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Boiler issue

View the thread, titled "Boiler issue" which is posted in Boiler Advice Forum on UK Plumbers Forums.

J

Jack Cole

I recently had an engineer visit to service my boiler and it turns out that the flue is missing, as the boiler is now obsolete and the part no longer purchasable, he has condemned the boiler...

My issue here is that it had been serviced for many years and no one who visited had said that the part was missing,
how long has it been missing for.... it was last serviced the year before, how did that engineer not notice.....

do I have a case here?

spoke to the insurance company and they declined that they were at fault.

Now I know they could say we removed it or whatever but have never touched it.

What do you think?
 
If it were missing altogether and been in use, I doubt you’d be here typing this out, or the very least in hospital. As above make and model would be a good start.
 
Thanks for replying,

It is a potterton, powermax He 115

attached pic of what is missing, unable to find anywhere in the machine..... very strange.
 

Attachments

  • PHOTO-2021-04-08-14-42-08.jpg
  • PHOTO-2021-04-08-14-42-18.jpg
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Aquarius said:
That looks like the air manifold.

A very quick google search returns this: Potterton Powermax HE boilers safety alert | Potterton - https://www.potterton.co.uk/products/statement-re-potterton-powermax-he
Click to expand...

Thank mate, appreciate you checking, my one was manufactured in 2009. Baxi are the engineers that have been doing the servicing, Boiler is in the attic, I had an indian engineer visit last year, he kept trying to get me to buy a new boiler from him directly, got a feeling he took the part.
 
Wow, highly cynical if he took it to precipitate a boiler sale or worse.

So your 2009 model should've had a revised part fitted, I'd get hold of Baxi they might do the honourable thing. Do you still have the last engineers details?
 
In fairness to your Indian installer, if you were looking for a new boiler, buying it from an installer is a very good idea. Buy it separately from the installer and if it goes well you save a few quid (maybe) and if there are issues you'll find it very hard to know whether you were supplied a defective boiler or whether the installer has made a mistake. Supplied and fitted by one person, that person takes all the responsibility.

On the other hand, if he gave you the hard sell, this may reasonably have annoyed you. If he did pinch the part he should be struck off the register and prosecuted for theft, but I don't know how you could possibly prove it, nor how you can be sure. It's annoying, as it's sounds to be a part that rarely fails and is bulky, so unlikely to be a best seller (unlike gas valves, pressure switches etc).

I would, however, suggest contacting the Potterton/Baxi customer support office yourself and double check that they truly do not have the spare available (in case your latest service technician was mistaken) and also try an independent engineer as they may be able to find spares through another stockist - someone may have one lying on a shelf somewhere and quite possibly a Baxi employee cannot use third party suppliers. To be fair, while your boiler is old, it isn't that old.
 
I did complain about the engineer at the time, there was a leak coming from the boiler and on his visit he kept saying that he could not fix it and tried to get me to buy a new boiler from him, I complained to baxi and they sent another engineer who fixed the leak by tightening a bolt....

I have spoken to baxi about the missing part and they have advised the part is no longer available and will offer me a discount of £700 on a new boiler.... Baxi have not been helpful at all about my enquiries as to where the part has gone...

I have had numerous engineers visit to inspect the unit and they are all saying the same, that the part is missing.

Thankful that no one sleeps in the attic and annoyed, worried and angry that I have had my little nephews around sleeping in the room under the boiler.
 
Is it baxi or d and g which are the insurance agent for baxi ?

I’m guessing you have a twin flue system eg two pipes off the top of the boiler around 50-65mm
 
It's twin flue inside a duct which combines to a balanced one further up which is why the OP thinks it's a single flue, fortunately the missing part is from the air tube rather than exhaust. It's based on 60mm diameter pipe, somebody innovative and willing might be able to fix this say with a plume kit, maybe. What's the part number OP, is the part just an elbow or is it a manifold?
 
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Thank you all again for your help.

Update:

I purchased a new boiler from another company and had it installed.

New information:
While cleaning the attic in preparation for the new boiler and moving a box I had placed there a week earlier, I found the missing flue piece placed inside it...... the engineer who wrote off my boiler from baxi who had come to service it asked me to open the windows as it was hot, when I had my back turned, I can only assume, now thinking about it, had placed it in the box, he specifically said to me after cutting of the pipes "I am not supposed to do this, but if you go on this website you can get a new boiler....."

I have cancelled my insurance and will never use anything to do with Baxi again. please be careful during these times as people are desperate to screw people over for money!
 
What?!!! The Baxi technician was servicing your boiler and he removed a part and hid it in a box in your house to try to make you buy a new boiler!? Does the BBC televsion programme "Watchdog"still exist?
 
Ric2013 said:
What?!!! The Baxi technician was servicing your boiler and he removed a part and hid it in a box in your house to try to make you buy a new boiler!? Does the BBC televsion programme "Watchdog"still exist?
Click to expand...
I know, I cannot believe it, I can't even bring my head round why and why I didn't notice him, when they serviced it the year before the baxi engineer was trying to get me to buy a new boiler then too, I really don't know what to do with this, I tried to call a lawyer (No Win no Fee) but he didn't think we could win, I spoke to D&G insurance and they sent me a letter that they do not believe they are at fault (really unhelpful company), was just going to take it on the chin and leave it, thanks for your advice and have sent it to watchdog.
 
ShaunCorbs said:
I would write a formal letter of complaint to baxi
Click to expand...
Thanks mate, I am done with that company! I tried to complain to baxi but they just seem to be fobbing me off. Sent it to watchdog and going to leave it now. got a new boiler, spent 4k, I am just going to make sure that I take pictures of the unit before I allow an engineer to visit so I can make sure everything is there.
 
For an attic, I would say that insulation might be insufficient if you go on holiday. Do you have a frost protection thermostat?
 

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