Vendor knew the boiler was broken

G_M

I agree with all the comments above!
Scotland? You might have a case......

R997 wrote: »

We've just completed on our new house and collected the keys on Friday. Obviously we've checked to make sure everything is working and where we expected it to be.
Did you get the boiler inspected before buying? No? Mistake!
Did the seller give you an assurance, in writing, that the boiler works? Even if yes, see comments below.

Hot water was working
How? Boiler? So boiler works. Or emmersion - you don't say.

... Flicked the control box onto 'constant' and were greeted with a lots of clattering and metallic banging from the boiler and airing cupboard.
Almost certainly air in the system. Bleed it. Sorted.
Might be rust/gunk circulating in the pipes/rads - flush.

Some radiators warmed a little, but most stayed resolutely stone cold.
Cold at top? Bleed them.
Bottom? Flush.
All over? Flush

After a while the boiler turned itself off (I later learned that it had overheated and popped an internal breaker).
Flush.
...

Bleed the rads and then get independant quotes for a full flush to clean out the pipes, rads, and boiler.

If a new boiler IS needed, don't use BG.

And unless the seller's lied in writing, forget them.

R997

davidmcn wrote: »

What does "we'd anticipated some issues" mean? Did you not test it?

I expected unforeseen costs when buying a new house and put money aside accordingly. The boiler appeared to be working when we viewed the house. There was hot water and pipes were hot (although I should obviously have been more thorough). The boiler was old and I expected to replace it at some point in the next couple of years at the most.

I need to check back through all the paperwork for exact wording, but it did indicate the CH system was in good working order when the vendor clearly knew that it was not. I think the vendor might have stopped short of outright lying, but I certainly think I've been mislead.

Survey didn't include the boiler and it (stupidly) didn't occur to me to get it checked independently. I guess you live and learn.

moneyistooshorttomention

I think it might be the law now that central heating systems get checked yearly? Cant be sure on that....

Anyways....I had the one in my last house checked yearly and the gas engineer had to sign the relevant "bit of paper" I had for it to indicate he'd done it each year. I made sure that was all up-to-date and recent inspection and signature and passed that paperwork onto the buyer of my house - to show that I'd "done my bit" and, as far as I was concerned the system was absolutely fine (which indeed it was).

Have you got anything like the system logbook in the paperwork passed to you at the time you bought the house? (ie what I passed onto my buyer amongst all the other house paperwork).

AlexMac

Yup- as I've said here before, given that the design life of modern boilers is said to be only 7-10 years, and that I've had to replace boilers in each of the four homes I've owned in the past 15 years plus one in each of my little BTLs, I now factor a new boiler into any purchase. Having said that, look on the bright side; you'll have a reliable new installation before the winter, and unless you use BG, you'll pay a lot less than £3k; I've spent £1.3k-£2k on my Vaillants, and only hit the extra £1k when I added a new pressurised cylinder on the biggest installation.

Nobbie1967

No it isn't unless you rent the property out, when you need to have the boiler checked, not the rest of the central heating system.

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I think it might be the law now that central heating systems get checked yearly? Cant be sure on that....

Anyways....I had the one in my last house checked yearly and the gas engineer had to sign the relevant "bit of paper" I had for it to indicate he'd done it each year. I made sure that was all up-to-date and recent inspection and signature and passed that paperwork onto the buyer of my house - to show that I'd "done my bit" and, as far as I was concerned the system was absolutely fine (which indeed it was).

Have you got anything like the system logbook in the paperwork passed to you at the time you bought the house? (ie what I passed onto my buyer amongst all the other house paperwork).

fierystormcloud

Yolina wrote: »

BG standard line about pretty much any boiler :rotfl:

BG standard price - get a few quotes from independents. It's also possible that they might tell you that the boiler is repairable depending what's wrong with it.

You probably don't have much recourse against the seller.

Oh yes, BG do love to try and sell you one of their system flushes LOL. :rotfl: In each house we have had, they tried to get us to pay £700 plus for a system flush. I actually know a number of people who had them and it made their system worse!

