some advice about council if you can please :(

[dieselboy]

Definetly, do not do that.
The term "not suited for the job" can be interpeted in many differnt ways. It can simply mean that they are CORGI registered.

stuck then arnt we...
now i have the councillors number i will be calling tomorrow first thing...


if i post the sutton housing phone number on here, and ANY one of you call up with a question, and you dont know exactly who you should speak to or similar (meaning the person on the other end will need to do more than press a button on the phone) then you will be given the most attitude you would have ever been thought possible. they tell you off like your a school kid - its how it feels...

[dieselboy]

Your first port of call should be the local Council Offices. Go in and be amicable to start, and if they try to fob you off, then just use the same Hitler'esque attitude that they will probably be using. If that leads nowhere, (and make sure to mention to them that you will be taking it further and higher, if needs be), then start going higher up the chain.

have done, numerous times for other things as well. they dont care,. neither do the contractors, they get paid either way.

[dieselboy]

just to refer to the boiler, how old is it because modern boilers do'nt require the high and low air holes any more, they draw the air in via the outside chamber of the chimney and expel the fumes via the inner exhaust, i'm sure a plumber on here will put us all right.

another thing, we have been in this house almost 10 years, and had the same boiler, why only now does it require air vents in the outside of the building? the boiler is about 4 or 5 metres from these vents in a cuboard.

whos great idea was that one? health and safety? the carbon monoxide detector has NEVER beeped... and i tested it using its button so it does beep :/

[MattF]

have done, numerous times for other things as well. they dont care,. neither do the contractors, they get paid either way.

Then you ain't being obnoxious enough with them.

[dieselboy]

An alternative or in addition to contacting your councilor would be to contact any trade body organisation that the contractor may belong to.
It will be listed in their yellow pages advert.
Also you may want to contact the contractor themselves, if they're a medium / large firm, chances are you got a couple of knuckleheads and their boss would be glad of the feedback regarding their poor behavior.
Its very difficult to get on the council's contract list,....

I'm Fuming

hell, call the local newspaper, it might be a slow news day and they might be interested.
Basically cause a fuss...... dont give up and expose these cowboys for who they are.

what you said here was the first thing i did this morning to explain the situation.
i was told off by the lady at the contractors, so then i ended the conversation after getting no where and i called the council offices and asked to speak to the housing officer regarding an incident at 64 north st.
to which i was laughed at, and told that dee had been emailing them and they had been emailing dee.

"dee?" i asked, its one of the women at the contractors offices... so they are all talking about this incident, and im denied to be put through to the housing officer as we had been grassed up and thats why he was engaged on the call when i had called 10 minutes previous.

all we asked was if the engineer was to wear overshoes... gotten a bit out of hand dont you think?

[dieselboy]

Then you ain't being obnoxious enough with them.

you might be right

[fatfires]

Hi
OK facts first, as a heating engineer
ventilation is mandatory...has to be, there are regulations covering compartment and combustion ventilation, from what I can see it would apear that the compartment (boiler cupboard) requires combustion air to be provided because the appliance is convetionally flued, takes it's air for burning from the space it is in, that air has to be replaced to stop build up of potencially lethal fumes and to ensure the bioler can 'breathe'
damage to corners of walls etc is unaceptable and should be reported - however it comes under the non urgent catagory so wont be sorted quickly
No heat or hot water is urgent and dependant of the policy of the local authority, if they cannot provide within a 'reasonable time' defined in the housing guidelines they have to provide alternatives and if they cost more as in electric fires as oposed to gas central heating they have to give an allowance to cover increaced costs (should all be in your housing charter - housing dept.)
The 'ventilation' - hole in the wall, apears to be a flue from an old appliance utilised to give the correct amount of free space in Sq cmtrs, however ventilation should be baffled to avoid draughts.
judging from what I can see if the existing appliance is old and requires ventilation there is certainly a good case for a system upgrade to a unit that is 'room sealed', it may still need compartment ventilation but would not need combustion ventilation so ....no draughts
it would be helpfull to know what thw appliance is make, model, age etc
As a thought check the housing guidelines establish what are your rights and what are the expected level of service, clasifications of urgent, non etc and the expected timescales to rectify problems, if they have not been met I would be looking to claim compensation for no heat, hot water, delay, invconvenience, damage etc
you can also give the council a set time to carry out the repairs and tell them if not done within that timescale to your satisfaction you will get an outside contractor to do them and you will charge the council plus your expences which could include loss of earnings for you to supervise it.
You should be able to find the name of your councellor on the council web site, or give the council your address and they will give you contact details for him/her and involve them, as others have said housing dept's dont like councellors getting involved, you could also identify what councellor is chairperson of the housing committee and give then a phone, most councellors publish their home phone numbers or get it from the council.
good luck, keep us informed, PM me a landline number if you think I can give you any more advice
Look after your mum....she's the only one you got!!

