Certificate withheld

Landlord Discussion
1

I have been using OpenRent for years and now there seems to be some questionable practice as per my latest email to them below as I have not had a certificate and to get it after the visit completion they are demanding more money:

Subject: Re: Illegal practice (6315156). Notice before action

Good day,

I have wasted enough time on this and no need to answer my previous question as the attached shows there is not a call out charge.

In the past the gas check is just that, a check of the gas connection, in my case the cooker hob. I always pay the extra for the boiler check as a service is needed and part of that service includes the mandatory legal gas safety check.

A reasonable landlord like myself buys your policies after reading the wording on your website and terms and conditions and if you are not checking at least one appliance for the gas safety check fee of 45 pounds what sort of gas safety check are you referring to?

Also please consider the following that I will be discussing with trading standards should it go that far:

Misrepresentation Act 1967

This act provides remedies for misrepresentation in contract law. There are three types of misrepresentation:

  1. Innocent misrepresentation, when the misrepresentation is made without fault.

  2. Negligent misrepresentation, when the misrepresentation is made carelessly or without reasonable grounds for belief in its truth.

  3. Fraudulent misrepresentation, when the misrepresentation is made knowingly, or without belief in its truth, or recklessly as to its truth.

If what has happened is innocent as there is no other credible explanation other than negligence or fraud.

Then you should refund me so that I can get the work done elsewhere as it is a clear certainly OpenRent or itā€™s supplier agent are not receiving an extra 15 pounds from me.

We are with Trading Standards on Friday so let me know if you want to resolve this now or drag it out further.

Regards

Darren

2

need to know the backstory hereā€¦ can you start at the beginning?

3

What did their previous email to you say?

4

Asked for usual gas check i.e. one appliance being my gas hob on the cooker and I pay the extra for the boiler service as tenant is elderly disabled person who is comforted by that service.

Service done and one appliance of gas hob checked and boiler service completed but not a certificate just weird communications saying there were two appliances and so I asked for a description of this mystery appliance.

Firstly I was ignored and now OpenRent are saying the gas hob is the extra appliance for this extra 15 pounds they are attempting to gain from me. What a load of BS that is, or what is the gas check if one appliance is not included :rofl: really!

5

Hi Darren,

Thanks for getting in touch,

Weā€™re sorry to hear of any confusion here.

From your message itā€™s seems the gas hob is the additional gas appliance here.

I can see that you ordered:

1x Gas Safety CertificateĀ£45.00
1x Boiler ServiceĀ£55.00

=Ā£100

When you pay us for any of our services an invoice is generated and stored on your account here:

You can search by date range and download any invoices required. The invoice contains all our details, registered numbers and amounts.

I can see that you initially ordered a gas safety certificate but did not add an additional appliance to cover the gas hob.

It is a legal requirement to include all gas appliances in a gas safety certificate.

When ordering the service we state:

"A gas appliance is any appliance connected to the gas supply (e.g. gas fire, hob or cooker).

The boiler check included in the base price covers all appliances connected to the hot water system for no extra cost (e.g. radiators, showers).

If you get the number of appliances wrong, weā€™ll refund you if you paid too much or request further payment if you havenā€™t paid enough."

I hope this provides some clarity onto the situation.

To reassure you I will also reach out to the engineer directly here to confirm that this is correct.

Kind regards,
Daniel W.

ā€“
The OpenRent Team

6

I pay Ā£40 or Ā£45 for boiler and cooker depending on who I use
The most I paid was Ā£60 and he took an hour ( needless to say I didnā€™t use him again)

Ā£100 for two items is a rip off

7

Thanks I will deal with the issue I have with OpenRent first then look at pricing, quality of service etc. later and make any necessary changes then.

1 Like
8

Depending on which way round you do this;

Gas hob check would incur main fee Ā£45
The boiler check would be Ā£15
Boiler service Ā£55.

Or

Boiler check Ā£45
Gas hob check Ā£15
Boiler service Ā£55.

A boiler service does not automatically include a gas safe cert (whoever does it).

1 Like
9

Not factually correct as the boiler service from OpenRent includes the following:

  1. Checking the boiler and its components for any visible signs of wear, damage, or leaks.
  2. Ensuring the boiler is functioning correctly and safely.
  3. Removing any dust or debris from the boiler to ensure it operates efficiently.
  4. Verifying that the boiler is properly ventilated and that there are no hazardous conditions.
  5. Documenting the condition of the boiler, any defects found, and recommendations for repairs.
  6. A Gas Safety Certificate (CP12), i.e. a certificate confirming that the boiler has been checked and is safe to use.

