HIPs - New boiler not serviced for 2 years - Problem?

PicklePickle

I've had an offer accepted (yay!) on a house which is 2 years old. In the HIPs pack the vendors have stated that the boiler hasn't been serviced. I was under the impression that even new boilers need servicing every year to keep any warranty validated.

Even if that's not the case, considering it is now just over 2 years old, do you think it's reasonable to ask the vendors to get the boiler serviced before they leave?

Many thanks!

kibs88

You could always ask, it usually only costs around £50-£75 for a service and if it is a combi all they do is flush out the system and clean the filter, in all honesty it literally is a 15min job if it is a good tradesman, 30mins to 1hr if they are charging by the hour!

If they refuse then maybe you could pay for it, and ask them to have it done before you move in, possibly make it a condition that this is done before exchange.

PicklePickle

Thanks, I've emailed my solicitor and she thinks it's a reasonable request and will put it too them. Will see what they say!

EliteHeat

kibs88 wrote: »

You could always ask, it usually only costs around £50-£75 for a service and if it is a combi all they do is flush out the system and clean the filter, in all honesty it literally is a 15min job if it is a good tradesman, 30mins to 1hr if they are charging by the hour!

What filter?

DVardysShadow

kibs88 wrote: »

You could always ask, it usually only costs around £50-£75 for a service and if it is a combi all they do is flush out the system and clean the filter, in all honesty it literally is a 15min job if it is a good tradesman, 30mins to 1hr if they are charging by the hour!

If they refuse then maybe you could pay for it, and ask them to have it done before you move in, possibly make it a condition that this is done before exchange.

This is too trivial to get knickers in a twist over. What matters is whether the boiler is in a precarious state of repair, which a service might gloss over. A service is false comfort.

On the house we recently bought, the boiler was 'safety checked' by British Gas just before we bought and we had to have someone in to repair it immediately after. Now, I can prove nothing, but looking at what was wrong, it was just a minute with a screwdriver to misadjust the central heating flow switch and make the system unreliable, that I can only think it was done in order to generate a call out.

keith969

PicklePickle wrote: »

Even if that's not the case, considering it is now just over 2 years old, do you think it's reasonable to ask the vendors to get the boiler serviced before they leave?

Actually I don't. I tend to follow the maxim 'if it aint broke, don't fix it'.

Do you get your washing machine serviced every year?
Do you get your oven/cooker serviced every year?
Do you get your TV serviced every year?

If you get your boiler serviced every year, what about the CH pump, the thermostats, everything else in the system?

Basically servicing a boiler every year is a money making scheme put upon the gullible public by the likes of British gas and plumbers.

getmore4less

Go round, check the heating works and there is hot water.

A service won't do that and thats what you need.

Many boilers don't get serviced till they go wrong unless they are on a service contract.

clutton_2

i also dont agreement with annual servicing, i dont think it is necessary with new appliances. i get mine serviced maybe every 3 years - but i do have an exceptional Gas Engineer who tells me about future possibile issues when he does his LGSC

however, i do know personally of 2 aged gas boilers which blew up and one killed a young woman because it had not been serviced for 7 y ears.

Fire_Fox

keith969 wrote: »

Actually I don't. I tend to follow the maxim 'if it aint broke, don't fix it'.

Do you get your washing machine serviced every year?
Do you get your oven/cooker serviced every year?
Do you get your TV serviced every year?

None of these are as expensive as a new boiler, nor are they as dangerous as a faulty boiler.

keith969

Fire_Fox wrote: »

None of these are as expensive as a new boiler, nor are they as dangerous as a faulty boiler.

Well, that is a matter of opinion and up to each individual to decide.

Coming from an engineering background I've seen enough maintenance jobs make things worse than they were before...

DVardysShadow

Fire_Fox wrote: »

None of these are as expensive as a new boiler, nor are they as dangerous as a faulty boiler.

Probably the real issue here is when you buy a house, do you make the vendor do it or do you get it done yourself.

As buyer of the house, you primarily want to be sure that the boiler or system is not going to cost you for heavy repair or replacement for a while. A service is not going to do that - an inspection is more the thing.

As occupier of the house, of course you want the boiler to be safe. This is what the service should do for you. Now as buyer and occupier, do you get the seller to do the service? You could, but if the service is done for the vendor, the vendor is not going to be interested in having a good service done, they will be more interested in getting a piece of paper to give to the buyer. So, if as buyer, you really only want a piece of paper, make the vendor get it serviced. But if you want the job done to your satisfaction, take responsibility yourself.