Jeremy Harris Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I have a feeling I'm being taken for a ride. The chap we've used for around 15 years or so to service our boiler retired a year or so ago, and now the house is up for sale I've been advised that I need to provide evidence of an up-to-date service, which is fair enough. I've witnessed every service on this boiler, and on average it's taken under an hour, and has essentially been a visual inspection inside the boiler, a flue gas check, gas pressure check and a quick test to make sure the controls are working. If asked the chap would also have checked and cleaned the Magnaclean and topped up the inhibitor, but I usually do that every year anyway, so that's never been included. I can't remember what we used to pay, but I'm pretty sure it was well under £100. I asked around last week to try and find someone to come out and do a service and check, and those that have come back so far are looking for well North of £200. I reckon this is OTT, but maybe I've just been getting a good deal from the chap I've been using for years. The boiler in question is a wall mounted and easy to access Vaillant EcoTec Plus 831, with just a single wired programmable thermostat. Everything is easy to access, and nothing needs to be moved to get at either the boiler or the Magnaclean, which is mounted on the wall next to it. Am I just out of touch with boiler servicing costs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 (edited) 54 minutes ago, JSHarris said: The chap we've used for around 15 years or so to service our boiler retired a year or so ago, and now the house is up for sale I've been advised that I need to provide evidence of an up-to-date service, which is fair enough. I am surprised a rebel like you accepted that statement at face value. I sold a house two years ago and all I needed to provide was the original gas installation certifications and another cert for an external mains electric spur. Edited June 23, 2018 by epsilonGreedy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hecateh Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I pay about £75 for mine and the engineer admitted it's easy money 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 2 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: I am surprised a rebel like you accepted that statement at face value. I sold a house two years ago and all I need to provide was the original gas installation certifications and another cert for an external mains electric spur. The original installation cert is 9 years old now, and the annual inspection is over due by around 9 months, and is only identified by a sticker on the boiler. It was the estate agent that advised that the buyers solicitor would almost certainly ask for evidence that the boiler was safe, so as it's over due for a service I thought it worth doing, just for peace of mind. 3 minutes ago, Hecateh said: I pay about £75 for mine and the engineer admitted it's easy money That's the sort of figure that I remember from the old chap that used to do ours, and you're right, it is money for old rope for a relatively modern boiler. He'd spend more time having a chat and a cup of tea than doing anything worthwhile, as apart from the gas pressure check and the flue gas check (which it passed every time) the only other thing he did was a visual inspection plus a check that it fired up when a hot tap was opened or the programmer/thermostat was switched to call for heat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 3 minutes ago, JSHarris said: The original installation cert is 9 years old now, and the annual inspection is over due by around 9 months, and is only identified by a sticker on the boiler. It was the estate agent that advised that the buyers solicitor would almost certainly ask for evidence that the boiler was safe, so as it's over due for a service I thought it worth doing, just for peace of mind. My house was 15 years old when I sold it. The boiler worked faultlessly from new build for 8 years until It had its first service. The clot who did this broke a vane on some case fan and so for the next 7 years the boiler sounded like a jet engine spinning up. I did not bother with servicing after that. In 15 years total maintenance costs were 1 damaging service, 1 faulty solenoid valve and the new main circuit board. I am not aware of any legislation regarding a requirement for annual servicing in non rental properties. There was no expectation from the buyer's solicitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Most estate agents exclude any appliance details as they can then not be sued for misrepresentation. Surveyors ignore them too - had a survey on a repo and had to advise the surveyor the flue was missing from the boiler ...! A gas service is as good as the day it was done - I would just ignore them and if a solicitor asks then they can get it done and give them £150 off the price ... it’s not a legal requirement for selling, only for renting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stones Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Presumably any prospective buyer would factor in whether or not a boiler had been serviced or not in making their offer. When we sold our last house our heat pump hadn't been 'serviced' officially but I was able to show the buyer all of the checks that formed part of a 'service'. he was happy and the solicitors weren't interested. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Servicing a boiler doesn't mean it's safe. A gas safety certificate can be generated ( £40 initial plus £10 per additional appliance eg £50 if a boiler is the only gas burning appliance £60 if there's a gas hob etc etc ) so I think you need to be more specific. Changing the oil and filter on your car says nothing about whether the brakes are knackered or not . If your saying change of £250 my guy could come from Swansea to do it and still make money !?