can estate agent be found responsible

murphster

Hi,

I know some of you will notice I have posted in insurance, but here goes.

I have recently purchased a new house which has a multi fuel stove with a railway sleeper as a mantel. Unfortunately last weekend the sleeper caught fire, during the night. I am waiting for the loss adjuster to assess the damage, in the mean time I have had it looked at by a HEATAS engineer. He had condemned the fire, it is too big for the room and had not been installed properly.

I am not sure my insurance will pay out, and certainly not cover the cost of putting it all right.

Do people think I might be able to claim off the estate agent, they have sold a property with a feature that was not fit for purpose and without the appropriate documentation for the installation. I know friends who have had to have building works certified even though they didn't do the work, e.g. previously installed conservatory before selling, could it be the same for this stove.

I am feeling very angry about the whole thing, not only is it the feature that sold me the house and something that could cost thousands to put right. This badly installed fire could have killed me and my family, even if my insurance does cover it, why should I have to pay, I should never have been sold a house with a fire that was unsafe and unfit for purpose.

PasturesNew

You can never sue the EA.

It would've been up to you and your solicitor, during the buying process, to ensure that all the legal/required paperwork was present and in order.

There should've been some mention of the stove's installation and the paperwork, somewhere.

So this probably starts with you/your solicitor.

If the seller lied, in writing, then the next stage is to sue them.

But it won't be the EA's responsibility at all to check or guarantee the safety of anything.

eddddy

murphster wrote: »

Do people think I might be able to claim off the estate agent, they have sold a property with a feature that was not fit for purpose and without the appropriate documentation for the installation.

No - absolutely no claim against the EA.

You might have a claim against the seller, if they misrepresented something about the stove on the seller's property information form, or in their answers to pre-contract enquiries.

murphster

Thank-you, what about the seller. The stove is described in the key features on the advertising sheet.

dc197

It may be a key feature, and if a potentially dangerous item was key to you I'm sure you would had it checked.

Did the seller lie in writing or falsify documents about the fire? Then likely no claim.

How were you using the fire in a way that caused damage while the preious owner used it safely?

davidmcn

What did your surveyor say about it?

murphster

Absolutely no mention of it in the survey. A wood burning stove was described in the particulars. I'm not sure the previous owners used it often, I remember the lady saying it's lovely at Christmas, I grew up with open fires at home, I like the fire to be lit and have lit it a few times a week since moving in, the engineer thinks it 'weakened' it.

agrinnall

The only time "Estate Agent" and "responsible" belong in the same sentence is if the latter is prefixed by "ir".

dc197

If the survey HAD mentioned the fire and advised you to obtain all certs and docs for it as par of the purchase, as my survey advised me, would you have acted differently?

cte1111

murphster wrote: »

Hi,

I am not sure my insurance will pay out, and certainly not cover the cost of putting it all right.
.

I don't understand why you fear the insurance won't pay out the full amount (less your excess)? That's exactly what insurance is for, to put us back in the position we were in before an accident happened.

The only reason they wouldn't pay out, is if you hadn't given them all the facts, e.g. if they had a question about fireplaces and you said you didn't have any, or if you had insured your property and contents for less than they were worth.

I can understand you being shocked and angry but try and move on. I'm glad you are all OK, concentrate now on getting the necessary quotes to start putting your house back to normal.

NB we had all our appliances tested when we bought our current house and were told that the gas fire was too big and shouldn't be used. We got it replaced with a new one that was the correct type, it didn't occur to me to try and sue someone about this, it's just one of those things. However I guess the difference is, this house was in fairly poor repair in general, so I didn't particularly want to keep the fire or many features, where as the fire was a feature that you particularly liked, so was of more value to you.

frugalsmurf

Who fitted it? Did you get certificates etc?