Electrician left freezer unplugged - what would you claim?
Discussion
Had a bit of a drama this week after my elderly mother had an electrician do a wiring survey on her house.
The next day she finds she has no hot water and the storage heaters were off all night so she's got no heating. He goes back several hours later to rectify that.
Then a few days later she goes to the freezer to get something out for dinner to find he unplugged it and didn't plug it back in.
Needless to say, she is more than upset by all of this and I have to drop everything, drive over there (3 hr round trip) and spend the day sorting it all out for her.
The elderly can't easily cope with drams like this and it soon becomes a big crisis to them, so it was quite a stressful few days for both of us.
The electrician was sent in by the Local Authority to do the work.
Who's responsible for all of this and what is fair to claim?
The next day she finds she has no hot water and the storage heaters were off all night so she's got no heating. He goes back several hours later to rectify that.
Then a few days later she goes to the freezer to get something out for dinner to find he unplugged it and didn't plug it back in.
Needless to say, she is more than upset by all of this and I have to drop everything, drive over there (3 hr round trip) and spend the day sorting it all out for her.
The elderly can't easily cope with drams like this and it soon becomes a big crisis to them, so it was quite a stressful few days for both of us.
The electrician was sent in by the Local Authority to do the work.
Who's responsible for all of this and what is fair to claim?
Pothole said:
If she's anything like my mother used to be (in her 80s) her freezer would only have had about a tenner's worth of ready meals in it.
Or she might be like my mum (also in her 80s) whose got a freezer big enough to hide half a dozen dead bodies and has it stuffed to the gills with last years fruit crop, joints for roasting and lasagnes you could feed a football team with. Must be hundreds of quids worth in there. God knows when she'll ever use it all.boyse7en said:
Pothole said:
If she's anything like my mother used to be (in her 80s) her freezer would only have had about a tenner's worth of ready meals in it.
Or she might be like my mum (also in her 80s) whose got a freezer big enough to hide half a dozen dead bodies and has it stuffed to the gills with last years fruit crop, joints for roasting and lasagnes you could feed a football team with. Must be hundreds of quids worth in there. God knows when she'll ever use it all.honestly though the other poster who said workman will likely blame her is bang on. And where would that leave mum, likely wondering if she did do it herself...
Simple answer - check insurance if a big bill as this is usually covered but in all honesty you likely spent more in fuel that it will cost to replace items.
FurtiveFreddy said:
The electrician was sent in by the Local Authority to do the work.
Who's responsible for all of this and what is fair to claim?
The LA are responsible (she's a council tenant?).Who's responsible for all of this and what is fair to claim?
You can only realistically claim for the actual monetary value of the spoiled contents - document what there was with photos. If it's too late for that, you're out of luck unless they want to give an ex-gratia payment.
As for the stress, best you can really hope for is a big bunch of flowers.
She had only just ordered a load of steaks and it was full of other stuff so at the very least I'm expecting to be reimbursed for the contents.
If it was me, it would be a minor inconvenience and I'd chalk it down to experience, but it was a major disaster for her and she was very upset by it all.
There's no question of anyone blaming it on her. I have covered that off already.
If it was me, it would be a minor inconvenience and I'd chalk it down to experience, but it was a major disaster for her and she was very upset by it all.
There's no question of anyone blaming it on her. I have covered that off already.
If it was my mum 87 years old I would just give her a kiss and cuddle tell her not to worry these things do happen sometimes we will soon sort it out.I would take her to the supermarket and buy replacement for he goods.
I would sort out the claim myself the next day and keep my receipt as proof of what we spent and if they did not pay out thats ok but if they did then get them to send the money to my mum.
Mums are worth it and we should never forget that.
I would sort out the claim myself the next day and keep my receipt as proof of what we spent and if they did not pay out thats ok but if they did then get them to send the money to my mum.
Mums are worth it and we should never forget that.
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