Council Flat - repair/compensation

[eggandbean]

Hi all

Im wondering if someone could help me with my question?

I had my bathroom sink renewed last thursday by a plumber from my local council, he turned off the water at the stop tap in my kitchen. He then finished the job of fixing my new sink and then turned the stop tap back and then went on his way. I have then been out all weekend at the girlfriends friday till monday and didnt realise till about 5 hours ago that the stop tap had been dripping or there is not a drop of water was coming from my hotwater taps.
I have laminate flooring throughtout my flat and i have had too pull up all of the kitchen and part of the livingroom laminate flooring, the laminate and underlay where drenched. My flat or furniture are not insured but has this was caused by the council plumber doing a repair do i have a leg to stand on to claim compensation? or should i just give up now and not bother?

Ive already check my local council website and also tried googling this but to no avail

Any advice is appreciated

[RedFox]

It sounds like, yes, you do have a right to claim compensation! The best thing you can do would be to go to the Citizens Advice Bureau and see what they say, and they might be able to put you onto a solicitor who could assist with the appropriate letter writing :)

Hope that helps,

Thom

[vinvin]

Have you actually telephone the council and see what they have to say..........before posting this

[eggandbean]

Have you actually telephone the council and see what they have to say..........before posting this


No Ive not called them yet, there calls are logged and recorded. I didnt want to say something wrong on the phone that would delay or put me at blame for it. I just thought i would seek some advice before doing so

[Jezclayton]

I speak as the owner of a plumbing/heating company and the first thing you must do is speak to the council and retain evidence of the damage caused. You should have done this as soon as you discovered the problem (utlising the 24hour emergency helpline if necessary).

If the plumber is at fault, he will have Public Liability Insurance to cover the damage.

Old stop taps have been known to drip after use. Since the plumber utilised this for its intended purpose (i.e to isolate the water) his insurance company may consider that he was not negligent in which case I would have thought the council would be responsible as the owner of the tap in question. The lack of hot water is a separate issue (air lock or hot water feed valve left turned off most likely). Whilst this has not contributed to the damage, it is careless and does not help the plumber's cause.