For the second time this year there has been a leak from the flat above me, first time was not much damage and was stopped fairly quickly Today the damage was more extensive, lucky no plaster work damage but it has stained the ceiling in my bedroom from window to almost the ceiling light fitting and from the wall opposite my bed to the light fitting as well, plus a small amount of decorative damage in the kitchen. I wasn't offered any help to dry out my bedroom, window been open all day and heating on, it still smells damp and musty And no help to repair the paintwork on the ceiling, none offered either for the first leak either. Do the HA have a responsibility to repair the damage at all please?

My 84 year old Dad lives in a flat run by a housing association. They seem to have a company who come in and service/repair the gas boiler etc. Anyway, they came Tuesday and found a gas leak. Gas was turned off. They provided him with heaters and went away. So no cooker, or hot water but at least temporary heaters. Yesterday I phoned the company who seemed to have no plan in place but promised to send someone. Someone else turned up yesterday, made a few excuses and admitted they can't fix it either. No plan is in place for further work. Am I right to expect that, after two days, they should have, at least a plan of action in place here. At the moment, it just seems that no-one is particularly interested. Like I said he has a temporary gas heater but no cooker, no hot water so he cant wash.

Hi, For the very first time I've received a spam email sent to an address that I only use with CAG (it's a specific user @ one of my own domains). It's not the address associated with this log in, but from a much earlier account I had here at the peak of the bank charges reclaims. I've not logged into CAG with that account for many years now. Is there any chance that you have a security breach? Regards, OMWO

Hey guys, was wondering if you could give me some advice on whether I've handled a used car situation, as after putting it off as much as possible, I've been given no other choice but to take a car dealer to court 8th December, me and my girlfriend traded in her Corsa for £400, for a Polo plus £500 cash (£900) total. The dealer checked her car, and had access to it for about 4-5 hours. I test drove one car, which broke down straight away, then test drove a similar but more expensive one, but only at 30mph up and down the local road. I refused the £50 Mot offered (Had 4 months left), as I have a very trustworthy garage that I wanted to take it to. As soon as money changed hands, the car cut out when I drove it out, to which the dealer said it was just because the car was parked on a slope and it's just the petrol and would be fine after putting some petrol in it. despite driving 15 mins back to my home, and putting in £10 petrol, the car kept cutting out, whenever going over speed bumps the car would make awful scraping sounds. when I took it to my garage they said there were two minor problems and an oil leak from the sump pan. They said the dealer illegally sold me the car, and that they would have to fix these problems straight away. Dealer argued the case, but eventually accepted that they needed fixing, and booked me into his local garage. 5 days later i took it to his garage, and when the work was done the mechanic denied that he was even told to look at the sump pan, and that he wouldn't look at that until the dealer gave the go ahead (he did fix the 2 minor problems again, contacted dealer, who reluctantly said he would book it in, to which was another 5 days away. When car was taken to garage, he kept it for a few days, and finally rang us to pick it up, but it was still cutting out while driving. due to it being Christmas, it took just under 2 weeks to get it checked by my garage (5th January) to which they said that it wasn't fixed, and that I need to take it back. Again contacted seller who arranged it for the 9th (a day after a month of having the car). On the day I was unwell and my girlfriend didnt feel safe driving the car, I text to cancel, but then the dealer started ignoring us. I tried ringing but no avail. i gave it a few days and then text him again to say that I wasn't happy with the car and would like a full refund. No response. spoke to citizens advice, who said send him a recorded letter. Which I did. But again no response, i text him saying if i dont hear back I will take it to court. Thats when he finally responded saying that it's my fault for buying a used car, and that he won't be giving me a refund and that I can take him to court but to let him know in advance. There's been a lot of back and forth between me and him, but the only thing he's willing to offer is £400 refund as he says the Corsa I traded in had a Head Gasket problem and it's cost him £480 to fix, even though I was not aware of this problem, and he had ample time to check and reject the trade in on the day. He's also listed the car without saying that he's fixed it, but is saying he's fixed pads and discs, which he never mentioned to me. I offered that he could have the Corsa for free, but the minimum I would've taken was my £500 cash back, to which he declined. Now I've applied for small claims court and am claiming over £1200 as I've had to keep the car insured and taxed to keep it on the road as I have no where else to store it I was debating whether to claim for traveling costs, as the car was bought to travel to football matches but I've had to get multiple coaches and trains on the day Do I have a good chance of winning?

