Expensive Repairs to a 2 year old oil fired boiler - rights?

Bongo10

Endeavouring to help son who is currently on active duty with the forces, so not much internet.  Last year they bought a house fitted with a new oil fired boiler, this has now broken down and apparently needs £1k of repair despite being only about 2 years old.  Wife at home with baby and no heating or hot water.
The issue is that the previous owner didn't register the boiler with the manufacturer, so they are refusing to do anything under their warranty.   I am trying to word an email or letter to them pointing out the Consumer Rights Act and the expectation of a reasonable life.  Any thoughts or advice?
Given the urgency I suspect they meet need to get the repairs done and then try to get it refunded, if necessary going to a letter before action.

GrumpyDil

The problem you have is if the boiler was fitted by the previous owner your son doesn't have any rights under the CRA. The warranty might have helped but even then only if it was transferable.

Sounds harsh but I doubt you'll get anywhere with this. 

mattyprice4004

Your son has no rights, as above.
CRA only applies to the original purchaser, not your son - so it’ll likely be filed under ‘bin’ 

red_boots2

Was the info about the boiler in the pack from the Estate Agent?

We had something similar (3yr old boiler w/ Full service and safety certs none of which existed) I went back to the Agent and explained the problem along with their false advertising and they offered a goodwill gesture towards the repairs.

I think we just got lucky as we'd had numerous issues with the Agent in the lead-up so don't get your hopes up.

Bongo10

Thank you all for your inputs.  I suspected that the case was fairly hopeless but the estate agent angle might be worth following up.
I suspect there will shortly be a withdrawal request from the Bank of Dad as their house has had a few issues that weren't in the budget!  

Alfrescodave

Did you get more than one quote for the repairs? It might be worth getting a few more from local engineers to see if it can be repaired cheaper.

Bongo10

They had another plumber this morning who was a bit more positive but still needs to get a part - diverter valve and pump have both apparently failed. 
Having found the archived agent's listing it is very silent on the state of the boiler, so no joy there!
Might try writing to the boiler maker and seeing if they will acknowledge the warranty, but it is a bit of a long shot and this morning's plumber thought they were an unreliable brand and won't normally fit them.
I would go and have a look but they are 6 hours drive away so helping directly is a bit difficult.
Thank you for the helpful comments. 

mcplumb

What make is the boiler?

Nearlyold

If the boiler is heat only - a faulty valve and/or pump would probably not be part of the boiler anyway.  A jammed 3 port valve in itself could stop the boiler firing up

Can't help but wonder if the first plumber was wearing a Stetson and Spurs perhaps and did he arrive on a horse?

macman

it would be the job of the installer to register the boiler for the warranty, and with Gas Safe: not the previous owner.
The chance of the manufacturer honouring any warranty on an unregistered appliance is sadly less than zero.
I got the impression this was a combi, so both the pump and the diverter valve are integral parts of the boiler.

powerful_Rogue

Bongo10 said:

Thank you all for your inputs.  I suspected that the case was fairly hopeless but the estate agent angle might be worth following up.
I suspect there will shortly be a withdrawal request from the Bank of Dad as their house has had a few issues that weren't in the budget!  

Don't waste your time with the estate agents.

If the boiler is mentioned anywhere, it will be on the TA6 form when the house was purchased. If it's working when your son moved in, this won't get you anywhere either.