Upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against A Shade Greener (Boilers) Llp
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-5030064 of 2024-10-04T00:00:00+00:00. Goods and services under S75 complaint against A Shade Greener (Boilers) Llp. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-5030064 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2024-10-04T00:00:00+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) Remove the boiler from Mrs F's property at ASG's expense, taking reasonable care and leaving gas and electrical connections in a safe condition, within one month of Mrs F accepting the decision; (2) End the conditional sale agreement and record it as settled with credit reference agencies, removing any adverse information; (3) Write off and permanently cease pursuing all arrears and other payments due under the agreement; (4) Remove the restriction on Mrs F's property with the Land Registry; (5) Reimburse Mrs F for amounts paid for engineer callouts to investigate the leak, upon receipt of reasonable evidence; (6) Pay Mrs F £250 compensation for distress and inconvenience. |
Summary
Mrs F entered a 14-year conditional sale agreement with ASG in December 2013 for a gas boiler and maintenance services. From February 2014 onwards, she reported recurring water leaks from the boiler flue during heavy rain. ASG attended and attempted repairs in 2014-2015 but the leaks continued. In February 2019, when Mrs F reported another leak, ASG wrongfully told her she would be charged for a callout if no fault was found, deterring her from proceeding. The leak was never properly investigated. By May 2024, a second engineer declared the boiler unsafe due to water damage and exhaust gas leakage risk. Mrs F stopped making payments and ASG issued a default notice. The ombudsman found ASG had breached its contractual obligations by failing to investigate the leak and by threatening charges contrary to the agreement's 'Free 24/7 callouts' provision. The ombudsman ordered ASG to remove the boiler at its own expense, end the agreement, write off arrears, reimburse engineer costs, and pay £250 compensation.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that ASG was responsible for maintaining the boiler and flue as part of the 'Equipment' under the conditional sale agreement. The agreement explicitly stated 'Free 24/7 callouts' with no provision for charging fees. When Mrs F reported a leak in February 2019, ASG wrongfully told her she would be charged if no fault was found, which deterred her from having the issue investigated. This was a breach of ASG's obligations. The ombudsman found Mrs F's testimony regarding ongoing intermittent leaks to be plausible, particularly given the consistent pattern of reports during heavy rain and the fact that intermittent leaks would not necessarily be detected during annual services. The relationship between the parties had broken down irretrievably, making continued contractual arrangements untenable. The ombudsman rejected ASG's argument that Mrs F's failure to arrange services after 2022 caused the leak, as the leak predated this and would likely not have been detected by engineers. The ombudsman applied the test of what is 'fair and reasonable' under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, rather than a purely legalistic approach to the conditional sale agreement.
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