We just bought our first house and they took the fire with them!!!

MISS-CLARABELLE_2

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a bit of advice. Yesterday we exchanged and completed on our first house. We went around very excited and we extremely upset when we realised the previous owner had removed the gas fire that was on the wall in the living room. I checked the paperwork from the solicitor and the seller had ticked a box to say he was leaving the "gas fires". I also previous spoke to the estate agent on the phone who said there were two working fires installed. I know there was an issue that came up with this fire last week, but no-one said it was being taken. The gas inspection man said it was unsafe to use because there was rubble behind it, but we spoke to him after this and he was going to do the work for us to fix that. We also had an email from the estate agent earlier that week saying that the seller would not be taking any more things from the house.

I am so upset that this has been taken and we can't afford another one. We phoned the gas inspector man who said it couldn't be used until rubble was removed and he didn't take it. It was in the room (not put back on the wall) when he left the house. We also spoke to the estate agents who are going to have a word with the seller. The lady I spoke to said she saw him this morning (to get extra keys) and he didn't mention that he'd taken it. It was definitely him though because there's an alarm system and no-one else could have removed it. The space has also been boarded up with plywood and the pipes that went to it have been removed. We can prove it was there though because we have photos and videos.

I just wondered where we stand on this? How do we get it sorted? What if the seller decided to dispose of the fire and just didn't tell us? Like I say we bought the house with with "gas fires" included, there were two in the house and now there's only one. If he won't return the fire or give us money for a new one then what do we do next?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Claire

Yorkie1

Speak to your solicitor on Monday.

You'd be within your rights to sue in the small claims court, but would need to quantify your loss / the damage caused first and check how you'd prove what you needed to prove.

It will be a lot of hassle that you don't need, but frankly I'd be willing to do it just to show people that they can't take the mickey like that.

Strapped

Chalk it up to experience and move on. Realistically, it's not worth suing over a second hand gas fire.

jazabelle

Strapped wrote: »

Chalk it up to experience and move on. Realistically, it's not worth suing over a second hand gas fire.

If they can't afford one, and they agreed to leave it - of course it's worth it.

G_M

If the contract said two gas fires and they took one and left one, then you claim for the missing fire.

But the amount may not be worth going as far as court - hopefully a complaint will result in a negotiated settlement.

If the fire had been fitted, then you could also obviously claim the cost of re-installation, but from what you say the fire had already been disconnected so you can only really claim the cost of a (2nd hand) fire.

Februarycat

If they had ticked the box to say they were leaving the fire then you should be entitled to it. We had a similar problem when we moved we took our fire surround with us, but the buyer insisted we said we were leaving it, we did not, but they made such a fuss about it, my husband took it back to them and even fitted it for them :rotfl:

pinkshoes

Just ask your solicitor to ask for it back, and if they can't, ask them to pay for another one!

MISS-CLARABELLE_2

Thanks everyone. Mostly helpful comments and much appreciated. I will speak to the solicitors on Monday morning.

RenovationMan

pinkshoes wrote: »

Just ask your solicitor to ask for it back, and if they can't, ask them to pay for another one!

Yep, agree with this. The fire was included in the house details and you have bought the house and all fittings listed. The fire was yours and they effectively stole it. They will be hoping that you can't be bothered, but you should not let them get away with it. This is pretty much an open and shut case.

FireWyrm

Your solicitor should be earning their fee and writing a stiff letter to the opposition solicitor stating the facts. You have paid for a certain house with a certain number of fixtures and fittings...thats what the contract means. It doesn't mean that the vendor can just take whatever he pleases and you have to lay down for it. If the vendors solicitor is on the ball, they will be speaking to the vendor and advising them that this could end in court if they arnt careful. I would either expect a cheque for the value or the actual fire returned by Wednesday night or you are going to start proceedings. My guess is that this will be enough to scare the vendor into co-operating. However, to expect them to pay for it's reinstallation might be a step to far. The bottom line...negotiate. Play hard ball and bluff..more often enough, it's all that's needed.

Strapped

jazabelle wrote: »

If they can't afford one, and they agreed to leave it - of course it's worth it.

Most sensible people who buy a property allow a small contingency. The OP can start legal action if she really wants but she might remember that she has no proof of WHICH particular gas fire it was (unless detailed in the property particulars, the exact make and model, plus age and working status) so the vendor could quite easily "return" any old broken gas fire out of a skip etc to legally fulfill their obligations. Legal action also costs money - even a solicitor's letter - so if they're that hard up, do they really want to spend money on it?