No payout for me then (banks win case)

Soul - its godamn awful i agree, but several decades ago you would have had no choice but to have SAVED up the cash to pay for the boiler repair. No other option existed.

I agree but i wasn't alive until 86 and didn't have a bank account until at least 99 so i fail to see how that's relevant. You also fail to see the fact that November / December are pretty shitty times not to have a boiler. Especially if said boiler heats your water & house.