Delays from heat pump installers

[tokyotecubate]

Hello Folks! Posting a question not related to the technical aspects of heat pump but more related to contractual management of heat pump installers.

 

We are in the process of installing a heat pump - the installation was planned for Jan. Prior to the installation, the installer has conducted at least 2-3 technical surveys, and have specified requirements prior to the install ( such as having a levelled base for the outdoor unit, etc)

 

As with most building projects ( we are in the midst of a reno), the installers has requested some further accomodations ( such as moving the air vents for a MVHR unit, needing to further level a floor for installation of thermalskirt heating, etc) - they were all only raised when they were on site, and for their requests we generally have been swiftly accomodated ( we called in other trades to do the floor levelling and got that done within days, the ASHP engineer came out and removed the venting within the same week, etc). Other than the affected areas, there were plenty of work to do ( such as connecting the pipework for the thermalskirt heating in the rooms, setting up the outdoor unit), where the installation team has not attended to ( for example, the scheduled installation period was for a whole week, but the team would only attend 3 days before being called on to another job).

 

We have also observed that the installation team have generally not been the most efficient when they are on site, constant chit chats, shoddy and incomplete installation work, etc

 

The installation was supposed to be tested and finished by end of Jan, but they have not been back to complete the rest of the installation work, where their delayed thermalskirt install is a main blocker for all internal decorating work ( such as painting).

 

They were multiple incidents of them having committed to come out to do work, and them not having came out. For example, the latest committment was for them to come out the past friday and saturday, only for us to receive communication from them, after having called the project manager multiple times, that they are not coming, on a friday afternoon at 5:30p.m. During our call on friday, the manager has committed to his team coming out on Monday and tuesday, and that they will be finishing the thermalskirt installation and testing by end of this week.

 

Prior to the committed install for today, I messaged their project manager the day before to confirm again on his team coming out to do the work, while also urging him to arrange his team and prioritize the work this coming week, he messaged back, late at night, pointing fingers at the so called 'delays' are due to our works not having progressed sufficiently ( which I know is a lie, as I was on site and can confirm that they had been dealt with long ago since early Feb - they just don't arrange the team to come out to finish it, and also did not bother to communicate any planned attendance or progress with us).

 

He also had the guts to tell us that he plans to charge additional 'materials' cost, when the scope and the design of the project has not changed ( to which the quotation should have included all related materials and labour cost to the project). Throughout the project he has also never communicated to us about any additional material costs. ( hence this is all a surprise)

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on where we stand in terms of these delays with the installer - I understand that they are MCS certified, and also part of RECC - would they help to interfere if the installation gets delayed beyond an acceptable timefrrame? How do we stand against the so called 'extra materials' charge, when the design and the scope has never changed?

 

Thank you so much for all your help - much appreciated.

 

P.S in terms of payment wise, they have structured the payment so that we have paid more than 90% of the payment that we need to make, and the remaining payment is only the government grant, along with £500 from us for the final commissioning. Not ideal, I know - Not sure how do we stand with RECC under this payment structure? Do they only protect the initial deposit?

[Dillsue]

Shame things haven't worked for you as it's so frustrating to have conflict. As in all walks of life, money talks so don't pay anything else until they've completed or you agree otherwise.

 

For extra costs get a breakdown from them to understand what they are claiming for then go back to their quote/tender and see what they allowed for. If it says estimate or there's a quantified bill of materials then they may well be justified in claiming for extras but you need their breakdown of extras to understand the claim.

 

In terms of delays you need to work out the realistic costs of the delays to work out of its worth getting into a fight with them. If you've got other work going on, fighting with 1 contractor over what may realistically be a few hundred pounds might not be worth the aggro. Remembering that you want them to honour any warranty and set the system up properly- having a fight over a few hundred pound might jeopardise aftersales