adelka Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Hi there, We would be very grateful for any advice on this: We sold our house and 1 month after moving in our solicitor received a letter from the buyers solicitor, that they had to replace the hot water cylinder and sent us a bill for £1200. The house is only 3 years old and so is the hot water tank. We never had a problem with it, they claim it must have been leaking for months. We never experienced any of this! We were honest about any faults any got everything replaced / repaired what was broken. The buyer had only the mortgage survey done. They didn't contact us when apparently the problem occured, so we didn't have a chance for independent verification. Do you know what we can do? Our solicitor says if we refuse to pay, they can take us to court. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlinkTooFast Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 First of all I would phone a local plumber and ask for a quote for installing a new hot water tank. A quick look on Google Shopping shows a huge selection at £250, and I struggle to imagine it is more than a 3 hour job at £50/hour Water tanks for sale here Assuming this nets out at where I am estimating, you've now got a battle over £400 rather than £1200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vested Disinterest Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I'm a bit surprised you're not asking your solicitor this question! To me it sounds like a fishing expedition (for your £1200 cheque). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyracantha Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Hi there, We would be very grateful for any advice on this: We sold our house and 1 month after moving in our solicitor received a letter from the buyers solicitor, that they had to replace the hot water cylinder and sent us a bill for £1200. The house is only 3 years old and so is the hot water tank. We never had a problem with it, they claim it must have been leaking for months. We never experienced any of this! We were honest about any faults any got everything replaced / repaired what was broken. The buyer had only the mortgage survey done. They didn't contact us when apparently the problem occured, so we didn't have a chance for independent verification. Do you know what we can do? Our solicitor says if we refuse to pay, they can take us to court. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! What's in your contract? What does your solicitor say about the likelihood you will lose? IMO your solicitor is meant to ensure the contract is written in such a way that reasonable faults should be covered for a reasonable period of time and no more. This sounds unreasonable. Your solicitor needs to stand up to the buyers and not try to fleece you for more money. If no joy there - is there a senior partner? Have you tried citizens advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny5thumbs Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 (edited) Hi there, We would be very grateful for any advice on this: We sold our house and 1 month after moving in our solicitor received a letter from the buyers solicitor, that they had to replace the hot water cylinder and sent us a bill for £1200. The house is only 3 years old and so is the hot water tank. We never had a problem with it, they claim it must have been leaking for months. We never experienced any of this! We were honest about any faults any got everything replaced / repaired what was broken. The buyer had only the mortgage survey done. They didn't contact us when apparently the problem occured, so we didn't have a chance for independent verification. Do you know what we can do? Our solicitor says if we refuse to pay, they can take us to court. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Have they good grounds for believing that the cylinder "must have been leakin g for months" ? For example, were there any stains, rust marks, signs of dripping / damp patches etc. that would have ordinarily been noticeable that their solr. can justify the claim that you must have been aware when you completed the p.i.f. ? Certainly they can take you to court, but I think they have to prove that you completed the p.i.f. incorrectly. This is why I always preface all p.i.f. answers with "as far as I am aware" and "to the best of my knowledge" to be on the safe side. Did you state that the cylinder was fully working? Edited May 20, 2011 by johnny5thumbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
long time lurking Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Did your house have a hot water storage tank ?I ask as if it is only 3years old I would have thought it would have had a combi boiler which dose not use a storage tank Is it not the job of there surveyor to check this ? I would tell them where to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim123 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I'm a bit surprised you're not asking your solicitor this question! To me it sounds like a fishing expedition (for your £1200 cheque). You seem to have missed "Our solicitor says if we refuse to pay, they can take us to court" tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepwello'nights Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 You seem to have missed "Our solicitor says if we refuse to pay, they can take us to court" tim The onus will be on them to prove that you knew the cylinder was faulty and misled them over it's condition. They will have an uphill battle to persuade the judge that you knowingly misled them over, what is in the context of a house purchase, such a trivial issue. The worst that can happen if they take this as far as court; because of the small amount involved it is likely to be a small claims action so you can appear for yourself, it will not be necessary to engage a solicitor; will be that the court finds in their favour. County courts deal with all these types of claim. You will sometimes hear people talk about the 'small claims court'. What they really mean is the special procedure for handling smaller claims in a county court. If so you will be ordered to pay for the replacement of the water cylinder. If that happens provided you pay the judgement in full within 30 days there will be no record of the judgement on your credit history. It is unlikely to be worth them taking the risk of losing and incurring the court fees, let alone any costs of legal representation. These are not generally recoverable apart from a minimal amount in a small claims action. IMHO they are trying to scare you into paying. I would simply write to them and say that because the house is so new you were unaware of any defects and had experienced no problems with the water cylinder at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flybait Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Our solicitor says if we refuse to pay, they can take us to court. Firstly, if this really is the case then your solicitor is very bad. Did the buyers or their solicitor explicitly ask about the condition of the boiler? Is so, how did you answer? If the buyers did not get a survey then they have not conducted their due diligence. There are usually clauses that state the vendor is answering questions to the best of their knowledge as non-experts and that prospective buyers should seek independent and expert assessments. If your contract of sale didn't have these then again, your solicitor is bad and something you should keep in mind for next time. I'm not a lawyer but based on our recent purchase the buyers face an uphill battle. They would need to prove that you intentionally mislead them. Without independent verification (ie. Surveyors report) that would be difficult for them. If I were in your shoes and what you have posted here is accurate then I would refuse to pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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