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jun/20/leak-shows-devastating-impact-of-planned-nhs-cuts-in-london This is very scary - can the NHS really take more cuts !

Hi All, Please bear with me. I was made redundant over a year ago, and as a single Mum, I've just started my own business, but am still relying heavily on benefits while I find my feet - financially. Our landlady's told us she's selling the house in June and as we've been here for 5 years and are so happy and settled, I'd love to somehow be able to buy it. The house is expected to go on the market for 220K. My mum recently sold her house and has a 30K deposit she can give us and I'm now considering the following options: 1. My ex, who earns a good wage (100K) can 'Buy to let' for us? This sounds too good to be true - what are the issues surrounding this? 2. Would my 71 year old Mum be able to re-mortgage her house that she owns outright? It's value is 200K. Is she able to do this at her age - how much could she raise - again - what are the issues surrounding this? I'm pretty convinced that our dream's not achievable, but I thought I'd ask here first - I've heard great things about this forum. Here's hoping, Many thanks in advance.

I think things are about to become very interesting following this leak of data. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3521830/Tax-havens-world-s-rich-famous-revealed-huge-data-leak.html There is an estimate of there being up to $50 trillion held in the various tax havens, which is almost enough to completly wipe out worldwide government debts. I wonder how much of this money has involved criminality in some form.

Hi guys, I received my last water bill a while ago and it's double what the previous bill was. I'm having problems understanding what's going because there have been no major changes to the house. They had been sending people round to access the meter in our front garden which they have never done before. It was a rather bizarre incident. These guys showed up and asked who they should write to at this address and I explained that we were already with Thameswater and I didn't understand what's going on. I don't know if we're getting billed for another house or what's going on. Is there any way our bill can be recalculated? I don't understand how reading a meter at the front of the house has affected our bill to this extent. Can someone help me with this situation because I have a feeling Thameswater will make a dogs dinner out of this.

Hi there, A while back in June i had a major water leak, basically 50 galls came through the ceiling at a great rate of knots causing significant damage to lounge and bedroom ceiling, subsequently I've had two new ceilings as the old was asbestos (apparently) ..a new boiler and other ongoing internal works.. as we speak. If It were not for that fact i was here at the time of the leak it would have been catastrophic not to mention the flat below, the firemen who attended were none to pleased and reported their findings to the HA as failure to reasonably repair previous damage and works to this property. .. yes the ceiling had been down two years previously.. I've been put out massively, moved my contents in and out of rooms/bedrooms, waiting in needlessly for workmen that don't turn up and been without ceiling x2, no hot water and cold water at various times. My actual expenditure has been 1 meal out due to the flat being uninhabitable literally, and paid for a few boxes i got to store all the clutter that comes with a lifetime, the HA has an online form that i need to fill out, any idea's please, I've lost three days unpaid hols, i definitely think these should be reimbursed. My question is how much compensation should i claim, if any? Thanks

