Boiler nearly killed us can we claim ?

A question about : Boiler nearly killed us can we claim ?

Hi i'll keep it as short as i can :- Sorry..

Live in council house baxi back boiler and fire was fitted just before i moved in 12yrs ago.

Serviced every year although this yr it did struggle to get threw the smoke bomb test and young engineer lad got on phone to office, he then did something to boiler then passed it.

Few days before new yrs eve we wr feeling ill dry throat, headaches when heating on, boiler kept going off and on, but did boot up, and was bit smelly, so turned it off, we just thought because we didnt use it much it was just burning dust off., Drr...

New Yrs eve, boiler lit and it basicly fumigated the front room within minutes, we wr coughing eyes streaming and felt afwful, headache from hell, so we had to shut it down as it was belting fumes out. Rang Transco,

Transco condemed it, capped meter, they only had it on for a minute and his test meters alarm was screaming, plus he was choking himself by now, he said the oyxgen sensor shud have cut the boiler off... but hadnt, and we wr very lucky that if it had of been on timer in the night, we'd of all been dead !!

Council come out and decide to totally rip back boiler out, and replace with a nice new combi and eleccy fire. They show us where flue to boiler is compacted with chimney debris and basicly that the fumes from fire/boiler had nowhere to go but out into front room, and agree with Transco that we'd of been dead had it of come on in night.

When contactors come to fit new system they say their isnt a flue liner in chimney or if their was one its fell down and they cant seee it !! Basicly all the mortar inside the chimney has been falling down over the years gradually blocking flue, which when they remove old boiler is compleetly blocked 2-3 deep in mortar and soot (we have piccy of what came out - its shocking).

I just dont know what to do, if anything, do we have any legal claim, surely the boiler should of had a flue liner ??,
Makes me wonder how many other houses in my row could be in a simular position and jus feel lucky to be here.

We were left without heating for 7 days until new boiler was installed, they did leave us with a eleccy fan heater as my disabled son was staying with us at the time, and he needed heat (bad health)... but thats not the point, point is is all 3 of us could of been dead, and i dont think the council are taking it as serious as it should be.

Tea and cookies for anyone who made it this far - thanks

Best answers:

• Delicious, thank you!
  I thought it was an interesting read, thanks for sharing.
  First things first, have you discussed this with your neighbours to make sure no-one else is in the same boat as you?
  Secondly, what would you like to claim for? you've had a brand new boiler and heater fitted. You've suffered no losses, did you have to take any time off work? any damage to any items? or other provable losses?
  I agree, you could have died had it continued but I could have died had I walked out in front of a car (ok, it's a poor example but you get the idea), unfortunately we cannot claim for what "may" have happened only what did happen.
  Personally if you are totally set on trying to make a claim have a chat with a lawyer, do you have legal cover through your home insurance?
  I'd also send a complaint in to whoever did the last inspection to find out what went wrong and why, unless what caused it happened quickly evidently something may have been missed!
  Good luck and let us know how you get on.
• Compensation isn't paid for what might of happened, you may have a claim for any loses accrued if unpaid time off work had to be taken, you will have to provide proof of any loses.
  The council have taken the issue seriously as you have a new boiler and electric fires now in place.... maybe if any redecorating had has to be done after these were fitted they may give you some vouchers towards the cost of paint etc.
• Similar thing happened to me not long after I'd moved into my Housing Association property in 2009.
  Yes, it is very distressing, but I was grateful for the new boiler and heating system, to be honest.
  In my case, though, they did find some evidence that the company responsible for doing the checks had been pulling the wool over their eyes - there were signed boiler inspection sheets but the actual data on the boiler itself revealed that it hadn't been properly since August 1998 (!!), so I think they did give me something to cover the additional electricity costs I'd spent on fan heaters and the hassle of going back to my parents' house whenever I needed hot water. I had to offer some proof of what I'd spent though.
  Good luck; glad that your family are OK, OP.
• Thanks for replys,
  My neighbours are in the same boat, they dont know weather they have flue liners or not, only way to find out is for someone from council going up on roofs and checking every chimney, which isnt going to happen.
  Like you say i have a nice new boiler and wr still alive so am counting my blessings, just hope same thing dont happen to someone else, know my chimney hasnt been swept in the 12 years ive lived here, they just service the boiler and go.
  Maybe an annual inspection of chimneys may be advisable but who am i to say ?
  Thanks again guys.