All Residents, Repairs

Mission Impossible: Radiators Part 1

One would think that arranging an appointment with the Camden Council for a repair would not be so difficult. That is true because you can report online any housing repair that you might need. The difficulty starts when you have to coordinate the Camden Council with the contractors and their own engineers.

This is the story from a tenant who is trying to fix his radiators:

On the 1st October 2007 I submitted an online form concerning a repair for my three radiators that do not work properly.

The Council sent a contractor on the 05th October 2007. Unfortunately, the two men who arrived in my property could not do anything because they did not have the right tools as well as the necessary brackets. They also said that they had to drain the whole system in order to fix the problem. For that reason they told me to book another appointment by calling Seaflame on 0208 330 6055 and choose option 2.

On the following Tuesday 09th October 2007 (Time: 14:28, Duration: 06mins and 27secs) I called and asked for someone to come and fix the problem. They informed with a very rude way that they will call me when they are ready. I emphasised to the lady on the phone that the radiators have to be re-installed with new brackets on the wall and she confirmed that they are waiting for those components.

They called me again on Thursday 11th October 2007 (Time: 09:18am, Duration 01min and 23secs) in order to book an appointment for the 15th October 2007 but because of my busy schedule I requested to changed it for the 19th October 2007.

The Seaflame employee confirmed that the system will be drained and the radiators will be put back with new brackets.

However, on the 19th October 2007 the contractor came in my property spent ten minutes and after doing some bleeding in order to remove the air from one of the radiators, he left.

He mentioned that another guy supposed to do the job but he could not come. He also told me that the radiators have to be replaced in contrast with the first time when he said that they can be repaired.

The reason for replacing the radiators, according to the contractors, is the brackets. Those are the brackets that Seaflame supposed to order and bring to my property. However, the radiators have already brackets and the only thing that the contractors have to do is:

1) Disconnect/separate the radiators from the pipes,
2) Fit the existing brackets to the wall
3) Put the radiators back to the wall
4) Connect the radiators
5) Bleed them
6) Make sure that there is no water leak

On the 23rd October 2007 I called and I spoke with Jade from Seaflame in order to book another appointment for the radiators since nothing had happened in the previous two visits. Jade confirmed the appointment and the fact that the previous engineers did not left any notes to the system about the repairs. She also reassured me that she does not know anything about radiators and she can not pass any information to the engineers regarding the drainage of the system or about the refit of the radiators to the wall.

After many e-mails with the council and in order to avoid wasting another day from work I requested all the necessary works to be done before the engineer arrive to my property. This did not happen.

On the 29th October 2007 I called again and I booked another appointment for the 1st November 2007. This time the engineers decided to come a day earlier. So they came and left me a card.

On the 01st November 2007 I sent another e-mail to the Camden Council requesting another appointment with a written confirmation.

It is needless to say that:

1) I have already wasted 4 DAYS out of work in order to wait for some people to fix the radiators.
2) I have already paid £1,800.00 in services charges and I DO NOT HAVE central heating.

To Be Continued…

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