I have just found this website while browsing, so I have signed up. This, my first post, is both to seek advice and, perhaps, to alert others to the problem I am facing. It does not concern a utility company as such, but the manufacturer/supplier of energy equipment - in this case Viessmann, a well-respected company who make gas, solar and other systems for domestic hot water (DHW) and central heating (CH). Having looked through the forums I am hoping that this is the right sub-forum in which to post: it seems that there are quite a few plumbing and heating experts who contribute to the discussions here. The essential details are as follows: In October 2010 (ie just over three years ago) we had our old, traditional system renewed/replaced. We had a Viessmann 343-F "tower unit" installed. This is a gas-fired condensing boiler, integrated with cylinder, pumps and solar water-heating circuit and controls, all packaged into one single box about the size of a domestic fridge. So as well as the mains gas, we have a panel of solar tubes on the roof which helps to heat the water. This tower unit stands on the floor of our utility room, in the corner, with all pipe-connections at the top. The system works superbly, is very efficient and has cut down our gas bills (since especially in sunny weather, the solar circuit heats most of our DHW needs). However...... several weeks ago we noticed a puddle (indeed a pool) of water on the floor around, beside and behind the boiler - or rather the tower unit. As it is located against the walls in the corner of the utility room there is very little visibility and vitrually no access beside or behind the unit - and of course it is immovable as it is plumbed-in and very heavy. We mopped up the apparent leak: it wasn't a pouring flood. But the puddle soon reappeared. There was much more liquid when the CH was on. With DHW only, there was still a leak, but noticeably less. There is no local Viessmann agent in our area, and the firm which installed our system had ceased trading and no longer exists. To cut a long story short, telephone discussion with Viessmann UK customer services and tech helpline, and eventually a call-out to a local plumber, suggested that our initial fear - that one of the CH pipes or joints behind the boiler unit leading to and from the radiators had sprung a leak - was mistaken. Rather the suspicion was that there was a condensate leak. This tallied with the evidence that there was more of a puddle when the CH was on (boiler running long and often) than when DHW only (boiler running much less). Now here is the problem.... and the warning. Further checking with the help of a friendly local plumber revealed (a) that there was no flow at all out of the condensate drain pipe, which was normally plumbed in to the waste outflow pipe under the sink, and which we disconnected to check. Also (b) so far as we could see by tracing that drain pipe back, it had not become disconnected from the boiler, and the joints and connections (with jubilee clips) along its length inside the tower unit were all sound. BUT.... more checking eventually turned up the cause of the problem. The condensate drain pipe is a flexible ribbed plastic tube, like a thin vacuum cleaner hose or some washing machine outflows. This tube had been wedged, or crushed, beween a internal copper pipe and the casing panel inside the tower unit, just under the boiler components and above the HW cylinder. When we removed it and looked closely, we discovered a small but significant split on the underside (invisible until the tube had been removed). The good news is that - having found the source of the leak - the immediate solution is to replace the tube. Simples! There is however some bad news. It is obvious that this split was not sudden or recent. The tube had evidently been wedged and squashed under the other pipe when the unit was originally assembled. The tube was actually held inplace by cable-ties. So the split had been there for many months, indeed possibly years. The really bad news is that all the components inside this tower unit casing are very tightly packed-in, so inspection is difficult; but we established that the condensate seeping from the split plastic tube had flowed down through a gap in the panels on to, and into, the spongy insulation jacket which completely encases the HW cylinder. This means two things. First, that the leak had been there for so long that the condensate had eventually saturated the whole of the insulation jacket, and then soaked into the floor immediately below the unit, the skirting boards and the base of the walls below. Only then, and when the flow was substantial, did it begin to "puddle" on the floor-tiles under and behind the unit. Second, (and any plumber reading this will be ahead of me!) the fact is that condensate is highly corrosive. So.... we have had a boiler/cylinder assembly inside this tower unit casing where for many months, and possibly years ever since the new unit was first installed, the cylinder and all its pipe-connections have been sitting (so to speak) immersed and saturated completely in corrosive acidic condensate which was being constantly replenished. It is of course impossible to inspect, as all this is inside the moulded insulation jacket. Although condensate only flows when the boiler is running, I had assumed the discharge would only be a matter of a few cupfuls. Since the immediate short term repair of fitting a new drain tube, I have been staggered to observe that the boiler discharges around 5-6 litres per 24 hours. And the boiler has been running for over three years! I have reported all this (complete with photos) to Viessmann's service department, and made clear that I am looking to them to come up with an appropriate response - which to me means complete inspection, overhaul and replacement of all affected parts or (probably easier) replacement of the entire unit. Notwithstanding the fact that the unit was installed just over 3 years ago (the warranty is for 3 yrs) the evidence points clearly to a manufacturing/assembly fault or error, possibly a design flaw, and certainly a problem and a leak which has been present for many months at least (ie it arose well within the warranty period). I now await Viessmann's response. So in a way I am jumping the gun by posting this now in a forum. If Viessmann accepts responsibility and undertakes to replace the unit and make good the damage I shall be the first to applaud them. If however they don't, we could be in for a serious fight over liability and compensation. I, and I hope Viessmann, do not see that as in either of our interests. But on a contingency basis I am having to think about what that might involve. So, for anyone else who has or works on similar Viessmann units - check the condensate drain hose immediately and very carefully! For anyone who is a plumber - any comments on the nature and consequences of this problem? For anyone who has experience of claiming for a fault of this kind - any advice to offer if I have to go down that road?