In addition, this one time when the heating went down in the dead of winter, they said they would not fix it until we agreed to sign for a £700 system flush, even though we had their 3 star contract! (They claimed sludge in the system was causing the issue they were trying to fix.)

My husband told him to get out, and we called a local corgi-registered heating engineer and THEN we cancelled the 3 star contract. BG were incensed when we cancelled the contract, and refused to admit they had blackmailed us. The engineer we called out said a system flush is not necessary, and fixed the issue causing our system to stop working for £45.

HappyMJ wrote: »

I must agree with the BG statements made. My boiler didn't work...I called BG out to get it fixed...oh what a mistake that was. They couldn't fix it. They ended up calling another engineer out to get it fixed. Still didn't work. They gave up. Eventually got it fixed and the rad's were cold. No BG can't fix that..you'll need to get the system flushed. Would you like a quote? Thinking £100 or so I agreed..not it's £675. Thanks but no thanks. I then called up another engineer who put something into the water and told me to run it for a few days. The blockage cleared itself and now the system works perfectly. I've since drained the system with the chemical out and refilled it myself. Cost £10. I've since asked for a refund and cancelled the insurance they requested I take out. BG did not refuse they agreed, refunded me and cancelled the insurance.

Yep, sounds like a typical BG tale. :rotfl:

As an energy provider they are OK, but their 3 star contract and the terrible shoddy workmanship that goes along with it is laughable.

R997 wrote: »

I expected unforeseen costs when buying a new house and put money aside accordingly. The boiler appeared to be working when we viewed the house. There was hot water and pipes were hot (although I should obviously have been more thorough). The boiler was old and I expected to replace it at some point in the next couple of years at the most.

I need to check back through all the paperwork for exact wording, but it did indicate the CH system was in good working order when the vendor clearly knew that it was not. I think the vendor might have stopped short of outright lying, but I certainly think I've been mislead.

Survey didn't include the boiler and it (stupidly) didn't occur to me to get it checked independently. I guess you live and learn.

I genuinely think that you don't have a case. Every house I have ever looked at for sale, says 'the heating and boiler have not been tested' on the particulars.

I don't think anyone lied or misled you; but they certainly weren't forthcoming with the truth about the boiler; that it's poppy and bangy and the heating system isn't great and probably need an over-hall. Then again, I don't think I have ever known anyone be forthcoming about issues with their house they are trying to sell. Every house we have bought has had a crappy boiler that has needed replacing, and nobody ever told us that it was no good.

One of my friends recently moved into a house that was built in the early 1990s, and she and her husband maxed themselves mortgage wise and spent every penny they had moving in, and the first thing that happened was the boiler packed up. They had to take out a loan within weeks of moving in to replace the boiler. Nothing on the house particulars mentioned it.

So unfortunately, even though it's a nuisance, you are going to have to weather the repair bill yourself. I really believe you have no recourse.

DRP

^agree.

I've come to the conclusion that people only decide to move house when their boiler is on the verge of packing in. It's the best reason I can think of for mine and others' run of bad luck with the things when moving into a new house...*



*we've just hit the 18 month mark in our house and after the first service when we moved in, we were informed the boiler was screwed.... we're just getting quotes to replace it this week.

R997

AlexMac wrote: »

Having said that, look on the bright side; you'll have a reliable new installation before the winter

The more I think about it the more this is my point of view. The existing boiler is over 20 years old, so good to have a new on installed and working before the winter comes.

DandelionPatrol

R997 wrote: »

The more I think about it the more this is my point of view. The existing boiler is over 20 years old, so good to have a new on installed and working before the winter comes.

From your description, it could just be that the pump is stuck after being left for a few weeks unused. So the system might only need a good clean out and the pump freeing.

R997

fierystormcloud wrote: »

So unfortunately, even though it's a nuisance, you are going to have to weather the repair bill yourself. I really believe you have no recourse.

Think you're right. I'm just annoyed that the vendor seems to have walked a fine line between omitting details and deliberately misleading. It doesn't appear he explicitly said in writing that the boiler is in full working condition. He clearly knew the boiler was broken and had been using the immersion heater to make hot water.