Hello All,

We seem to be on a collision course with the Chimney sweep. He insists that he alone has the legal right to clean our chimney and that he alone has the legal right to clean it as often as he sees fit.

We, in fact, have been back in the UK for 18mths now and the house has not been used. The chimney has not been used. I explained this to him but he insists and has even billed us for last year @ 3 times per year although he never came to clean anything as we were not even there.

I sure that there are of some duty of care rules and quite rightly. I have heard that a chimney which is in use must legally be cleaned once a year. Can anybody shed any light on the rules and regulations governing this in force in Austria. Does anybody know where I can find out what the actual law is or where I can go for impartial advice. I would be extremely grateful. Thank you for any input. Sincerely. Ben