[darkdezigns]

hi mate i used to be a council electrician,and did multitrade call out,first off is the heating still working properly?is anyone in yr house registered disabled?or elderly?,trust me i can help with this

[dieselboy]

...cut to avoid long post...

thank you so much for your detailed reply.

regarding the air vents, these were created with hole cutting drills and then pushed through and left as in the pictures. there is no baffle. i asked the housing officer about a "filter" and he told me there should be nothing blocking the vent.. may be i should have used the word baffle.

ive read this to my mum and she is going to get the housing charter to look this up.

the boiler details from what i can find:
name: ideal mexico slimline, by stelrad group.
model: CF55
my mum has been told it was fitted mid 70's. and that its a gravity fed boiler... it comes up if i google it but no pictures.

there is still this issue that because my mum covered up the vent in top level as it was too cold over winter, they came and see this 3 weeks ago, and is apparently why they havnt been back, although every time i call they say something different ie waiting for parts, waiting for someone to call them from council etc etc, even that they would be round last week, but never turned up.

but you can imagine what was happening to the heated air inside the house. it will have to be baffled as you say, no one else in our row of houses has a vent open like that, but they probably have different boilers.

thanks again! going to bed soon, will pm the number.

[dieselboy]

hi mate i used to be a council electrician,and did multitrade call out,first off is the heating still working properly?is anyone in yr house registered disabled?or elderly?,trust me i can help with this

my mum is disabled (registered etc),.. ive told them this numerous times, they dont care.

[darkdezigns]

my mum is disabled (registered etc),.. ive told them this numerous times, they dont care.

ok,they dont have a choice,does the heating still work?

[dieselboy]

ok,they dont have a choice,does the heating still work?

no, its been ok since its been warmish out, but its starting to get cold now so its why ive been chasing.. ive given them time to get parts etc but now its taking the mick..

the heating and hot water are done off the same boiler. they have removed something (dunno what, )
and the boiler is powered by a standard 3 pin plug that you use for a table lamp. this is left un plugged.

i have thought about plugging it in, but i dont know what they have removed. and i think we have been told to not plug it in. for obvious reasons...

[darkdezigns]

no, its been ok since its been warmish out, but its starting to get cold now so its why ive been chasing.. ive given them time to get parts etc but now its taking the mick..

the heating and hot water are done off the same boiler. they have removed something (dunno what, )
and the boiler is powered by a standard 3 pin plug that you use for a table lamp. this is left un plugged.

i have thought about plugging it in, but i dont know what they have removed. and i think we have been told to not plug it in. for obvious reasons...

cool,perfect,your next move is grab your council handbook,ring the emergency out of hours call out number,ring them,say no heatin no hot water,and yr mum is disabled,they will come out tonite,diagnose the prob,and hopefully arrange for permanant fix,when they are there explain,bout the vents,see wot they say,and don't worry will more than likely be diffrent people to what u have seen so far

[da SLUG man]

when i did my electrician training, one of the first things we learned,along with safe handling etc. was clean working and tidying up after you...
it doesn't mention wearing special shoes, but always to cary indoor and outdoor boots...

they wouldn't take the #### if you were a food factory and they had to wear overalls, hairnet and snood!

[darkdezigns]

when i did my electrician training, one of the first things we learned,along with safe handling etc. was clean working and tidying up after you...
it doesn't mention wearing special shoes, but always to cary indoor and outdoor boots...

they wouldn't take the #### if you were a food factory and they had to wear overalls, hairnet and snood!

i always used to carry a hoover!!