Anything legally I could do about this to claim repair bills back from them or something?

My central heating didn’t come on last week, went downstairs to find the pilot light out. Couldn’t get it re-lit so called a plumber in. When he took apart the boiler to have a look he noticed the overheat stat (the thing that stops it from overheating and potentially causing fires etc) was broken, but rather than replace it the previous owners had just bypassed it with a few wires so they could continue using the boiler.

I wouldn’t mind and chalk it up to experience (it’s my first house, didn’t even think to check the boiler would be bodged together like this!), but it’s going to cost £200 in parts/labour due to Glow Worm apparently charging about 3x as much as other companies for their spares. Could really use that £200 elsewhere in the house!

You really should have asked for a Gas Safe inspection on the boiler and an electricity safety inspection before purchasing.

Unfortunately I think you’ll be stuck with the bill unless they have specifically stated somewhere in a legal document it is of sound installation.

chalk it up to experience

It’s a bit of a bummer, but for the sake of £200, this is what I think you should do.

And, given that it’s a boiler issue, £200 isn’t the end of the world. It could be far more ££ than that.

Shouldn’t the solicitor asked for a gas check? Mine did, albeit the plumber shouldn’t have issued a certificate!

How long have you lived there?

Are you in England or Scotland?

I think you have 7 days in Scotland to report it, think you might be stuffed in England.

scat ’em up – it’s the future of housebuying

I’ve been here about a month now.

Buyer beware.
Your responsibility to check these things (and in Scotland there is a clause in contracts, subject to you checking before purchase).
Move on.

Get it fully inspected and made safe. Forget about the previous owners and do it right yourself.

How long ago did you buy?

I’d be far more interested in finding out who did the work. Afterall, unless YOU know how a boiler works how could you bodge it as a homeowner?

Approach the last owner (DONT ask for money) and find who did the work for them then report them to Corgi and/or your local council.

I did with a gas engineer.

Houses cost money. If you get away with only spending £200 in the first few months then you are doing well. As long as it doesn’t turn into money pit just enjoy the benefits of being a home owner

Ask your solicitor how they answered the standard questions about the boiler servicing

Does anyone actually get these things checked as part of a survey though ?

I would chalk it down to experience and feel relieved that it failed in the way it did, rather than in a more serious manner.

I’m afraid that discovering the previous owners bodges is all part of the ‘fun’ of a new house. I can sympathise though when it’s a dangerous and/or expensive to put right bodge.

We bought a Victorian house – there were a 150 years worth of bodges.

Even the blokes who built it fitted the skirting boards before plastering so every time you pulled one off the bottom 6 inches of plaster came with it.

The bloke who papered it originally had drawn sailing ships all over the walls in the lounge too.

If it was some botched DIY or something then I agree that you just have to lump it.

But aren’t boilers a bit different.

When we sold our house recently we were supposed to provide a load of paperwork to prove the boiler was safe and had been serviced etc. But the boiler had been fitted by an acuaintance of ours (who was corgi registered) who hadn’t given us the correct paper work so we couldn’t provide it to the solicitor. This mean the buyer had someone check it over at our cost.

I suspect if the vendors in this case have lied on their submission to the solicitors about this then they are in the wrong. The only way to know if you have any comeback would be to ask your solicitor.

However I suspect the answer may be “technically yes, you have a some comeback over the vendor” but to pursue those rights may be more hassle than having to pay £200 to fix it and move on.

I would chalk it down to experience and feel relieved failed in the way it did, rather than in a more serious manner.

This. We moved in to a house a few months back and after knocking down an internal wall, we noticed that most of the electrics in the kitchen was extension leads under cabinets; nothing as it should be. Wouldn’t have been picked up in any survey/etc, lucky the house hasn’t burnt down to be honest.

Anything legally I could do about this to claim repair bills back from them or something?

Just about zero, I would think.

If you’re only spending £200, count yourself lucky…

Suck it up….. if the only fault you can find with your ‘new’ house is going to cost £200 to fix then you’ve got away lightly.

Buyer beware +1
I’m afraid you’ll have to suck it up. As others have said , if that’s the least of your worries I’d be happy.
We just moved into a new ( 110 year old) house two weeks ago and I’m finding ancient bodges(gas & electrical) which would now be illegal, daily….. 🙁
The joys of home ownership…

Ok thanks for the help! I thought as much.

Even if you did have it checked over, I doubt they’d have pulled it apart looking for an over ridden thermostat…..

Wouldn’t have thought so.

When we purchased our house last year, the day we got the keys and walked in there was a smell of gas. Emergency gas man came around and condemned the boiler until we got someone out to fix it.

