Dispute with previous owner on boiler

Catblue

nbr wrote: »

The boiler WAS working correctly when the had our viewings (the heating was on while we were viewing the property!) but the fault probably developed later.

In which case it is your responsibility. You just don't seem to get this.

In any case, you've already asked the vendors to reimburse your costs of replacing the old boiler. They've said no. And probably laughed at you. That's the end of it. I'll bet that your solicitor is not offering to take up the case on your behalf for free. That is because you have absolutely no case.

If I were the previous owners, I'd be quite miffed that you had the cheek to ask me to pay for your new boiler.

Stop wasting your time and energy with bothering the vendors and contacting British Gas. Just forget about it and enjoy your new home.

nrsql

>> If I were the previous owners, I'd be quite miffed that you had the cheek to ask me to pay for your new boiler.
Actually you'd probably be a bit relieved that it lasted long enough to complete the exchange.
Second thought would be that the new owner was probably doing something to cause it to fail - like having things turned up higher than you ever did.


>> The last one I did proved successful for the would be buyer. 6 of the radiators were luke warm after the heating had been on for 30mins, 2 of them didn't even warm up and some TRV's didn;t work. The room stat wasn't working and the flue terminal guard was cracked. All in all this would have been abit difficult or time consuming for the buyer to check but she got me in. I am sure I saved her alot more money than she paid me.

What's needed to put this right and how much would it cost?

DVardysShadow

nrsql wrote: »

>> The last one I did proved successful for the would be buyer. 6 of the radiators were luke warm after the heating had been on for 30mins, 2 of them didn't even warm up and some TRV's didn;t work. The room stat wasn't working and the flue terminal guard was cracked. All in all this would have been abit difficult or time consuming for the buyer to check but she got me in. I am sure I saved her alot more money than she paid me.

What's needed to put this right and how much would it cost?

Maybe £50 each for the flue guard and the thermostat, but for the rest of it, it is impossible to answer. It could require

• rads bleeding, lockshields adjusting and TRv's freeing
• a new pump
• complete replumb of the heating circuit because it never worked

KrisMiranda30

having a case is a bit risky, time-consuming and somehow a waste of money..But if the owner doesn't keep his word, then it would be best to take legal actions regarding this issue..

vuvuzela

KrisMiranda30 wrote: »

having a case is a bit risky, time-consuming and somehow a waste of money..But if the owner doesn't keep his word, then it would be best to take legal actions regarding this issue..

Spammer bumping up posts ?

pinkteapot

From posts on these boards it seems like a lot of boilers conk out when houses change hands. Maybe they don't like being turned off and back on or having their routine (operating hours) changed.

My mum sold a house a few years ago and the boiler worked absolutely perfectly. She told the buyers that the boiler was the original and thus around 15 years old and that it hadn't been serviced. When she left she turned it off. When they moved in, it wouldn't start up again and they had to replace it. Again, there had been no fault whatsoever prior to the house sale. The buyers tried to get money out of mum but she refused.

The owners were honest with you about they fact they had no service paperwork. From what you originally said they told you that BG would phone them once a year to ask if they wanted a service; not even that they actually took BG up on the offer.

As others have said, when you buy a second hand house you get a second hand boiler and it doesn't come with any form of warranty unless you have some sort of service paperwork or conduct your own survey of it. When I buy a house I make sure I've got £2k spare in the budget in case the boiler packs up.

We bought last year and were lucky to have the most honest sellers in the world; they told us the boiler was at least ten years old, that they hadn't had it serviced in five years and that they had no idea how long it would last. With no paperwork to prove anything your seller might as well have said the same thing.

With nothing in writing you'll get nowhere in pursuing the previous owners.

Ihatecameron

I think you have a moral case for compensation, it all depends on the goodness of the previous owners.

BitterAndTwisted

There is no mistake. paperwork was requested and it was not supplied. The OP decided to go ahead and purchase regardless. Now there's a fault and the boiler needs to be replaced. That's hard luck but nobody's fault but the purchaser's.

KrisMiranda: I can only assume that you either haven't read the whole thread or that you cannot understand it and therefore your contributions are useless. Perhaps you could post on a thread where you have some understanding of the subject at hand. If there is one

AnnaV

Ihatecameron wrote: »

I think you have a moral case for compensation, it all depends on the goodness of the previous owners.

Yes, and good luck in the moral court! Oh wait...there isn't one...

BitterAndTwisted

The "goodness" of the previous owners is proven by their response of "go forth, you numpty"