This service helps ensure the safety and efficiency of my boiler, meeting my legal obligations as a landlord.

10

What I mean is, If you only had the boiler service, the gas safe cert does not have to be included but it can be voluntarily.

But in this instance i believe what I have put above still stands.

They cannot issue a gas safe for just the boiler, it would need to include the hob, hence the additional fee.

11

As I said not factually correct as the gas appliance for the initial 45 pounds gas check is the hob not the boiler as I pay the extra 55 pounds for the boiler.

As I pay for both and both have been checked it would appear the law states OpenRent cannot withhold a certificate and demand extra for not having actually done any extra. Hence they have been served and I will contact Trading Standards on Friday to start the investigation. Pending their findings I will escalate it to legal action as have legal insurance so not a problem for me.

12

I see what you mean now, itā€™s like that have decided to class the hob as the additional item, whereas this is the main item and you have added the boiler service on, which states the gas safe cert is already included.

Looks like their booking system needs work, for me itā€™s a lot of work over Ā£15 but I get that theres a principle at stake.

13

If I was mugged on the street for 15 pounds I would do something about it and as I say I am legally insured as pay a small extra on buildings insurance and I think off the top of my head off set against tax so OpenRentā€™s attempted mugging is easily and cheaply dealt with.

14

Moderation now on all in here now from me. I will keep posting and will also move to public social media observing data protection legislation but making all I can aware of what is going on.

15

I had this sent to me and as you can see the story changes each time and all preserved by law and available in e-discovery:

Hi Darren,

Thanks for getting in touch,

Weā€™re sorry to hear your remain dissatisfied here.

For clarity the engineer has been in touch to confirm the additional appliance was for the gas hob at your property.

The gas safety check covers the boiler check. The base price covers all appliances connected to the hot water system for no extra cost (e.g. radiators, showers).

You can review the purchasing page here : (deleted by Landlord as being moderated)

Weā€™ve highlighted this information in yellow with a warning mark under ā€œAppliancesā€

Please do let us know if we can help with anything else.

16

My reply to that last very weak effort to obtain more money under what in my opinion is now negligent at best, OpenRent do not seem to be able to stick to one thread and all erroneous so far so fair for anyone to enquire what is going on here:

Good day,

This is not factually correct as the gas appliance for the initial 45 pounds gas check is the hob not the boiler as I pay the extra 55 pounds for the boiler.

As I pay for both and both have been checked it would appear the law states OpenRent cannot withhold a certificate and demand extra for not having actually done any extra. Hence you have been served and I will contact Trading Standards on Friday to start their investigation.

Pending their findings I will escalate it to legal action as not a problem for me, I will deal with it myself as I am a certified paralegal.

I now will include a claim for compensation as you have again switched your story here; all discoverable under e-discovery and it suggests you have a lack of integrity in wasting my time with erroneous claims, so it does look more and more like a deliberate misrepresentation of facts to gain more money from me.

As I said all this will be summarised for Trading Standards to investigate Friday and then escalation based on their findings.

If you keep using my time with these weak attempts at manipulation and your erroneous statements, my claim for compensation will rightfully increase.

My claim for a full refund now from you to avoid any costs, is the best option I can offer you.

Let me know if you want to go with the full refund.

Regards
Darren

17

The deleted link leads to this exact wording:
" It is a legal requirement to include all gas appliances in a gas safety certificate - please make sure you include all additional appliances.

A gas appliance is any appliance connected to the gas supply (e.g. gas fire, hob or cooker).

The boiler check included in the base price covers all appliances connected to the hot water system for no extra cost (e.g. radiators, showers).

If you get the number of appliances wrong, weā€™ll refund you if you paid too much or request further payment if you havenā€™t paid enough."

So yes 45 for the hob and extra 55 paid for the boiler check. So where is this mystery device connected to my mains gas that allegedly was checked and now needs me to pay 15 pounds for?

18

Now ive looked i can see the terms and booking method is actually really clear.

image

  1. Gas Safe check includes just the boiler. This is for the ā€œbaseā€ price of Ā£45.
  2. You need to add the hob as an additional item to check (+Ā£15). This is additional work for the additonal fee. You failed to do this.
  3. You then added on the optional ā€œboiler serviceā€. This is a totally different service to the Gas Safety test.
1 Like
19

That does appear very clear. Do you agree @Honest_landlord ?

20

clear, but my goodness those prices are eye watering. One GSC should include every gas appliance in the home and more than Ā£60 total and somethingā€™s wrong.