Has anyone here sucessfully got POTTERTON to pay for repairs to their faulty boilers as mentioned on Watchdog?

[LadyOfTheFlowers]

I have one of the millions of faulty ones that were reported on Watchdog.
The last time I saw Watchdog, Potterton said they would refund people if they forwarded their bills to them.
My bolier has broken down with the same fault and the plumberhad just quoted me £496.42 to have it fixed.
We have been without hot water for about a month now and I cannot cope much longer.
I have had to give up on the cloth nappies as they dont wash in cold water and am having to drag Dh's work stuff back and forth to Mums as he is a Techie and needs clean overalls every day.
I have called potterton and they say if I have the work done then send them my bill and bolier service information, they may consider my claim, but the bloke was very rude and didn't really want to hear any of it.
Where the funk am I gonne get £500 from?

Has anyone been successful with this?
I am worried that if I pay for the works to be carried out, they will then say i have admitted and accepted responsibilty or whatever it is?

No one on here?!

Can anyone who reads this keep it bumped for me?

Xx

My mum had the work done ages ago (before the whole thing blew up) by DH, who is a heating engineer, fully registered etc.etc. Potterton have not yet paid up and are trying every trick available to get out of paying. Mum & DH are persevering, but I'd say don't hold your breath...

If you have the work done, make sure everything is done by the book TO THE LETTER. Don't give them any reason not to pay. Mum & DH did everything properly & they're still trying to wriggle out of it. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up back on Watchdog again. Sorry!

thanks for your reply and thanks lulabelle! Xx

Hello again,

Have spoken to DH about this again. DH says don't pay the £500 it's a rip off. Did the plumber tell you exactly which part he thinks is faulty? ie is it definitely the circuit board mentioned on Watchdog? DH knows of someone who had the fault and rang Potterton. They came out to examine boiler (cos apparently other problems can show up similar faults) & fixed the problem at no cost.

DH suggests that you ring Potterton again and 1. ask them to inspect your boiler and 2. ask them if they operate a fixed price repair service (includes callout, parts and repair). He doesn't know Potterton's policy but a different boiler manufacturer, Worcester-Bosch, have a policy that they will visit you and replace up to 3 major components on the boiler for a fixed price of £180. If Potterton do have a similar policy it would be a much cheaper option for you than your plumber's quote.

Just for your info, DH says that it's not often that a boiler completely breaks down due to the 'watchdog' fault. However, of the 30 Potterton Suprima boilers he has worked on, all but one have needed a new circuit board, and he has never replaced any other components on them. Only one of the 30 had completley broken down, after months of needing to be reset each day.

One more thing... DH has recommended eBay sellers who can send a replacement circuit board for you to fit yourself (10 min job with full instructions, so I am told!!!!) for £40 buy it now. DH has not used the sellers but their feedback is excellent. Might be worth a try! Search for Suprima PCB. There is a lot of info on their pages if nothing else.

DH says if you want to tell him more details of problems you had leading up to the boiler packing up, type them here (or CAT me) and he will do his best to help. Whatever the problem, DH says it's unlikely to cost £500 to fix. Can you get a 2nd & 3rd opinion from other heating engineers/plumbers?

Best of luck!

bump for ladyoftheflowers

Can someone give me a bit more info on this? I had a Potterton Suprema fixed about 18 months ago (new circuit board) - several plumbers told me it was a known fault with the model but Potterton would not admit liability at the time - just wondering what my chances are of recovering the money now?

KTeePee - that's the problem DH & mum are having. It's not easy recovering the money, but I think it's worth a try - what do you have to lose? Just try to find the relevant invoice (showing circuit board) before you call. Be persistent. Good Luck!