Boiler broken -Guarantee proof

SlothSunday1999

I have Vaillant boiler which was installed in 2018.
This week it stopped working and an engineer came and said it has a serious fault - the ignition board or something.
He said it will be expensive to fix, so much that a new boiler might be a better option.Being fairly new we both agreed that it would be under guarantee.

I spoke to Vaillant. First of all they couldn’t find a record of it, but after some rooting around and reading numbers they found it. 

However they told me it only had a five year guarantee and therefore not covered.!

When it was installed I was told it had a 10 year warranty, but I can’t seem to find any proof of this. 

I had an online account which doesn’t seem to work anymore and the plumber who installed it is nowhere to be found. I only have a screenshot saying my guarantee is registered but it has no time mentioned.

Help. Any ideas? I can barely afford the repairs yet alone a whole new boiler.
Thanks

pseudodox

Was the 10 year warranty given on the basis of it being serviced every year?  I got a new boiler 2 years ago and my 12 year warranty is only valid if I can show an annual service record.  Mine was serviced last week and the guy who came out to it was telling me his company gets many callouts to boilers that have never been serviced and so the warranties are invalid.

Keep_pedalling

I would get a second opinion about the repair cost which if it is a circuit board will be a lot cheaper than a new boiler. Often to get the 10 year warranty you had to get it installed by an approved installer, otherwise you only got years. It also had to be serviced on an annual basis when was the last time yours was serviced?

SlothSunday1999

Thanks for your advice. 

The gas engineer came with the other building works at the time so probably not an approved installer, although it had been serviced by Vaillant since. It was serviced annually.

I’ve yet to see what the quote is and I'm not sure exactly what it is apart from it being one “of the most expensive”. The condenser (?) has caused the damage. However I can’t believe it will be as much as a new boiler. Seven years seems much too short a life. 

I might try my house insurance but I’m not holding much hope there.

FreeBear

You can get a new boiler for under £500 (Ravenheat) plus fitting. For a few pounds more, a Baxi (£700 and up). But the budget boilers only have short warranties - 2 to 5 years is typical. If you want 10-12 year warranty, you'd have to pay £1200 or more (plus fitting).

With a Vaillant, I'd suggest contacting a few more service engineers and see if they would fit a reconditioned board (if indeed that is the faulty component). You probably won't get any guarantee on the repair, but the board should be a lot cheaper.

An alternative would be to get Vaillant in to do a fixed price repair at £399 - If they determine it is beyond economical repair, they reduce the charge to £99. See -> https://www.vaillant.co.uk/service/repair/

WIAWSNB

SlothSunday1999 said:

Thanks for your advice. 

The gas engineer came with the other building works at the time so probably not an approved installer, although it had been serviced by Vaillant since. It was serviced annually.

I’ve yet to see what the quote is and I'm not sure exactly what it is apart from it being one “of the most expensive”. The condenser (?) has caused the damage. However I can’t believe it will be as much as a new boiler. Seven years seems much too short a life. 

I might try my house insurance but I’m not holding much hope there.

It sounds as tho' the 'condenser' - by which I'm guessing they mean the Main Heat Exchanger/Heat Engine? - is the actual culprit, and it presumably leaked on to the PCB rendering it also kaput? Double whammy.

In which case I'm not surprised it has been declared BER.

The PCB on its own can be replaced easily and cheaply with a reconditioned board, usually in the £50 ballpark, and a half-hour's work. But if the MainX has also failed, then no point.

So, do you have a report from this guy? Can you confirm what has actually failed?

If it is the MainX wot has failed, then it should not have done so, certainly not in 7 years. And there is nothing that I can think of that could have caused it to fail prematurely - especially with annual servicing - other than an inherent weakness or fault; it was a dud from the point of manufacture.

Can you confirm what it is you are saying regarding servicing, please? You reckon the installer was not a 'Vaillant-approved' fellow? But you have had the boiler serviced each year since then, by a Vaillant fellow?

If that is the case, then I suggest contact Vaillant themselves, and ask them to do the decent thing; 

1) the annual, Vaillant, servicing is of more significance to the health and longevity of a boiler than the initial installation - the seeming lack of warranty application on installation was merely a paper-writing lapse, the significance of which you were not even aware of. The annual servicing since then should have maintained your boiler in tip-top condition.

2) the MainX should not fail in 7 years regardless of anything else. It just shouldn't. The fact that it did, implies it had an inherent fault - unless Vaillant can come up with a scenario where some outside influence rendered it kaput, something that wasn't picked up by the annual servicing.

3) Check your Legal Protection - if you have it, it should cover contractual disputes. Get advice from them on how to place that ultimate pressure on Vaillant should they fail to do the obviously correct thing.

Ask Vaillant nicely first - see what they say. 

Then tell them you have £50k's worth of LegProt, and that they advise you have an excellent case (assuming they do).

And, I don't think it ever hurts to let drop to Vaillant that this issue is being discussed on Lewis Martin's forum :-)

Cherryfudge

If you look at the properties of your screenshot (right click on it or open via a laptop), it may give you the date the screenshot was taken - would that be evidence?

SlothSunday1999

Thanks again everyone.
Yes I had a screenshot but it was seven years ago, and Vaillant say the guarantee being for 5 years only.

Thanks for the information about the cheaper boilers, I will look into this if needed. However the engineer who came said that the flue and set up would need to be changed if it is replaced with a different brand of boiler, which would increase the costs.

I looked at the report and it states that the “heat exchanger leaking water onto the gas valve” “ electrode in poor condition”.  He thinks it’s something “the leak” that was likely missed in its servicing because the leak would dry up. They are of the opinion that it’s beyond economic repair, 

I will contact Vaillant and see what they have to say. The fix and repair could be an option, but fear they will say it’s BER. 

WIAWSNB

Ok, so it is the MainX. Yes, that usually means BER, unless a very young boiler.

The MainX really really shouldn't fail in 7 years.

When a MainX fails - presumably either cracks or corrodes - it isn't (afaIk) something that could have been prevented or even anticipated by annual servicing. It works, and then it fails. And it fails because it was sub-standard from the off - a poor weld, or similar. If it's Stainless Steel, it shouldn't have corroded, so that also suggests a failed construction.

Your call entirely, but if you have LegProt, then it's worth calling them up for advice under the CRA. And also worth having a chat with Vaillant based on this, and the fact the thread is being viewed by, ooooh, tens of folk...