Hello,

I've recently moved house (September), and I continued my British Gas 3-star
service contract that I have had for 5 years.

An engineer came round this Monday to do the annual service on the 24 year
old Glow Worm boiler. As soon as the engineer left, the pilot light went
out, and kept going out within a few minutes of relighting. The same
engineer came back today to solve the problem by fitting a new gas valve,
cheerfully joking about Murphy's Law when you start messing with something
after months or years of fault-free operation.

During the fitting process the engineer accidentally bent the thread of an
elbowed threaded pipe. This is an irreplaceable part due to the age of the
boiler, so the only option was for the engineer to arrange for a quote for a
new boiler. The British Gas quote-monger will be coming round this evening.

Cheek! If I took my car in for a service and the garage damaged the engine,
I'd hardly get a bill for a new car would I?

Does anybody know where I stand regarding responsibility here?

1. Even if I wanted to replace the boiler, I would probably not choose
British Gas because of the cost.
2. If I hadn't paid them to service the boiler, I wouldn't be in this
situation.
3. The engineer admitted the damage, so shouldn't British Gas rectify
their error?
4. If they offer a discount because of their error, could I get a quote
from a different supplier and ask British Gas to pay the equivalent of their
offered discount?

If I am posting this to the wrong newsgroup (I can't really call it
"doing-it-myself"), could anyone recommend a more suitable one?

Thanks
Richard