Upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against A Shade Greener (Boilers) Llp
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-3922964 of 2023-02-15T00:00:00+00:00. Goods and services under S75 complaint against A Shade Greener (Boilers) Llp. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-3922964 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2023-02-15T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | A Shade Greener (Boilers) Llp |
| Product | Other regulated product |
| Claim type | Goods and services under S75 |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | ASG must: (1) End the agreement with nothing further owing and write off all remaining debt; (2) Stop pursuing Mr and Mrs L for the debt; (3) Request credit reference agencies remove all adverse information from both Mr L's and Mrs L's credit files; (4) Request credit reference agencies mark the agreement as fully settled on both credit files; (5) Remove the restriction registered at HM Land Registry and not register any new restriction; (6) Refund the December 2017 power flush fee with 8% simple interest per annum from date of payment to settlement; (7) Pay £100 compensation for distress and inconvenience; (8) Pay interest on the £100 at 8% simple per annum from final decision date if payment is late. All compensation to be paid within 28 days. |
Summary
Mr and Mrs L purchased a boiler, installation and maintenance services from ASG in May 2014 under a regulated consumer credit agreement. The contract required a power flush during installation, but ASG either did not perform a flush or performed an inadequate manual flush without obtaining informed consent to this variation. Approximately two years later, the boiler began experiencing recurring malfunctions due to debris in the heating system, requiring multiple service calls and eventually replacement. The ombudsman found that ASG breached its obligation to perform the installation with reasonable skill and care, rejected ASG's argument that the problems were due to legacy issues in Mr and Mrs L's central heating system, and upheld the complaint. ASG was ordered to write off the remaining debt, remove adverse credit information, refund the cost of the power flush Mr and Mrs L paid for in December 2017 with interest, remove the property restriction, and pay £100 compensation for distress and inconvenience.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman applied the legal standard that services under a mixed contract must be carried out with reasonable skill and care. On the balance of probabilities, the initial installation was not done to this standard because either no flush was performed or an inadequate flush was performed. The ombudsman found that: (1) the contract clearly stipulated a power flush, not a manual flush; (2) ASG provided no evidence of informed consent to the variation; (3) a properly installed boiler should work problem-free for more than two years; (4) the previous boiler worked without debris issues for a decade, suggesting no legacy system problems; (5) the two-day duration of the December 2017 power flush indicated previous flushes had not been done to required standard; (6) ASG failed to provide a flushing certificate for the April 2016 flush. The ombudsman was not bound by other FOS decisions and formed an independent view. Since the installation was defective, the ombudsman did not need to examine post-installation maintenance obligations.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| A Shade Greener (Boilers) Llp, all decisions | 27 | 80% |
| Goods and services under S75, all decisions | 19,153 | 37% |
| Other regulated product, all decisions | 51,105 | 30% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website