New house purchase

mi-key

If it had been there for 8 years without causing an issue, you can assume the sellers didn't know there was anything wrong with the flue, so not really their fault.

On the plus side you now have a new boiler you know is safe and fine and will be ok for years. Just think of it as something you would probably have had to replace within a few years due to the age anyway, or it could have worked fine and then a month after moving in failed.

Schwarzwald

Sounds as if you missed this in DD, why did you not send in a surveyor to check these things beforehand?

macman

Schwarzwald said:

Sounds as if you missed this in DD, why did you not send in a surveyor to check these things beforehand?

Because a surveyor is not an RGI, and won't be competent to decide on gas safety, electrical safety, or the plumbing.

Letsgetmoving

I don’t think you have any legal recourse unfortunately but I’d definitely contact GasSafe who certify the technicians. If the previous one signed off such a dodgy installion who knows who else is living in a death trap. An email may prompt a few of their installations to be checked. Their register number and name should be on the cert.

macman

OP, you can certainly report the RGI who provided the GSC to Gas Safe if it will give you some satisfaction, but they have no liability to you, as you have no contract with them. Was this an ex-rental property? There is no vendor requirement to provide a GSC for a private sale, unless the property is tenanted.
You didn't buy a 'new house', which comes with a warranty. You bought a used house, which comes with no warranty at all. It's caveat emptor, and as long as the vendor didn't lie about the boiler, you have no claim against them. Consumer rights do not apply to private property sales.
If you'd asked 'is the boiler working and safe', and they had said 'yes' then you would indeed have had a claim.

daveyjp

A perfect example of why every Homebuyers survey advises to have electrical and gas installation checks undertaken by qualified individuals.

No comeback after the sale completes.

propertyrental

1) It is highly unlikely the vendor knew of these problems. As I understand it

a) the boiler was working, heating the water and rads, so for X years the vendors were happy, and  
b) they had a certificate from a GasSafe registered engineer, which they passed to you. They doubtless trusted and relied on it just as much as you did.

So not their fault. Unless you can prove otherwise.......

2) You could, however, report the gasSafe engineer to gasSafe. Two problems with this
1) it might get the engineer struck off, but won't get you your money back, and
2) I believe in such cases Gassafe come round to inspect, and judge the boiler against the report the orginal engineer wrote. But the boiler in question is no longer there....

Whether they would take the evidence of the two subsequent engineers you had round, against the word of the original engineer, I don't know. Contact them and ask?

Report a concern

• If you would like to submit details via email, you can contact us at register@gassaferegister.co.uk; or you can call us on 0800 408 5500.

macman

TripleH said:

Sadly gas safety certificates are only relevant if the property is rented out. So for homeowners, you could be living in a deathtrap for years slowly being poisoned without knowing it.

My mother had a gas safety certificate for her old home but only because she had an attached cottage that she rented out so had both done together.

The only possible way you might have a claim about an unsafe installation is if you bought the house from a professional 'gas fitter' who could be expected to know if it was unsafe.

The previous owners might have been oblivious to living in an unsafe home but could fall back on the certificate to say they had got professionals in to review who signed it off.

No it wouldn't, because the vendor, whatever their profession or knowledge of the problem, is not required to disclose any faults in the property. They merely have to not lie and not misrepresent. 
If the vendor was an RGI and sold a property knowing the boiler was unsafe, it would certainly be immoral. and unprofessional. But not illegal, or create any liability for any civil action.

Schwarzwald

macman said:

Schwarzwald said:

Sounds as if you missed this in DD, why did you not send in a surveyor to check these things beforehand?

Because a surveyor is not an RGI, and won't be competent to decide on gas safety, electrical safety, or the plumbing.

Thanks for further specifying the type of suryeyor needed, ie RGI, but doesnt change the point that main responsibility to check all these aspects out remain with the buyer and needs to be done prior to exchange, not after

propertyrental

Schwarzwald said:

macman said:

Schwarzwald said:

Sounds as if you missed this in DD, why did you not send in a surveyor to check these things beforehand?

Because a surveyor is not an RGI, and won't be competent to decide on gas safety, electrical safety, or the plumbing.

Thanks for further specifying the type of suryeyor needed, ie RGI, but doesnt change the point that main responsibility to check all these aspects out remain with the buyer and needs to be done prior to exchange, not after

To be fair most buyers would be satisfied if there was a recent boiler service and/or safety report (they are different but there are overlaps), and it's not unreasonable to rely on such a report is the vendor supplies it.

The problem here is that it appears either the report was fraudulently concocted (eg the engineer was 'induced' to produce it that way, or the vendors themselves faked it), or the gasSafe engineer was incompetent.