Alpha Heating Innovation customer is left boiling

Aug 28 2011 by Mr Justice, Sunday Sun

A ROW has broken out after a heating company warned customers about a fault that could cause leaks in some of its boilers, too late for one reader.

Alpha Heating Innovation admitted that some boilers in its range had been fitted with a pipe that allowed leakage.

They offered a free part to customers who could be affected.

But it was too late for Ian Hardy who had already scrapped a boiler that had been leaking.

He claims he had tried to get the fault fixed years ago – but was told he had to pay for a service plan before any repairs could be carried out.

Ian, who was getting his boiler serviced by an independent engineer, decided to cut his losses and replace the boiler.

But it all came flooding back when Alpha sent letters to customers apologising for the glitch.

Ian, of North Walbottle, Newcastle, said: “I had a new Alpha CD50 combi boiler installed but it was leaking within the first year.

“I emailed Alpha three times without a solitary reply and, as it was getting worse, I phoned them just before the three-year guarantee was up.

“They said they would not come out unless I paid for their service plan. A little while later I had the boiler taken out because the leak was preying on my mind.

“I put it to the back of my mind but, just a few days ago, they sent a letter admitting there was a fault with their boilers at the time.

“I complained but they said they can’t do anything because the boiler was taken out.”

The problem affected the CDC, CDS and CD50 boilers manufactured between 2003 and 2007.

Customers reported cracks in a joint resulting in a leaking of water from a pipe.

Alpha said the pipe could be replaced free of charge.

They admitted the fault could go unnoticed if the boiler was in a hidden area, such as a loft, or if the boiler had not been serviced for an extended period. I asked customer service director Gary McKinnon what had happened.

He said there was no record of Ian’s previous complaints.

He said: “Mr Hardy had an Alpha boiler installed by his engineer in April 2005 and the boiler attracted a three-year warranty. During the warranty period no defects to the boiler were reported to Alpha.

“Mr Hardy says he emailed three times during the guarantee period but unfortunately I cannot trace them.

“Additionally we do have a telephone helpline to report faults and there are no records or notes on our system to indicate we were contacted.

“Mr Hardy has changed his boiler without Alpha being involved in that decision making.

“It is very unlikely, no matter what was wrong, that a boiler of that age would be beyond economic repair.

“We have recently communicated to our customers with boilers manufactured between certain dates recommending they change the condense pipe when they next have an annual service to prevent the potential inconvenience and cost in the unlikely event that the pipe fails in the future.

“There was no obligation on Alpha to communicate this information to our customers.

“Unfortunately we cannot offer Mr Hardy compensation for costs incurred changing his boiler when we were not given the chance to help.”

Customers affected by the fault can contact Alpha Heating Innovation by telephone on 01732 783060, by email at service@ alpha-innovation.co.uk or on their website at service. alpha-innovation. co.uk/ partreplace