Problems with buyers/boiler claim

[thisonebreath]

We sold our house and moved 31st May. Back in March we had the boiler serviced and safety checked as there had been a problem with it losing pressure. We were told a new pump might be needed or it could just go along and keep being topped up. We relayed all of this info to the solicitors and offered to go halves on the cost/reflect in house price. It passed checks and we forwarded docs to solicitors. They never got back to us about this.

A couple of days after we moved we had a phone call from the estate agents to say that the boiler had leaked everywhere and wasn't working at all.

Today we've had a letter via solicitors saying they've had a plumber out, it's broken with problems not connected to the pressure issue, can't stop leak and needs to be replaced. It also states that this looks like it has been going on for a while! And that we've withheld info.

I swear we've had no problems other than the pressure issue - we would have noticed, and not lived with, water flooding out all the time. My girls had baths the night before and the hot water was working on moving day as I used it to clean house/mop floors. There definitely was no leak (certainly no obvious leak) on moving day. I even showed the new owner how to top the pressure up just before we left.

Firstly, do they have any comeback? They're trying to claim cost of new boiler from us. Secondly, I'm really upset that our integrity is being questioned - that's basically saying I looked them in the face and lied!

I also don't recall them getting a survey done? I'm sure nobody came round. I feel quite upset about it, DH is saying not to worry as we know we've done nothing wrong... But I'm not sure if we could prove it was working on the day of moving.

It's a buyer beware system - if they didn't check it, that's not your problem. Also not your problem if it broke after they moved in.

Don't worry about it!

(Property solicitor )

P.S. my post assumes you're in England/Wales!

You could send a copy of the march inspection report but I would check with your solicitor or insurance company first to see if you actually need to do anything, they should have had a survey or independent inspection done themselves especially as you informed them of the pressure issue. Maybe they should claim it on their insurance or boiler cover

Yes, we're in England. I get quite anxious and was already stressing that it had a bit of an issue with the pressure - I must have checked about 10 times that DH had definitely told the solicitors! If it had needed replacing we would have either had it done or lowered the price.

But what about the report they've sent from plumber/engineer that states it's been happening for a while? I can't prove it was fine when we moved out, even though it was.

How long is a while , how can he possibly know how long it's been leaking. Do you have any proof that it's even leaking. When do they claim they first noticed the leak, the day they moved in.?.

They claim they turned it off the day the moved in, just after we left, stayed somewhere else that night and came back the next day to find it had leaked. The pipes under the boiler have a removable wooden cover which rested on the worktop, they've sent a photo of the bottom which looks a bit black which they say is proof that it's been leaking.

So where the cover has been sitting on side, they say has been sitting in water leaking from boiler. I suppose it may have got damp from wiping sides?

And they haven't been clear about how long a while might have been. I really can't see that it started leaking sometime after March and we never noticed, not when they said water was everywhere. :(

If they turned the boiler or the water off the day they moved in how could it have leaked. Maybe the black is from cleaning down the worktop. Where is it supposed to be leaking from, a pipe, have you got proof of that, not that you need it. Who turns the boiler off the day they move in, surely most people leave it on and check the hot water and heating.

No proof apart from a quote from a plumber for new boiler and stating that it had clearly not been working for a while. Apparently it's the temperature sensor and leaks from central heating isolation cocks? (No idea what that means).

Hopefully there is someone here who knows about plumbing, try not to worry, you had it checked and it was in full working order in March.

Hi
Firstly we had water pressure dropping from out boiler and it took nearly 12 months for the leak to become apparent. We also topped up the water regularly.

But - it isn't buyer beware. You showed them the report and they didn't request a further inspection. That's their choice! They are being cheeky.