"Turning on the Boiler Warms the Neighbor's Apartment" Elderly Couple Endured Cold for 6 Years

A couple in their 70s who moved into a newly built apartment shivered through the cold despite paying heating bills because their boiler was not working. It was only after six years that they discovered the absurd fact that the boiler-related device was mistakenly connected to the neighboring unit.

Boiler piping revealed by Mr. A [Photo by JTBC Incident Commander, captured from YouTube]

On the 29th, JTBC’s ‘Case Manager’ reported the story of a couple in their 70s who endured cold winters for six years due to a malfunction in the boiler ignition device. The couple, Mr. and Mrs. A, moved into a newly built apartment in early November 2017. When winter came after moving in, they turned on the boiler for heating, but no matter how high they set the temperature, the rooms never warmed up.

Mrs. A said, "It felt like the inside of the house was outside. Unless I was on a heated mattress or electric mat, it was too cold, and I had to fill the bathtub with hot water to warm myself before I could breathe a little." She added, "It felt like living 200 years in a life that doesn’t even last 100."

The couple never experienced a warm winter during the six years after moving in. Every winter, they inquired with the management office, but the only response was that ‘there is nothing wrong.’ From December 2022 to March 2023, they didn’t even turn on the boiler, yet the heating bills were over 100,000 won per month. When they questioned the management office, they were told, "The storage room, which is part of your unit, is being heated."

Then, as the cold worsened in November last year, Mrs. A contacted the management office again to request another inspection of the boiler. Only then was the reason for their freezing home revealed. It turned out that the boiler’s remote ignition device was mistakenly connected to the neighboring unit, so when the boiler was turned on in Mrs. A’s home, the neighbor’s unit was the one getting warm. Mrs. A explained, "We had no interaction with the neighbors, so we never checked, and the neighbors moved three times, possibly because of their own boiler issues."

After learning the truth, the couple confronted the apartment construction company, but the company instead blamed Mrs. A.

The company stated, "For example, if there is a problem with a car, you should contact the manufacturer, not keep complaining to the mechanic. If you had reported it to us, we would have discovered it sooner." They added, "Almost six years have passed, and there is no record of any report to us." They also said, "Other than supporting the 540,000 won difference in hot water bills with the neighbor, we cannot provide any other compensation."

Mrs. A lamented, "How could I, not being a professional contractor, have known that the boiler piping signals were switched?" She expressed deep disappointment with the construction company’s response. She also said, "There has been no further contact from the construction company since then," and confirmed, "The boiler piping that was switched with the neighbor’s has been repaired."