A DUBLIN woman was awarded €5,000 in compensation yesterday for damage caused by central heating fitters who mistook her house for another.
DC Plumbing and Heating Ltd were half a day into the work when fitter Mark Kelly received a call on his mobile telling him: “You’re in the wrong house.”
Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, heard Mr Kelly and his apprentice had already lifted carpets and floor boards, drilled holes in walls and ceilings and fitted piping and radiators – at the wrong address.
David Cranston, owner of DC Plumbing and Heating, Malahide Road, Donnycarney, Dublin, said his company accepted their workmen had mistakenly started work at 56 Bunratty Avenue, Dublin, instead of 56 Bunratty Drive.
Frances Tighe said in the Circuit Civil Court that Dublin City Council had approved a €3,400 grant for the heating installation at her home at 56 Bunratty Avenue and she knew her daughter, June, had sought a quotation for the work from DC Plumbing and Heating Ltd.
When Mr Kelly and his apprentice arrived she thought it was as a result of her daughter’s arrangements. Her grandson Christopher Tighe, who lived with her, had let them in and they had started work.
Four hours later they had pulled out after having been told they were in the wrong house. Carpet and floor boards had been lifted, holes had been drilled, pipes and radiators installed.
“I was crying and very distressed by what had happened,” she told her counsel, Sarah Berkeley.
Mr Tighe said Mr Cranston had called to the house after the workmen had withdrawn and had threatened to call gardaí if his men were not allowed to recover materials for installation at the proper address. Mr Cranston had become aggressive and Mr Tighe had refused to let anyone in again until other members of the family had arrived to sort out the matter.
Judge Deery said Mr Kelly had been given a docket at his company office to install a central heating system at 56 Bunratty Avenue when he should have been directed to 56 Bunratty Drive.
When he had arrived at Ms Tighe’s house he had simply inquired: “Is this 56.” He had not inquired about the name of the householder.
Judge Deery said members of Ms Tighe’s family, who were all engaged in various sections of the building trade, had completed the installation and remedial works.
He awarded Ms Tighe €5,000 compensation towards restorative works and personal upset.