Boiler needs replacing a month after service

mangog

Hi all,

I'm just looking for some advice on this. We bought our first home two months ago, and one of the first things I did was book a boiler service. (I'd attempted to get this done before we exchanged contracts but I had trouble persuading anyone to do it so in the end I gave up - a combination of inexperience and desperation to get the sale over with!) Anyway - a month later and the boiler was serviced, he took the front off and checked it over and gave it a clean bill of health, but with the warning that it's a cheap model and is already nearly 10 years old, which we knew. But the key thing is that he said there was nothing wrong with it at that time.

This weekend the boiler stopped working entirely and started dripping water from the bottom. Got a guy our from a different company to look at it and he showed me that there was a leak inside which had clearly been there for a long time - there's limescale deposit all over the parts (we're in a hard water area) and it's clearly not a new issue. This has caused a whole bunch of other problems and the upshot is that we now need a new boiler. Fair enough, we expected to need to replace it in the next few years anyway because of its age, so we had budgeted for this. (Ideally it wouldn't have been in November, but there we are!)

What I'm wondering about is should this have been picked up in the service? I know he wouldn't have taken the whole thing apart and checked every piece, but as far as I can tell this should have been obvious as soon as he took the cover off. The engineer who looked at it today said the same. Should I mention this to the person who serviced it? He charged me £80 for it so I feel a bit like I've been had. My natural instinct is to just let it go but I'm always bring told off for this by my sister so I don't know. Is this one of those times I should complain, or should I just crack on with my boiler shopping and chalk it up to experience?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Rusty_Shackleton

You'll probably be ignored or told to p*ss off by the engineer who did such a poor job of servicing the boiler. Leaving an accurate review of the service you received in as many places as possible is the best course of action might help turn future victims of their work away from them though Don't forget the likes of Google reviews let you upload photos, you could let others judge if they think this was a reasonable thing to miss!

tacpot12

It is possible that the first engineer saw the evidence of the leak, but didn't think to mention it because the boiler was working fine. As is so often the case with engineers, the one condemning the boiler hasn't told you why the boiler stopped working (or if they did, you didn't tell us). The only reason a boiler would stop working due to a leak is if the system was pressurised, and the boiler has a pressure sensor. In this case, simply refilling the system to the correct pressure would fix the problem. So what caused the boiler to fail?

If it was a worn-out part, or a blockage in the pipes, then you don't have a claim against your first engineer because a normal boiler service does not require the boiler to be disassembled. If it was due to the leak getting worse, then how was the first engineer going to be predict that this would happen? He did say that it was an cheap boiler and nearly 10 years old. He may have thought this was enough warning that the boiler wouldn't last for ever, but it is unreasonable to expect him to be able to predict the point at which it will fail.

I appreciate that you might think you are taken advantage of, your sister may or may not be right about this, but I would suggest you think carefully about what you know about why the boiler failed and whether it is reasonable that the servicing engineer should have found the problem. I would also temper your actions because even if the first engineer had condemned the boiler, you still would have been liable for most of the £80 cost, given that he turned up, and used his experience and knowledge to determine the fault.

Rusty_Shackleton

tacpot12 wrote: »

It is possible that the first engineer saw the evidence of the leak, but didn't think to mention it because the boiler was working fine.

Seriously?!

Water leaking within a boiler is not "working fine". Within the boiler it could easily be near electronic components too. The engineer sounds at best incompetent, and at worst, negligent.

Alex1983

Quite often when you check boilers there are stains and water marks inside from old leaks etc. If it's all work correctly, safety and not leaking at that point what would you like the 1st guy to say.

As above why has it failed completely, what part has failed?

mangog

Thanks for your thoughts both! It is really useful to hear some other opinions.

The second engineer did explain how the leak was the cause of the overall problem but I can't remember exactly what he said - I'm off sick from work with a virus so my brain isn't what it usually is (and I'm no expert on plumbing at the best of times!) The gist of it was that the leak had affected several parts and if it had been just one, or the boiler was in better condition generally, he would suggest attempting to fix it. However at this point he considered it throwing good money after bad. I trusted his judgement on that front because he doesn't install boilers himself, so he's actually doing himself out of money by recommending a replacement boiler rather than putting in new parts himself.

But as you say, it was definitely a crappy old boiler so it was only a matter of time! I just wish the first guy had mentioned it. Either way, I suppose it comes down to me getting a new one installed - nothing's going to change that!

So,on that note - anyone got any tips for getting a new boiler installed before Christmas?!

mangog

Oh sorry, those other replies appeared while I was typing. Thanks for your thoughts too Alex1983!

Rusty_Shackleton

mangog wrote: »

So,on that note - anyone got any tips for getting a new boiler installed before Christmas?!

we had a new boiler fitted in September, went with a Baxi Platinum since they've been around a while (so low risk of unknown problems coming up which is a risk with new models), 10 year warranty, excellent reputation.

Local installer who I've used for smaller jobs, £1800 to swap like for like.

Avoid Ideal, and a lot of people say Worcester Bosch' quality has gone down. Vaillant have a good reputation iirc, and Glowworm are owned by them but are cheaper.

roddydogs

Did you actually see him take the front cover off? Yes I know their supposed to but some are very basic.

mangog

Thank you Rusty Shackleton! That is really helpful. I'd been looking at Glowworm but I'll take a look at Baxi too. The price is very reassuring too, that's what I was hoping for on a like-for-like swap. How long did it take to get an installation date? So far everyone I've spoken to is booked up for the next six weeks or so...busy time of year I guess!

Roddydogs - that was my thought too! I didn't see him take the cover off, but my husband did.

HampshireH

If your going to leave poor reviews for the original boiler man it would be fair to give him a chance to explain/refund you first. He may not immediately dismiss you.