During the purchase the solicitor requested gas certificates and the boiler had been serviced annually by British Gas. However, when I phoned her to ask if there was any comeback as they must of known there was a leak she didn’t seem to want to help.

Ask your solicitor how they answered the standard questions about the boiler servicing

This. Though for £200, probably not worth it.

Have you searched online for the exact part you need? I normally find quite a difference between the part price quoted by plumbers and the online price. You have to make sure it’s exactly the right part though.

£200 is nowt for a boiler repair, at least you didn’t have to buy a new one.

We got quoted £400 to fix our boiler when we moved in (from a ‘reputable’ company recommended through a MTB FB group). A quick search cuggested they were expensive so got a 2nd opinion. There was no obvious fault but a change of a heat sensor and adjusting the pressures sorted it out.

The only recompense would be if as part of the exchange they provided a certificate for safe installation then you may have some come back on the installer.

Most parts eg pressure sensors or switches are about £15 – £20. A new control circuit board can be £100-£200.

Be grateful.

I bought a house and skimped on the checks. First day after moving in got a guy out to check the boiler. Whole system botched, boiler sited illegally etc. £1300 to get put right.

Caveat emptor. Easy to try and cut corners when buying a house. Next time round I looked at the boiler when I was looking round, saw it’s condition and mentally deducted (another) £2k from my offer….

Whole system botched, boiler sited illegally etc. £1300 to get put right.

Remember that regulation change quite often. the boiler location may well have been fine when it was installed but fallen foul of new jobsworth regulations.
These things are bread and butter to certain trades.

_tom_ the first thing I would be doing now, is checking the electrics are safe to your property too, if the previous owner has botched the boiler they might have also messed with your electrics too!

Must agree £200, is not a big bill when it comes to boiler repairs, not much fun though when you have moved into your first home.

Erm…

I Vendors sold bought me a house with an bodged together/unsafe old boiler and now I realise I’ve got to pay for maintenance and repairs

Shocking 🙄

And to add that the engineer would be looking at charging about £50 minimum to cover their costs – this would be based on their time to do the intitial diagosis (probably free, on spec) plus the time to fix. Therefore working out at about £20 per hour + expenses.

Therefore £200 is probably £100 in parts (easily clocked upp) and £100 in labour / other costs.

We bought a Victorian house – there were a 150 years worth of bodges.

Even the blokes who built it fitted the skirting boards before plastering so every time you pulled one off the bottom 6 inches of plaster came with it.

don’t know the reason why, but that was standard practice, my house is exactly the same. Although, I am still confused why I found a 1914 newspaper stuffed behind a 1890 skirting board that shows no evidence of ever having been removed previously.

caveat emptor, I hope you didn’t pay for it using paypal gift?
😉

I am still confused why I found a 1914 newspaper stuffed behind a 1890 skirting board that shows no evidence of ever having been removed previously

It was probably re-plastered in 1914, and the newspaper was stuffed down a gap at the back of the skirting to stop plaster going down it. It may also have been skimmed a few times and so the plaster has built up beyond the edge of the skirting.

I found a newspaper dating 1855 behind a skirting board in our Victorian house (built 1838).

It had reports of the Crimean War. The first Crimean War, that is.

The first Crimean War, that is.

Or the good old days as we like to call it 😉

People hate ’em, but British Gas do a fixed price boiler repair service, might be worth gettng them to take a look. Boiler repair we had done ended up replacing quite a lot of the elctronic gubbins and we paid one fixed fee (about £165 I think)

We just moved into a new ( 110 year old) house two weeks ago and I’m finding ancient bodges(gas & electrical) which would now be illegal, daily

Bet no one has died or even been injured in those 110 years though

Only two houses I have owned have been victorian, just the way things were done then. I had a boiler fitted about fifteen years ago, since then regs changed and got issued with a dangerous notice type thing. So it was ok then, but now potentially lethal, yeah right.

Same as having to pay some sort of money to the council when you fit new windows, why? No doubt if I ever sell a buyer would want all sorts of paperwork for work done donkeys years ago, just doesn’t exist and no idea why its deemed so important.

Trouble is when things go wrong the internet will tell Joe Bloggs how to fix it,might not be right but thats how it is.Therefore anyone could have rigged the boiler,would an engineer have profited more than the owner?

The simple fact is. You don’t know who bodged it and you probably never will. Get it safe and move on. It’s just one of those things that **** do to someone they know they will never have to answer to.
Let Karma do the rest.
Edit. This is based on the realisation that it would be near impossible to prove intent or malice on the part of your vendor.