Hi, I'd be grateful for your advice regarding an issue I am having with my downstairs's neighbours. A leak from my bathroom has caused damp/mould on my neighbours bathroom ceiling. The plumber found that there was a gap in the sealant by my shower which he resealed. The damaged area is approx 3 x 2cm & 8 x 3cm. Last week I emailed my neighbours and offered to do the repairs myself however, they have refused my offer and want to get a professional decorator to do the work to a "high standard" and obviously for me to pay for this work. Do I have to pick up this cost?

Hello,I'm hoping I can get some insight on my current situation with my Local AuthorityI've been a Council tenant since 2006 (my agreement is secured) - the property is a house flat; I'm on the ground with a tenant above and below meIn Oct 2008 on returning from work my living room had sprung a leak from the drop down/ boxed in area of the ceiling - was reported to the repairs team, plumbers & surveyors came out took a look and I was told it was fixed.In Oct 2012 again on returning home from work the leak had happened again and again plumbers and surveyors came outThe Council had said that the cause was the tenants washing machine upstairs not connected properly and the plumber rectified the leak upstairs/ flushed out the pipesIn a series of letters back & forth mainly with my concern that the same place had leaked twice I enquired as to how they fixed it the 1st time (2008) and how they've gone about fixing it this time round. They were and have been very reluctant to open the drop down ceiling box where the water penetrated. Saying it was not necessaryAt one point they said that the leak was caused by the front canopy roof - that was not the case on my investigation as the front canopy roof covered the bay front window onlyIn the end I done a Subject Access Request (Data Protection) and a Freedom Of Information request to see what info is held in regards to all repairs on the flatMy paperwork received showed that their internal systems contradicted what I was in fact told about the repair of the leak. There was no actual evidence or a logging of a repair job to stipulate that the leak source was found and remedied. I actually found a job logged saying 'source of leak unknown'I believe that 1. The Council is stalling on fully carrying out the repairs to the property (due to possibly cost and inconvenience)2. That the 2008 issue was in fact never remedied and instead left open to abuse as so it leaked again 2013. They had not even patched up the ceiling from the 2008 leakThey have continued in letters to refuse and acknowledge any wrong doing instead repeating that I was told 'X,Y & Z' by the Housing Repair teamI mistakenly wrote a 'letter before court action' documenting everything from 2008 till this year (when they finally repaired the ceiling Feb 2013) showing all evidence collated that what they have presented to me is in fact falseHaving re-read the Councils Complaints Guide I am within my right to ask the Chief Exec to investigate - thing is do I initiate Stage 3? As the Council have always kept my letters at Stage 2 and where its carried over from Oct 2012 to now. They still insist in calling the letters 'Stage 2 - Follow On'. As if to prevent me from taking it furtherAn idea of mine was to Subject Access Request or/ and F.O.I the external contractors used - KIERS, as they submit the work back to the Council on inspection and the Council gives it the OK or not. I am convinced that there is a job that the Council refused Kiers to undertakeMy help needed there is to what is the best question to ask so that I fully cover myself as there is a £10 charge I want to ensure that I get it rightI have a catalogue of evidence/ information collected - photo's 2008 & 2012, video taken of the water cleanup (2013), video footage taken when it leaked again and a list of missed appointments which cost me wagesAll help is much appreciatedRobin

