On 1 May 2006 08:57:09 -0700, wrote:


Keith D wrote:
I bought the ravenheat boiler from B&Q in Feb this year. I had already
replaced my radiators so I did not go for the pack option (but it is a very
good deal.
I installed the boiler myself (no, I'm NOT Corgi registered and NO the law
does not require me to be Corgi registered to install a boiler in my own
property). The fitting was simple and the improvements were instant and
amazing.
Cautionary tale:
After 4 weeks, the boiler stopped working. I contacted B&Q and said that I
would take a replacement boiler rather than have my money back. They came up
with all kinds of ****, saying that because I had fitted the boiler myself
blah blah. Up shot is I now have 5 years parts and labour service from
Ravenheat (they ended up comming out to identify the breakdown and went
straight to replacing the main fan, this suggests that its a common problem)
and I got compensation from B&Q for the actions of an idiot of a manager (so
push them hard)
B&Q prices are great (they are in a bad state in retail sales) and the
Ravenheat boiler works fine (but as a company I think they stink). I saved
substantial sums of money doing it myself against quoted prices from the
sharks that swim in the sea they call "plumbers"
Do it!!

You're very lucky IMO. If I was B&Q I wouldn't have offered a
replacement either. The usual practice is to contact the manufacturer
and they will send an engineer out to rectify the fault, if they can't
solve it on the phone.
Why go through the hassle of removing the boiler and installing another
when you can sit back and let the manufacturers sort it?

What is "usual practice"?

He bought an item from a retail store that was defective. The
manufacturer could have denied any responsibility, because they didn't
sell him the boiler directly.

His recourse in law is with B&Q, not the manufacturer.

He followed the normal practice for a consumer purchase and was
rejected by the vendor, which is against the consumer law in this
country.