Boiler problems after moving in

Jazzking

Now I know this is a long shot, but I wonder if someone might be able to let me know where I stand on this....

Bought our first house at the back end of last year; exchanged end of Nov, completed on 15th Dec. We had a homebuyers survey done, and it recommended we had a gas safety check done which we asked the vendor to arrange. We got the results of the safety check at the start of November and it showed the gas installation was satisfactory and the combi boiler 'inspected' (but not serviced)

On the back of the Gas Safety Report is a checklist, which includes:
"1. Check with the occupant to determine if they have had any problems with the gas installation/appliances"
and
"3. Ensure the effective operation of appliance, control taps, ignition system and any supervision devices fitted"

I wasn't expecting a full boiler service, but since the engineer signed the report as having "inspected" the boiler and presumably following the checklist on the back, I thought at least when we moved in that the boiler would be working....

It wasn't.

It would power on, and shut down again a few minutes later, constantly tripping out.

Since we moved in we've had a boiler engineer round to look at the boiler (not the one who did the inspection since he wasn't available the week before Xmas) and we'vehad £300 worth of parts fitted + labour and it's still not working properly. I think the new parts might have helped but it's not workingproperly and I suspect that the vendor knew about this when she sold us the house...

Do I have a legal leg to stand on if I was to pursue this (either the vendor or the first gas inspector) through the solicitor we used to purchase the house?

Wasn't sure if this should be in this board or the DIY board, so mods maybe feel free to move it after a week depending on what replies I get?

For info: it's a Protherm 100e combi boiler - futher details on the problem are HERE

If anyone can help with the legal stuff then I'd really appreciate it!

Many thanks,
Alex

mummytofour

Dont know, but at I just recieved a gas saftey report this morning after asking for the boiler to be serviced I now worried to what it is I have infact recieved, I hate combi boilers at the best of times, I hope that your problem can be sorted out soon.

Vxx

Jazzking

Hiya, thanks for your reply.

On the gas safety report there is a column at the end on the right hand side which says "serviced" then if it says Yes you should be OK and could probably ask to see a receipt or some other proof that it's been done. You should definitely have some cameback then if you move in and it doesn't work!

BobProperty

Jazzking - there a some very professional guys look in on DIYnot (and me -but I don't do CH) but there looks like there is 2 pages of posts per day at the moment so be patient for a reply. Alternatively try TrustedTradesmen or Screwfix forums. You'll find me there too.

plane_boy2000

From a legal point of view I dont think you have much chance, and to be honest it will cost you more to persue it than its worth. I also expect that your estate agents details will have stated that items are not tested and not guaranteed. If you persue this I am not sure how you could prove that the heating was not working the day the inspection was carried out, as I have found in teh past that theheating will work fine one day and not the next

mummytofour

Jazzking wrote:

Hiya, thanks for your reply.

On the gas safety report there is a column at the end on the right hand side which says "serviced" then if it says Yes you should be OK and could probably ask to see a receipt or some other proof that it's been done. You should definitely have some cameback then if you move in and it doesn't work!

Thanks looking at the form it has the box homeowners gas safty box ticked NOT the service box :mad: Thank you sooo much for your help, Boilers really are a worry and I dont want to be caught out, looks like this could hold things up even more, but I guess its better to know than not. Once again thank you sooo much!

Vxx

Jazzking

You're very welcome, definitely better to be safe than sorry.
To be fair, the safety check isn't really supposed to be used in space of a servce; it us, like it says, just a check that the appliance is "safe".

The cost of servicing a combi shouldn't be more than about £60 (maybe you could get the vendor to go halves with you?) and then it should definitely last another year, and if there's anything majorly wrong then you could probably negotiate the price down a bit or only exchange contracts on the condition vendor contibutes to a replacment boiler...

You certainly don't want to be in the position I was, moving into a freezing house in the middle of winter!

Anyway, our boiler's not repairable so there goes £1800 on getting a replacement bought and fitted! Next week, you'll mostly be seeing me on "Debt Free Wannabe"
I seem to be working my up the boards, I started at the Freebies and Grabbits, now up to housebuying and selling, and tomorrow I'll be checking out loans and credit cards!

Good luck with your house purchase

Alx

mummytofour

Sorry about your boiler just what you dont want really!

Conor_3

You have no chance. Alot can go wrong with a boiler in 6 weeks between your inspection and you getting the house.

"I wasn't expecting a full boiler service". No, really? YOU NEVER PAID FOR ANY TYPE OF SERVICE AT ALL. You got an inspection. At the time of the inspection, it worked.