The Issues
The customer made a new home after sales complaint which concerned a gas leak which was confirmed around 3 weeks after moving into the property. The customer took the view that the leak was present when they moved in and was the fault of the developer, leaving the property unsafe for the customer and surrounding properties.
The Circumstances
During the purchase process, the customer told the developer that they intended to have work carried out on the downstairs flooring in the property after they moved in. At the developer’s request the customer signed a disclaimer acknowledging that the developer would attach the skirtings using a temporary fixing to allow access to the customer’s tradesman, and that the work carried out by the customer’s contractor would not be covered by the warranty.
Around 10 days after moving in, and after the customer’s contractor had completed their work, the customer contacted the developer’s sales team to report a sewage like smell in the property. After 3 visits, including a further report from the customer, a gas leak was discovered, caused by a nail in a gas pipe on the ground floor. The developer arranged to have the pipe replaced.
The customer complained to the developer about what had happened. Although the developer did not accept that the leak was present when the customer moved into the property, they offered the customer a 2 year guarantee on the remedial work and a goodwill payment of £500.
In their new home after sales complaint to the Ombudsman the customer also pointed out that they had alerted the developer to the fact that there was no carbon monoxide device in the property despite it being referred to in documentation they had been provided with, including the gas safety certificate.
In response to the new home after sales complaint, the developer explained that they had used fixings for the skirting boards as previously agreed and these were not the same as the nail found in the pipe. The developer felt that the nail was likely to have been used by the customer’s contractor.
The developer said that there had been no evidence of a gas leak prior to completion during various documented visits and inspections.