[steadyon]

Who fitted the isolation valve (IV?)?
1. If it was a new one fitted by the installers, then the fault is clearly their fault.
2. If they connected to an existing isolation valve, it is more complicated:
2a. If the leak was from the tap side of the IV then clearly their fault.
2b. If the leak was from the inlet side of the IV it could be:
2bi. A pre-existing fault which was probably not their fault, although an obvious leak should have been reported to you, and with your permission corrected at an additional charge.
2bii. Caused by the installer not securing the IV while tightening the outlet connection, thus possibly damaging the inlet connection.

The difficulty is that you probably have no way of telling which of the above is the case unless you know what was there prior to installation. Unless you have proof you are probably wasting your time trying to attribute blame. You could try making a claim on your own insurance, and your insurer's might pursue the installers. However, do this and the chances are your next year's premium will shoot up.

 

[Jasmine]

Who fitted the isolation valve (IV?)?
1. If it was a new one fitted by the installers, then the fault is clearly their fault.
2. If they connected to an existing isolation valve, it is more complicated:
2a. If the leak was from the tap side of the IV then clearly their fault.
2b. If the leak was from the inlet side of the IV it could be:
2bi. A pre-existing fault which was probably not their fault, although an obvious leak should have been reported to you, and with your permission corrected at an additional charge.
2bii. Caused by the installer not securing the IV while tightening the outlet connection, thus possibly damaging the inlet connection.

The difficulty is that you probably have no way of telling which of the above is the case unless you know what was there prior to installation. Unless you have proof you are probably wasting your time trying to attribute blame. You could try making a claim on your own insurance, and your insurer's might pursue the installers. However, do this and the chances are your next year's premium will shoot up.

Thanks for this, we have a British Gas homecare contract and they fitted the taps initially, The IV wasn't changed at the time of fitting the taps as far as I know. When the guy came to fix the leak he said ''it was just 1/4 of a turn out'' meaning the guy hadn't done the job properly when he installed the taps. They have tried to withhold the reports from us and unfortunately it doesn't actually say what the guy said to us on the visit which would obviously prove liability.

 

[Lou]

That is a shame. Have you tried complaining to them?

 

[Last Plumber]

Unfortunately the only person who knows what was leaking and possibly why, would be the repairer.
It isn't always possible to blame someone for something like this.

It is unlikely that it was leaking when the installer of the tap left the job. There aren't many Plumbers who would knowingly leave a leaking joint as most will have seen the damage water can cause.