Can I get the seller to pay for a new boiler ?

kae6155

I recently purchased a property, this property had been completely refurbished, new plumbing, radiators, windows, wiring, boiler serviced in last 6 months etc and the seller provided all certificates.

The night we moved in we ran the hot tap and we filled a whole bath before we got any hot water coming through and the radiators started getting hot when the central heating was not on, the very next day we called British Gas and booked an engineer for a few days time, when he arrived he said the boiler is in a poor state and needs replacing due to the amount of faults/leaks/condition and the problems it has.

The engineer stated that these faults would not have developed over night and would have been over a period of time and that it would not be financially economical for him to fix all the faults but was able to do a temporary fix so we can function.

The seller stated in the Property Information Form that "the central heating system is in good working order" when clearly is it is not. Can we make the seller pay for the replacement boiler that we need or contribute towards this?

They did provide me with a service certificate for the boiler that was dated 15/10/2018, which is why we didn't commission our own inspection

need_an_answer

Did you commission your own report on the boiler,or have your heating engineer look at it prior to completion?

Newly refurbished house,was the boiler new and was the guarantee and installation certification passed to you?

Just because BG cant fix something doesn't mean that it cant be fixed,I too once had a boiler they wanted to condemn, got a second opinion and its still working fine 6 years on and passing an annual gas safety check.

martinthebandit

First thing is to get a decent plumber to come and look at the boiler, BG plumbers have a bit of a reputation (allegedly) for saying a boiler cannot be repaired in the hope of flogging you a new one.

Second, if all you have is a BG engineers say you don't have a hope of getting anyone but yourselves to pay for a new boiler.

Davesnave

kae6155 wrote: »

The seller stated in the Property Information Form that "the central heating system is in good working order" when clearly is it is not. Can we make the seller pay for the replacement boiler that we need or contribute towards this?

Your difficulty is proving that it wasn't functional at the time the form was written and/or in showing that the vendor had enough knowledge to know it wasn't. Pretty impossible, and not worth pursuing without such evidence.

You could have comissioned your own inspection of the heating system, or at least asked for proof of maintenance, if this was important to you.

As above, British Gas are probably the worst people to advise you on the serviceability of the boiler.

kae6155

they did provide me with a service certificate for the boiler that was dated 15/10/2018, which is why we didnt commission our own inspection

Exodi

kae6155 wrote: »

they did provide me with a service certificate for the boiler that was dated 15/10/2018, which is why we didnt commission our own inspection

Which will make it even harder to prove they were aware of the faults.

I really think you stand virtually nil chance of having the ex-owners pay for your boiler. Caveat emptor; the onus is on the prospective buyer to inspect the condition of the property.

EDIT: get a non-BG engineer in for a quote before doing anything. You may be frothing at the mouth over what may be a couple of hundred pounds.

need_an_answer

kae6155 wrote: »

they did provide me with a service certificate for the boiler that was dated 15/10/2018, which is why we didnt commission our own inspection

Was that all you received in respect of the boiler?

When was the boiler installed...do you have details of who installed it and are they registered engineers?

Guarantee documents for boiler?
Most new boilers are guaranteed,if registered correctly on installation there may be a 2/5/7 or even 10 year guarantee in place dependant on the manufacturer and model.

with a service certificate dated reasonably recently it may prove difficult to challenge with the vendor,and less likely since you have actually completed and are living in the property.

manufacturer warranty might be an alternative option to look at.


Re reading you original post you say the property was renovated with new plumbing and radiators but don't actually say the boiler was replaced,just a certificate issued ...is it possible the boiler is older than you actually believe and have been lulled into a false sense of security with the issue of a certificate that basically says on a set day the boiler was functioning.

ProDave

But although the BG man could not "fix" the boiler, he managed a "temporary fix" so it now works does it not?

It would be interesting to get a real opinion in technical terms what is wrong and what this BG man did. Chances are it is not one of the standard boilers so he did not have the spares, but managed to get it working with what he has. That does not mean the boiler is beyond repair and a proper repair might well be cheap.

jimbog

Ignore BG. All they are interested in is for you getting a new boiler

EachPenny

kae6155 wrote: »

...The night we moved in we ran the hot tap and we filled a whole bath before we got any hot water coming through and the radiators started getting hot when the central heating was not on, the very next day we called British Gas and booked an engineer for a few days time...

If the boiler is capable of providing heat to the radiators it doesn't sound likely it is beyond economic repair. At a guess it could be something is simple as a stuck diverter valve.

Is it a combi boiler (heating water as you use it), or do you have a hot water cylinder(tank) in an airing cupboard?

If it is the latter, and the heating had been off for a while, then all the water in the cylinder would have been cold. It would take a while for the boiler to start heating the water in the cylinder, especially if you are running it off into the bath. You could easily fill a bath that way before noticing any heat.

OldMusicGuy

Having a boiler serviced doesn't mean it is in good nick. We recently had our boiler serviced and the engineer said it was borderline dangerous. Nevertheless he still serviced it and we had a service record to prove it but we knew it was on its last legs. However, as we were just about to put the property on the market, we got it replaced.

So bottom line is all the service record proves is that it has been serviced, it does not prove it is going to last until the next service or even until the next week. So I'm afraid it's tough luck, just one of those things.