Any advice here would be appreciated, I submitted a claim on my halifax home insurance as a leak under the kitchen sink had caused the kicthen cupboard to rot and the solid wood flooring. The flooring stretches through to the lounge and if you replace the kitchen flooring the whole lot has to be done. The chap came and said that the kitchen base unit needed replacing and the approx 18 sq metres of flooring needed replacing. He said either their company could do the work or they would give me £413 to do the work (thats with the £450 excess taken off) So i suppose that means without excess they are kind of saying the job totals around £900 ish. I think the chap called the wood floor laminate, which it isnt, its 15mm (cant remember the name but its definately not cheap laminate), it cost me about £2000 a while ago to be fitted. I would prefer to to get the work done myself (as i know tons of floor layers) and also dont like the sound of someone doing all this work for such a cheap price, they might bodge it and Id rather get someone in my home that i know and trust. Im just annoyed that they have given me such a low price, I will never be able to find anyone who will be able to replace the floor like for like and replace the kicthen base unit all for £900! Whats the point in having insurance like this if they dont give you a fair price for the work, thus forcing you to use their own companies for the work?? thanks for anyone who can help here

We recently had a new conservatory installed and the structure was completed on the 12th December 2012. Since completion we have had a problem with a small but persistent leak. The conservatory has a double patio door with the fixed panel of each door adjoining a dwarf wall with a window above, however on both sides when it rains the concrete beneath the fixed panel in the corner adjacent to the dwarf wall develops a damp patch. The customer services repair guy has now visited on five seperate occasions to fix the fault the most recent one being last Wednesday when he removed all the glazing and announced that the original fitters had drilled holes in the frame and then not used them and these holes were the problem. Unfortunately this hasn't entirely rectified the problem and we are still getting damp patches appearing. We are currently retaining the final 10% of the cost of the conservatory in order to keep the company 'interested' and have no intention of paying them until the problem is resolved. Where do I stand with regard to their inability to fix the problem? I am about to call them again and expect that they will once again send around customer service guy with his never ending supply of silicone sealant. Regards, Jason.

Hi All, I'm hoping someone might be able to offer some advice... I bought a new-build flat (for my sins) on the Hyde Housing shared ownership scheme in 2007. Since then, my water bill has continually increased year on year from £13 to £98 per month. Early last year, Thames Water confirmed there was a leak in underground pipework feeding the property. In December, following a lot of further investigation and heel dragging, they confirmed it was a customer side leak and that I would have to arrange for repair. On review of my water bills, it seems that the leak started in year 3. Despite initially arranging for investigation, Hyde Housing are now washing their hands of the matter advising that I am responsible for the repair as leaseholder. Whilst that might be so, I can't help thinking that new pipework should last longer than 3 years. Does anyone know what rights, if any, I might have to pursue this and whether I should be forcing this issue on Hyde (or Rydon Construction as builders, or via the Zurich Warranty)? Yours very stressed and fed up, Laura

Can anyone advise me what to expect from an insurance buildings assessor visit (company called JHS restoration, sent by LAS claims management) I woke up at 2am on Tuesday for the toilet and heard water in the kitchen which was coming from the ceiling, I turned the water stop cock off and returned to bed to deal with in the morning. I had a football sized hole in my ceiling water on top of my units and a little had got under my tiled floor, also water staining to the bathroom ceiling above the kitchen, my insurance excess is £500 so my wife initially said we should just get a builder in as it would be around the excess amount anyway. I removed the tiled flooring as some where cracked and moving and i was worried about my 3 children injuring there feet. I have kept all the tiles. We asked a builder who was working for a neighbor to pop in and have a look at damage and give an estimate, he looked and said the water had ran down the back of the units wetting the wall and units themselves (his advice was to remove the 3 wall units as they could come lose and fall on one of the children) so i did (again I have kept the units) he also advised to call insurance as it is a bigger job than expected. What am left with is a wet wall, hole in my ceiling, 3 bags of broken tiles and a bare kitchen floor and 3 removed wall units. My question is will my claim be reduced or even rejected as I fixed the leak myself, have removed flooring and wall units even tho I have kept them and they are clearly water damaged. Many thanks in advance

