It never rains but it pours.

Court summons arrives in the post at 11:45, central heating
boiler goes bang at 17:30.

Vaillant ecotec 831 boiler fitted less than 5 years ago.

Faults to date ...

Design fault, a rubber ring to be replaced by a graphite ring.

Design fault, a pressure sensor gives up the ghost.

2 weeks after guaranteee expires, the change-over valve fails
but exhibits water leak that has been there for months. Vaillant
refuse to honour under the guarantee.

Vaillant pressure us to take out extended warranty, which we do
because of change-over valve replaced. When the small print comes, it
specifically excludes any faults that existed before the guarantee
so cancel the policy immediately.

Thermostat fails requiring use of manual override.

Yesterday, rubber expansion joint fails. Emergency engineer says that
it is another design fault having a rubber hose next to the heat exchanger,
and that replacement will be a telescoping metal joint.

The emergency engineer says that our experiences both with Vaillant and
with theor boilers are commonplace, and that he always recommend
Worcester boilers.

Moral : Don't buy a Vaillant boiler, not only are they crap but Vaillant
have a predatory attitude towards customers' bank balances.