Guarantee for new boiler works?

winkowinko

So we had a combi boiler installed in July 2023, and it was serviced by the same people who installed it a year later.

Fast forward to July 2025 and I ask them to come and do the annual service again. Only this time the same people seem incapable of actually agreeing to a date, despite lots of chasing. Towards the end of July I start getting a little concerned that if the boiler service isn't serviced, the warranty on the boiler might be voided, so I get somebody else in to sevice it.

About 10 days ago, I noticed a slow drip on one of the elbow joints of the copper pipe coming out of the boiler, so I phoned the original guys up and they agreed to come out last Friday. Only that they didn't show up. No phone call/nothing.
This Monday, I called to see why they hadn't turned up/ask when they would actually come to fix the issue, and was told they would come this morning, which they did. Guy spent an hour here, fixed the problem, and off he went. No mention of money, until a couple of hours later, when I receive a text telling me that as the original work was done over 2 years ago, today's work is therefore chargeable.

He also tried to justify the charge because somebody else had done the most recent service, and could therefore have potentially casued the issue.

After only two years, is it unreasonable to expect the original work to have held up without issues? Should I still be responsible for the £110 fee?

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Alderbank

winkowinko said:

So we had a combi boiler installed in July 2023, and it was serviced by the same people who installed it a year later.

Fast forward to July 2025 and I ask them to come and do the annual service again. Only this time the same people seem incapable of actually agreeing to a date, despite lots of chasing. Towards the end of July I start getting a little concerned that if the boiler service isn't serviced, the warranty on the boiler might be voided, so I get somebody else in to sevice it.

About 10 days ago, I noticed a slow drip on one of the elbow joints of the copper pipe coming out of the boiler, so I phoned the original guys up and they agreed to come out last Friday. Only that they didn't show up. No phone call/nothing.
This Monday, I called to see why they hadn't turned up/ask when they would actually come to fix the issue, and was told they would come this morning, which they did. Guy spent an hour here, fixed the problem, and off he went. No mention of money, until a couple of hours later, when I receive a text telling me that as the original work was done over 2 years ago, today's work is therefore chargeable.

He also tried to justify the charge because somebody else had done the most recent service, and could therefore have potentially casued the issue.

After only two years, is it unreasonable to expect the original work to have held up without issues? Should I still be responsible for the £110 fee?

 .

None of us out here know whether the original work should have held up without issues.
If anyone even attempts to do so without seeing it, without even seeing a picture, they are simply not competent to give an opinion.

To strip away the irrelevant stuff from your post:

• July 2023: new boiler installed by plumber A. No leaks or other problems.
• July 2024: boiler serviced by plumber A. No leaks or other problems.
• July 2025: boiler service due. No leaks or other problems.
• End of July 2025: boiler serviced by 'somebody else'.
• September 2025: leak noticed.
• October 2025: Plumber A called to fix leak. He did so and billed OP for £110.
• Plumber A denied that the work done in 2023 and 2024 had not been carried out with reasonable care and skill. He suggested I take a hard look at the work done by 'somebody else'.

I agree with plumber A

Okell

You mention "Guarantee" in the title of the thread but then fail to mention it again in the body of the text.

So was the boiler and its installation covered by a guarantee or not, what are the terms of the guarantee, who provides the guarantee (if there is one)?

winkowinko

Thanks for your response.

The leak was coming from the elbow joint where soldering is required to make it join. I have tried uploading a photo, but it isn't working.

Plumber B only performed a service, and would therefore not be tinkering (deliberately at least) with a copper elbow joint.

winkowinko

Okell said:

You mention "Guarantee" in the title of the thread but then fail to mention it again in the body of the text.

So was the boiler and its installation covered by a guarantee or not, what are the terms of the guarantee, who provides the guarantee (if there is one)?

The boiler comes with a 10 year warranty, provided it is serviced annually.

Unfortunately I can't find the original quote for the work, which would presumably state what kind of guarantee the work comes with, however, my question is whether one should expect the soldering around the joint to remain good 27 months after it was fitted?

QrizB

On one hand, I'd expect a soldered pipe joint to be good for a century or more.

On the other, you'd need to prove that the fault was intrinsic to the original installation in 2023 and hasn't been caused by anything that has happened since.

Aylesbury_Duck

On the balance of probabilities, a pipework join that has been watertight for two years and started dripping a few weeks after the boiler was serviced, would point to something done at the service.  It's possible it wasn't a great join (albeit watertight) and the latest service has disturbed it, but at this stage I don't think you can pin blame on the original fitter.  More information and a diagnosis is needed because as it stands, plumber A has reasonable grounds to rebuff any claim you make.

winkowinko

Thanks for your replies. 

The leak started at some point after plumber B serviced the boiler. How soon after, I can't be sure. But it was pretty damp in the cupboard when I spotted it last week, so it could have been going on for some weeks.

I agree that if you focus solely on the timing of the events, it looks like plumber B may have caused it

However, for the avoidance of doubt, the elbow joint in question is external from the boiler casing itself, and about 10cm away from it, tucked away towards the side/back corner of the cupboard. The chances of the soldered joint being accidentally damaged during a service seems highly unlikely to me.

Aylesbury_Duck

Yes, but movement of the unit during the last service could have disturbed the pipe run and breached an already less-then-perfect joint. A small movement at one end of a pipe would exert leverage on a joint 10cm away.  That's why I don't think you'd get anywhere with either plumber at this stage.  There's enough doubt to give each of them reason to point to the other as the cause of the leak.

Your options at this stage are to pay the bill and be done with it, or dispute it and see what comes back.  They may relent, drop the cost as a gesture, or continue to demand the full fee.