Hi Folks, I moved into a privately rented property in March 2012. Agency introduced but landlady manages. I asked her about a strong smell in the kitchen a short time after I moved in, she denied any such smell. This week a plumber came round to sort a small problem with my heating. I asked him about the smell as it has persisted for 6 months, after a short inspection he found a gas leak, he fixed it and issued a Gas Safety Certificate!! My landlady seemed most displeased that I had cost her more money..... The very next day I smelt the same odour, as if there was still a leak. My landylady said by phone "well there is not a lot more I can do, a plumber has said it is sorted, you can move out if you like"!! She did however comment that her elderly mother (who used to live there) had mentioned an odd smell before...... The same afternoon I called out the emergency gas board. Lo and behold they found a gas leak!! The boiler was marked as dangerous and landlady approached to get it fixed ASAP. I have since found out that she is considering selling the property (hence being reluctant to spend out on boiler repairs etc). a) I am angry at her response and the fact I have been living in danger for months b) I was concerned that my gas bill was exceptionally high when I am barely here - can I ask her to knock some off my rent? c) her attittude to mine and my kids safety sucks. Advice please as I feel I am being treated unfairly, she takes £800 a month from me and I have been living in a place with gas leaking since I moved here. I now have no gas to the property until the plumber comes back next week Lynsey x

Hi everyone at CAG, I found some great advice on this site already and now I am at a point to ask my first question(s). We had a leak in our kitchen sink which caused some (possibly minor) damage to our and the downstairs flat. It was a very unfortunate coincidence: The tap was dripping slightly and filled up a bowl in the sink in the course of several days (we were out for the extended weekend). But instead of overflowing into the sink and through the (unblocked) outlet, it was absorbed by a cloth which was hanging halfway into the bowl, and which transported the water straight on to the worktop, causing the leak. We had previously addressed the dripping tap with the agency, and we received a confirmation email about 2 weeks prior to the incident saying that the tap needs to be replaced and that they would send someone the "following week", but this did not happen before the incident. Now for my questions: * does anyone know, or can take a best guess, what the situation is in terms of liability? The various facts that the tap was dripping, that the cloth bypassed the outlet, and that the tap has not been repaired, confuse me. * does anyone know the "normal" procedure which applies to resolve the situation? Who will contact whom from the parties involved? (tenants, LLs, insurances, ...) * we hardly receive any information on what is happening right know - all I know is that the porter, who helped opening our flat in our absence, was asked by some party to comment on what he saw, and that someone will enter the flat to "evaluate the damage" (although I don't know if this is just for the downstairs flat, or ours, or both) Apologies for the slightly lengthy post, any comments on this would be appreciated. Thanks

We had a water meter fitted 27 days ago. During the install the chaps who fitted it said the pipes were very old, the job was very difficult due to the closed space and because of this keep an eye on the readings to make sure there's no leakage and if there is report it immediately. I have done so every morning without failure noted the readings and have a detailed log. Yesterday we were out all day and this morning when I took a reading the number was far higher than it should plus I noticed the wheel was spinning and we'd only just opened the front door. Spoke to SWW reporting the leak and asked that the previous reading be noted because I didn't want to pay for the leak what we're not using if it turned out that the leak is at the meter - he said we could be charged as he couldn't guarantee we'd receive a leak allowance. I've turned the water off at the stop-cock and the wheel is still turning on the meter. Where do we stand with our rights (statutory - durability) on this if this is a fault at the site of work carried out by their workmen and the leak appears within 28 days of the installation date? We'd love to keep the meter as this has already more than halved our bill.