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 (edited) I think £80-100 might be reasonable as a one off in the South West depending slightly on notice and distance. Mine here charges 60-80 inc VAT depending on whether it is a back boiler or not, and we have a lot of gas engineers in the area. Edited June 23, 2018 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I was looking for a regular house to buy up until 5 months ago and realized that a majority of homes for sale had some manifest problem even to my untrained eye. No sane buyer is going to pass on a decent house for want of boiler maintenance just 9 months overdue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 So it sounds like there's confusion on the part of the agent (doesn't surprise me!). It's 18 years since we sold a house, and practically every house we've bought or sold in the past 35 years was managed via my employers relocation scheme, so I never needed to get involved with anything other than answering questions on a form usually. The one sale and purchase we did ourselves was the nightmare one with the rubbish NHBC warranty and the lawyer that failed to find out that there was an outstanding planning enforcement notice on the house. It looks as if I'd be better just getting a gas safety cert, as that is most probably what would be needed. I almost certainly need an electrical installation chit as well, as the house has an old metal consumer unit with wired fuses and no RCD. I was tempted to swap the CU over for a new one, but the house is wired throughout with pre-harmonisation cable (including a couple of extra outlets I've fitted (using my "new old stock" cable...). The only exception to the cable colours is one run of cable from the isolating switch to the boiler, which the installer changed over for a new cable when the boiler was fitted. I think I'll spend an hour or so going around the house testing all the outlets, just to make sure there are no surprises, although with no RCD the testing will really just be to check that the rings aren't open anywhere, the neutrals aren't crossed and the earths are all good. The house only has two power rings plus a lighting ring and a cooker spur, so isn't exactly arduous to test. I've already ripped out the redundant electric shower and immersion spurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hecateh Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I've been told that some building societies/banks ask for it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 5 minutes ago, Hecateh said: I've been told that some building societies/banks ask for it. That makes a lot of sense, and may well be why the estate agent mentioned getting one done beforehand, to save any delay (we've stressed that we want to sell the house quickly). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Would a buyer want a "boiler service" or a "gas safety certificate"? I paid £75 for a gas safety certificate when we let or old house, and that was money for old rope, took them no longer than an hour, though why it needed 2 people is beyond me. I would suspect that is what most buyers want, to know the gas installation is safe and does not leak. You can show the boiler working if they ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 15 minutes ago, ProDave said: Would a buyer want a "boiler service" or a "gas safety certificate"? I paid £75 for a gas safety certificate when we let or old house, and that was money for old rope, took them no longer than an hour, though why it needed 2 people is beyond me. I would suspect that is what most buyers want, to know the gas installation is safe and does not leak. You can show the boiler working if they ask. I'm not sure, but I think a safety certificate is most likely. As @Hecateh mentioned above, it may well be something that's driven by the lenders, so I may as well just get a gas safety chit and and elec installation chit to cover both bases. I've done a quick check on both ring finals and they look fine, just need to get up and do the lighting ring and a few earth checks and if there's nothing amiss then I'll disconnect and remove any sign of the illicit garage power feed (I installed that years ago and it's got no sign off at all) and get my friendly electrician in to do an EIC, or whatever the equivalent is for an existing installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMagic Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Was asked exactly the same question when we sold our last house - didn't have any paperwork due to some over zealous pre-move cleaning. I basically replied saying that we don't have anything to hand but if the purchaser wanted it then I'm happy for them to arrange and pay for an engineer to take a look Nothing happened after that and the sale still went through at the original asking price. I'm pretty sure some of this is just solicitors box ticking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richi Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 @Coopers and I pay ~£70 for a safety cert at our rental properties. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I pay BG ~£40 a month on each of two rental properties for their full service package. Gas boiler servicing and appliance checking comes in with that. Covers pipes, electrics, drains etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 8 hours ago, Onoff said: I pay BG ~£40 a month on each of two rental properties for their full service package. Gas boiler servicing and appliance checking comes in with that. Covers pipes, electrics, drains etc. A grand a year! How much value have you had from that so far ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 £70 sounds about right, and about what I've paid before, IIRC. Two jokers have so far tried to ask for over £200 just to do an annual service, which I know full well is a quick and easy job on this boiler. I'm just going to get safety certs for both the boiler and the electrics, so we're in a position to get the sale done as quickly as we can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Nickfromwales said: A grand a year! How much value have you had from that so far ? It's a convenience thing for me. Plus the houses are a fair way away. G'teed something breaks or goes wrong whilst I'm on holiday. As an aside I used to love having a company car DESPITE paying the tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 8 minutes ago, Onoff said: It's a convenience thing for me. Plus the houses are a fair way away. G'teed something breaks or goes wrong whilst I'm on holiday. As an aside I used to love having a company car DESPITE paying the tax. Have you checked the small print as BG have recently changed the contracts ... pretty sure they have brought in an age limit on boilers so even if it does go wrong you can now end up with a bill .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 11 minutes ago, PeterW said: Have you checked the small print as BG have recently changed the contracts ... pretty sure they have brought in an age limit on boilers so even if it does go wrong you can now end up with a bill .... I'll have a look thanks as one is on its last legs though passed last time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Don’t worry they will replace it for you at a discounted £4K....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Prob is when you go to claim. They send out some guy with a thin magnet, like a tiny business card, and if it sticks to the pipework and indicates high waterborne ferrous content they'll refuse you. Every two years you could buy a brand new combi for one property. Put the money in a bank account by standing order and pay a plumber a callout fee if it ever goes wrong ? When was the last time you claimed ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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