First Property Growth seeks damages in property maintenance row

First Property Growth Partnership is suing mechanical engineers PJ Services for damages in a row over work at a property in Peterborough.

PJ Services agreed to carry out planned preventative maintenance at the premises at Churchgate, New Road, for three years, at a price of £26,352.75 a year, according to a writ issued in London’s High Court.

PJ Services also agreed to carry out urgent remedial work to fan coil units, and sent service reports for the units, purporting to have identified a number of problems which it claimed to have taken steps to resolve, it is claimed.

In June 2005, Honeywell raised concerns about the system’s capacity, and Meinhardt UK expressed concerns about the functioning of the fan coil units, and tests were carried out which showed that overheating had occurred, because the chilled water system was clogged or deficient in some way, the writ says.

First Property accuses PJ Services of breaching the contract by failing to carry out fan coil unit maintenance, ands says it failed to ensure that valves worked properly, failed to investigate water flow rates, failed to clean air filters, and failed to carry out maintenance with reasonable care and skill.

The fan coil units needed to be removed and either flushed clean or replaced, at a cost of £187,418.44, the writ says. Now First Growth is seeking damages.

The writ was issued by CKFT ref Simon Taylor, tel 0207 431 7261.