Buyers threatening small claims court 14 months after completion

[KentishMama]

We sold a house last year. This week, our conveyancing firm received a letter from the buyer's solicitors threatening to take us to court to recover cost for replacing the (oil) boiler for around £6k. Apparently, they've had trouble with the boiler, and their boiler engineer told them that it could only be this bad because we never serviced it. So the letter accuses us of lying on the forms we completed during the sale.

Boiler was new in 2016. Serviced annually. Five-year warranty expired a month after we sold. We passed all paperwork and service records over to the buyers when we sold, although I would guess that our conveyancer has digital copies.

Has anyone had this happen to them? What is this even about? And what should we do?

What @Changedagain876 said.

You will have completed Sellers Property Information form and your answers to that form part of the contract. If thats truthful & you provided the documents (guarantee) and can show it was maintained - I dont think just showing a charge coming out of your account shows it's actually maintained - just respond with those details.

We did fill in that form. We listed details of when the boiler was replaced, what model it was, ticked a box to say it was in good working order, and that it was last serviced in 2020. We did not receive any paperwork after that service, so ticked a box to say "paperwork not available" or similar.

I'm sure the boiler engineer we used can re-issue the invoice for the last service though, or write a letter that says that he completed a service in 2020.

My 2020 paperwork was a bit of a mess - I was in and out of hospital going through cancer treatment, and while I managed to make sure that things like services still happened, my grasp of the paperwork was a bit weaker than in normal years. (Which is also why I really don't need this hassle now.)

@KentishMama Please don't do what @Notbluepeter said.
I know that you shouldn't have to do anything at all, but the Courts look far more favourably on people who have tried to be fair and reasonable. If you reply politely either directly to your purchasers, or their lawyers, with the information you have given us here, then I doubt very much that they would take it any further. They would have nothing to gain, and just more money to lose.

Maybe they are easily manipulated - it does sound as if their plumber is trying to scam them - but they really could not win in court if everything you have said here is correct, and it sounds like it should be. So don't even use your solicitor for this (unless you really want to save yourselves from any hassle at all, and if you can easily afford it). I do hope OP that this gets sorted from your end as soon as they receive your recorded delivery letter.

@KentishMama Reply via your own solicitor, not directly to your buyers or their solicitor.

Your solicitor will have kept photocopies on their file for all the documents you supplied.

If you answered that the boiler was in good working order on the Property Information Form, then providing there was no change to that information before completion, you don't have anything to worry about.

A boiler could go wrong the day after completion, but it is then the new owner's responsibility. Anything could have happened during the period from completion to now, but that is the new owner's problem. If they wanted a new boiler, then they should have bought a new build.

The time for the new buyer/their solicitor to have queried why there was no paperwork for a 2020 service was before exchange, not now.

If they have called a random plumber/oil installer/engineer to fix said boiler, a lot of them will condemn a boiler, because they can't be arsed to fix it. Maybe this is what happened?

^^ this. Evil genius.

You have the proof, let them do what they want.

I have an ancient oil boiler, irregularly serviced by the previous tenants, on a prehistoric tank which must be 1/5th gunk, and no-one's ever suggested replacing the whole thing when they come to do their yearly service/replacement of the fuel pump because gunk's got in again and it's blown (yes, I really should do something proper about that, I know).

I think their plumber saw them coming!

You should ignore this. It's crazy

”We refer you to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram”

lettersofnote.com/2013/08/07/arkell-v-pressdram/

Not really. It’s a known legal tactic and courts have a short tolerance for it.

Get the copies of the Services and anything else and send it to the people who sent you the letter, also send copies to your buyers.

I would send copies of your records to their solicitor with a note saying “We enclose copies of evidence of installation and service as supplied when we completed the paperwork for the sale”

I wouldn’t want to rack up a solicitor bill of my own in responding to this.

I wouldn’t worry though, they don’t stand a chance. Just respond factually to demonstrate that they are wrong.

If you have evidence of servicing ( which you have ) you didn't lie and you can prove it.

Plenty of good advice on here how to respond. It's all about scaring you which it clearly is.

Please Don't worry about it. Absolute chancers wasting their money. They should be spending it on repairing the boiler.

Tell them to fuck off

Is the correct answer.

Usually the estate agent particulars have something along the lines of:

"We aim to make our particulars both accurate and reliable. However they are not guaranteed; nor do they form part of an offer or contract. If you require clarification on any points then please contact us, especially if you’re traveling some distance to view. Please note that appliances and heating systems have not been tested and therefore no warranties can be given as to their good
working order."

They had a chance to do their due diligence during the conveyancing. They didn't, so fuck them.

Go to the solicitor you used during the sale. They should be able to handle this.

If it's an oil boiler I'm mystified by this price. They usually cost much less than that and last several decades. You might have to replace bits here and there, like the fan or the pump, but that's all.

Go through your solicitor. Our buyer came after us for missing building regs on a wood burner we’d had installed. We provided copies of installation material and the plate the fitter left in house with details.

our solicitor pointed out that they’d never raised enquiries on it during the sale and that it was down to their solicitor to do due diligence. Buyers sued their own solicitor instead, but couldn’t help but follow up with a letter to tell us to make sure we had building regs sorted if we were to install one again!

knew they’d try something, as they both commented they didn’t like wood burners when they viewed and how they may change it for a gas one and had the most detailed nit picking survey ever 🙄

Any update @KentishMama

No big update yet. My solicitor has communicated with theirs and shared that everything we said at the time of the sale was true, and that we can prove that the boiler engineer attended in at least 2019 and 2020 for service and maintenance jobs.

Their solicitor answered to say thank you, and that this was helpful information.

Still waiting for engineer to send through copies of invoices.

sigh

have you heard anything from them op