Do I Have A Right To Complain

[renegadefm]

Ok so this is a tricky question because I don't even know if we have a leg to stand on, by we I mean my partner and I. 

 

Basically we recently had a new consumer trip box installed as our old fuse box was out of date, and we needed to upgrade. 

 

We have a night storage heater which we never use, I even removed the fuse from the isolate switch so it can't be turned on because we had over 40 vinyl singles we store on it as its right next to our record player. We have had them there for years for convenience. 

 

I was actually at work when the electricians did the work, and only my partner was here, but little did she know during the instillation of the new consumer box they were randomly testing sockets, lights etc.

 

What we didn't realise until many days after the done the work and left, that they must have been testing the heater where our records were on, and by testing I mean put a fuse in and put the heater on. 

 

Needless to say many days after they left, we went to play one of the records, and to our horror over 40 of the records have been severely worped and unplayable. 

 

Are we in a position to complain or claim for the value of the records, as they didn't inform us they needed to actually put the heater on. 

I thought with testing equipment you can test appliances without turning them on. 

 

I know some of you will be screaming why would you store vinyl records on a heater, well normally I would agree with you, but I took steps to make sure that particular heater could not be turned on by removing the fuse, plus two switches would have needed to be switched on for the heater to run, so it was impossible for it ever to be turned on. 

 

Shouldn't we have been informed of what they were doing?

 

Have we got a right to claim for this damage to our property? 

[andy-hughes]

Hopefully you have house contents insurance, so I would contact them first.

I doubt a claim against the company will work.

They will argue that their testing is a legitimate aspect of their work, and anything damaged that they could not have reasonably anticipated, is your responsibility. 

Good luck with your insurance company.

[davebro3]

Tricky one:

Maybe a lot of things could have been different.

I have an old fusebox that could probably do with updating but it works OK so I haven't done anything about it (if it aint broke don't try to fix it).

You could have disabled the heater more permanently by removing some wiring.

You could have told the electrician not to touch it.

They could have told you they had touched it.

You might have realised it was getting hot before it did the damage.

I don't think you have a claim. I could be wrong.

[ToraToraTora]

Not a leg to stand on I'm afraid. If you put something in a place where it could be damaged then you have no real defence when it is.

[davebro3]

^^ a claim against the electrician that is - but yes try your insurer.

[pastafreak]

How long would the heater have needed to be on to damage 40 vinyl records? Oh...and how hot?

[barry1010]

Around 16 celsius (61F) for a vinyl record to warp.

[davebro3]

Surely that can't be right Barry? Most folks have their heating at 20c+.

I think it's more like a temperature difference that could cause warping.

[davebro3]

With my central heating the rads are at 50C - recommended range 40C-80C. If storage heaters are similar it would be much hotter than 16C.

[ToraToraTora]

you could fix them using the same technique. Put each record between two bits of wood add a heavy weight and then turn the heater on again. That should make them flat.

[renegadefm]

Sorry but I did mention I wasn't there the day they did the work. 

Only my partner, and she probably wouldn't have been paying attention to what they were doing. 

 

The records are so badly damaged they are rippled. I would say the heater must have got quite hot. 

 

I know in hindsight it's foolish to keep vinyl records on a heater, but they have been there for years. I tend to think it was irresponsible of the electricians to turn the heater on without checking what was on it. It could have been family photos or anything. 

 

By the way we had to upgrade our fuse box, because B&Q wouldn't sign off the new bathroom and kitchen without that being done, so we had no choice.

 

I have heard that some insurance companies won't pay out in terms of fire damage if the old fuse boxes are still in use as they are obsolete. 

 

So basically I can't claim off the electricians for damage to our property? 

[renegadefm]

davebro3, 

 

The thing is Dave we don't use that heater, I removed the fuse years ago so it can't be turned on. The electricians must have put the fuse back in to test it. 

[davebro3]

I would chalk it up to experience & go out hunting for more vinyl it that's what you are into.

[Barmaid]

You have a right to complain, but I think you will be told that it is "tough".  Given that it was several days until you noticed that the heater was on, I suspect they would say that on a contributary negligence basis, your contribution is 100%.

[Ellipsis]

Definitely the electrician should have tested every single fuse.  That's their professional duty.  Unless, that is, you told them NOT to test one of them - but even then, that would be a minefield for them ...

Maybe they should have checked what they were going to put live before they put it live.  But again, maybe you should have told them ... or even moved the records in the first place.

I think the outcome would be what Barmaid said: you have a right to complain, but not a right to redress. 

It's a contents insurance claim, if you want to pursue it ...

[barry1010]

Oops. 140F, 60C will warp records

 

[barry1010]

https://peakvinyl.com/warping-temperature/#site-nav

You would have noticed it getting that hot - could the heater get that hot?

[renegadefm]

Barmaid, 

 

The heater was only put on while they were here. They must have turned it off again before they left. 

Thats mainly why we didn't notice what they done until a week later when we went to play the records. 

[Old_Geezer]

You definitely have my sympathy; but my pure guess is that you're screwed. Best try both alternative routes suggested above. a) try house contents insurers, b) try to press them back flat using heat & weight.

[renegadefm]

barry1010, 

 

No I wasn't here when they done the testing etc. 

It was switched off before they left, and I didn't get home for hours afterwards so the heater would have gone cold again. 

 

We didn't even realise they must have turned it on until we found the vinyls all rippled.

 

I took steps to ensure the heater never comes on by removing the fuse. 

 

I feel they could have just asked my partner is it ok to test the heater.

[youngmafbog]

//I have an old fusebox that could probably do with updating but it works OK so I haven't done anything about it (if it aint broke don't try to fix it).//

The problem is they dont work OK.  There is zero protection for you and protection for the circuits is minimal too.  This is why B&Q, very rightly, refused to sign off the bathroom.  It would be dangerous.

As for the claim, they connected evey thing up and tested it by turning it on. (Yes sometimes that is fine).  The fact the fuse was removed means nothing, often people have problems and remove a fuse (or wrap some foil or a nail over it! - seen both).  So I cant see a claim being even remotely successful against the Sparks.