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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

A month with no boiler and high C02 levels for two years AIBU?

36 replies

Whenwillth1send · 13/03/2018 15:24

Our boiler was turned off a month ago due to high C02 levels, so we've had no heating, hot water or washing machine for that time. The children have shivered through -7 temperatures with only two fan heaters to keep them warm. I'm on my fifth day off work while this gets sorted, I've taken days off for appointments where nobody has turned up, been to client meetings dirty. In addition to a large family and 3 jobs, I've had to wake up at 5am to boil kettles, go to the launderette twice a week, and wash dishes in freezing water. This isn't even the worst part..
Last year the boiler was turned off for high C02 levels. After a couple of weeks, it was fiddled with then turned back on. I noticed that I had dark circles under my eyes and a severe headache shortly afterwards, bought a C02 monitor but it was beeping continuously, (not the 3 beeps to indicate high C02) so I assumed it was malfunctioning and carried on. During the last year, my normally healthy children have had alot of days off school; the A grade student eldest has constantly complained of dizziness and taken days off, the kids were sick for ten days before getting antibiotics, I had to go from full time to part time in order to cope with all the days off. My health has deteriorated severely as well. I don't have any faith that even if I am told the boiler is fixed, it will be fixed, as they have told me this multiple times before and it wasn't true. I am currently compiling evidence that we have been badly affected by what has gone on. I've nearly left my job from sheer exhaustion at having to deal with freezing washes, an hour a night boiling kettles in addition to my already too busy life.

My AIBU is, I want to be moved (council property and we are hugely overcrowded anyway) as I can no longer trust them and don't feel safe here AIBU to request that we are moved immediately?

OP posts:
Whenwillth1send · 13/03/2018 22:02

I don't see the point of lying on a facebook post with pictures from 11 months ago, especially as I had no reason to believe that I would ever need to look at or think about that post again, certainly not that I would be in this position. WRT blood tests, it appears that Carbon Monoxide leaves the body quite quickly (half within 24 hours) so I doubt that will be of much use now but thank you Smile. I referenced the facebook post, as we were all suffering headaches when in the house, in the pictures I clearly have dark rings around my eyes and state that I've got a really bad headache, that the boiler had been switched off then at a later date on again. It's actually a very unexciting factual post, which I would have no reason to lie about. I just think it's strange that with lev els of 1000 (very high levels indeed) they can "know" beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have suffered no ill effect.

OP posts:
RockinHippy · 14/03/2018 00:38

Don't take B12 supplements! They will not help & May skew blood test results

See your GP for blood tests urgently, if you have carbon monoxide poisoning, your GP can then treat you with the correct type of B12 injections (off the top of my head I think it's Cyanocobalamin, so different to your pills)

RockinHippy · 14/03/2018 00:40

& rolling is correct, blood tests don't lie. Facebook posts can & though nobody is disputing your honesty here. Your landlord certainly will use that against you if they think it will get them of the hook for negligence & the harm it's caused you & your DCs

HelenaDove · 14/03/2018 00:48

Rockin its likely they will get off the hook anyway

www.propertyindustryeye.com/letting-agent-furious-after-social-landlord-escapes-prosecution-despite-gas-safety-breaches-in-1000-homes/

OP this is appalling What if you had lost your job due to their ineptitude. Bet they would still expect you to pull money out of your arse to pay the rent if you lost your job because of this.

Snowysky20009 · 14/03/2018 01:25

Why can't you use your washing machine?

LovesLaboursLost · 14/03/2018 07:01

If your concern is that the boiler isn’t actually fixed, then blood tests would prove that. Though so would the carbon monoxide monitors. I think there’s probably a reasonable expectation that if you think your family have carbon monoxide poisoning you will act at the time, report the fault and seek medical treatment. Did you do that?

Whenwillth1send · 14/03/2018 07:17

In answer to your question, we did buy Carbon Monoxide detectors. Unfortunately they went off continuously, (if there had been high Carbon Monoxide they would have given off three beeps, which misled us and made us think they were defective)
We did have concerns which were stated. We also kept the windows open all the time because we suspected something was going on from the amount of headaches we had.

I am concerned now that I've been told that my boiler was never turned off in 2017 despite having a huge warning sticker on my boiler from 2017 stating that it had been turned off and it was an offence to turn it back on'! As well as the clear memory of it being turned off. In addition, they don't want to wait for medical records, they have just refuted everything. This is making me question everything they've ever told me, and not trust them.

OP posts:
LovesLaboursLost · 14/03/2018 08:08

Did you seek medical treatment when you believed you had carbon monoxide poisoning?

COGasSafety · 14/03/2018 14:38

I am really sorry that you are having such a horrible and worrying time. If you are worried about carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning please ring the gas emergency service immediately 0800 111999. They will just turn off any gas appliance, they will not test gas appliances for CO although they do wear personal alarm monitors for CO to protect themselves. Otherwise you could ring me 07803 088688 or ideally email me [email protected] and put 'carbon monoxide - urgent' in the subject line.
I need to know if you are a private tenant (this is what it sounds like). If so you should have a current gas safety certificate? Do you have this? Have you checked with the Gas Safe Register to make sure that the installer who did the gas safety certificate is registered and the engineer qualified to work on your appliance? Hope to hear from you soon but I am going out to catch a train around 4.00 p.m. so around 4.30 would be perfect - I will take my computer with me.
Stephanie Trotter, OBE President & Director CO-Gas Safety www.co-gassafety.co.uk

Whenwillth1send · 16/03/2018 18:11

Thank you so much Stephanie, sorry I didn't check this thread sooner it's been a very intense work week this week! It was the Gas Safety Check engineer who said the levels were high, then lethal, then the Manufacturer came out. I am just about to check using our Carbon Monoxide Detector where the levels are at now, but I am too worried to use the heating and only put the water on for a few minutes in the morning.

OP posts:
COGasSafety · 16/03/2018 18:54

You need help and advice. Please email me (Stephanie Trotter) [email protected]
I can send you my one page CV. You can also check the website out www.co-gassafety.co.uk
What most people find is a huge difficulty in proving exposure to carbon monoxide. If you can please send me a summary of what happened and what evidence you have, I could see what I can suggest to help you further. You may have household insurance that covers legal advice - worth looking at this. Also if your case is good many lawyers offer no win, no fee.
We recommend cases to one or two good lawyers but they don't always take them on. We don't receive any payments for referrals and our help is free.
We may ask you if you can provide a case study for us but that's up to you if you want to help us or not.
Please see our case studies in our latest press pack which you can download from
www.co-gassafety.co.uk/information/press-pack-2018/ The 'mother and son' case has been taken on by a good solicitor.

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