Just bought new house, boiler probs

neas

a new boiler installation wold cost around 1.2k to 1.5k if the boiler is still new and functioning and the issue is with the flue I'm sure a local heating engineer/plumber could reslve this for less than £500, probably cheaper than that.

The completion certificate is for your piece of mind, my property didn't have one when i moved in, but it was installed by a competenent engineer and had been serviced every year. As the cost a new boiler dwarfed the cost of my house I took a risk and assumed the owners wouldn't have been sat cold all the time.

I'd get a second opinion regarding the CO2. Chasing the landlord/seller will just cause u grief for and sueing anyone etc will cost more than the cost to fix the boiler.

dj1471

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'm amazed the vendor sent you £200. Most people wouldn't!

Probably advised by their solicitor, since they are in breach of contract and don't want to get sued - they specified on a legal document that there was a completion certificate and there isn't.

Cash the cheque - it's a gift and doesn't stop you from further pursuing the vendor if you so wish.

Doozergirl wrote: »

I din't think this is going to go anywhere with the vendor. Many people would not know the difference between the 'completion' cert and a gas safety cert.

The solicitors were paid to check this and advise their clients accordingly.

Does your local council have a website when you can search building control applications? If so, it's worth checking just in case a certificate was in fact issued. But don't speak to the council, else you won't ever be able to get an indemnity policy for the boiler.

Were all the gas safety certificates issued by the same person/company? If so, they could be the original fitter.

Just because there isn't a completion certificate doesn't mean the boiler wasn't installed properly; as there are gas safety certificates it has been safe up to now. That said, you were responsible for checking the safety and operation of the boiler prior to purchase so you won't be able to pursue the vendor for repair costs UNLESS they made a written statement about its condition which was untrue.

What you should do regarding the paperwork is what should have happened prior to exchange - get your solicitor to write a letter requesting a copy of the completion certificate. If one doesn't exist then the vendor is to contact the original fitter and get one issued OR if that's not possible provide an indemnity policy. I would expect your solicitor to do this for free, given they have been negligent in not verifying that a completion certificate exists.

AdrianC

Did your solicitor not query the missing certificate? The time to raise that, and whether it has been serviced or not, with the vendor was before exchange.

Post-completion, it is entirely your problem.

Hoploz

You can phone Gas Safe and ask them whether a certificate exists for the installation. If it does then you can order it yourself.

But actually the install certificate is irrelevant, as you have safety certificates which are more recent, including 2014. You are very lucky to have safety certificates, it means it haas been inspected at least. Perhaps you could contact the person who issued that certificate, and they could have a look at it? It must have been ok then.

I had to get a boiler service and safety certificate last year, as my buyer insisted on it. The engineer (who I've known for years) issued the 'safety certificate' but warned me that it does not say on this that a service has been done, so he recommended that I send a copy of his invoice as well as he had stated on that that he had carried out the service. So maybe your boiler was actually serviced regularly but the certificate simply does not include that information.

Badgergal

dodger1 wrote: »

What did the vendor say about the missing certificate?

He has admitted there isn't one, despite the form suggesting to the contrary. So I don't see the point of asking my solicitor to ask his solicitor for it. The local council website has no record of it, only of the kitchen extension.

The safety certs were done by two different people and indicate that no service was carried out. The manufacturer also said the warranty was invalid due to no services being carried out.

My solicitor did not query the missing certificate at the time and simply accepted the safety certificate without flagging this to me. I believe that this is not what I was paying her for and am minded to raise another complaint with the partner over this.

(I say 'another' complaint because they already almost screwed up the whole transaction when they realised at the last minute that a vital piece of paperwork at not been signed and a mad last-minute train to their offices had to happen the day before completion. Over the course of selling my flat and buying this house, I had two solicitors leave and was eventually handed over to a trainee. When I complained about the last-minute screwup to the partner, they admitted it was poor and knocked £100 off their fees. I chose them because they were a reputable firm with great reviews, but their attention to detail has been poor.)

A GasSafe plumber recommended to me by a friend is coming tomorrow to try to fix it. He came to quote yesterday and reckons he knows what the problem is; incidentally he thinks it's not necessarily to do with the flue but is to do with the heat exchanger needing a good clean.

G_M

It's really not worth getting into all this. as I said earlier:

Get the boiler fixed asap so that it is

a) working and

b) safe

But now let me add: after doing that, get on with your life in your new home.

Hoploz

BTW my boiler has now conked out 4 times since I moved in 3 months ago.
It's just tough luck.

Badgergal

Please believe me when I say we're generally a pretty pragmatic pair; however we've had an awful lot of 'tough luck' since moving into this house and in the main we've just got on with it and paid for repairs out of our savings and I fully intended to do the same with this, though it's a bit painful considering we are also trying to save for some other works.

The issue of the cert only came up because so many of the plumbers I rang asked who had installed it (presumably because it's only 2 years old) and then seemed leery of touching it when I said I didn't know. I'm relieved to have found someone who said he'll come and try to sort it tomorrow. If he can do it for circa £200, fantastic.

After finding a long succession of things wrong, to then find there's been misrepresentation on the property info form, and that my solicitor was too dopey to pick up on it, just rankles with me. It doesn't matter that we've completed; you're not allowed to lie on that form.

Doozergirl

No, you're not allowed to lie, but do you know how much a litigation solicitor costs? Unfortunately, the time and money don't weigh up against going further with the vendor.

I don't think you'll be asked for an installation certificate at sale time. You didn't install the boiler, the boiler will be halfway through its life, or more, by the time you come to sell. It won't be highlighted on the SPIF as new.

AdrianC

Badgergal wrote: »

After finding a long succession of things wrong, to then find there's been misrepresentation on the property info form, and that my solicitor was too dopey to pick up on it, just rankles with me. It doesn't matter that we've completed; you're not allowed to lie on that form.

No, you're not. And that's an issue between you and your solicitor.

Unless you can prove that you would not have bought the property SOLELY because of that missing certificate, then there is effectively nothing you can do regarding the vendor. And, even if you can, I hope you have deep pockets and an optimistic outlook, because the legals to do anything about his lie will require both.