Anyone else have central heating breakdown cover?
Discussion
Fastra said:
We've had cover from British Gas for 20 years now, ranging from £11 to £16 a month.
Over this time we've had a yearly service (on a previous back boiler we were constantly told to change it as it was awful - more recently we're being told that the earth strap on the outside meter needs updating!!!)and various leaks and failed thermostats changed.
But more recently we've had 15 visits to fix a faulty 4 year old Worcester 30si boiler (tripping out when running bath and heating and washing machine are on), and they've now literally re-placed every part they can.
So, I think we've had out moneys worth.
I assume BG fitted the faulty boiler in the first place. At their cost or with a contribution from you ?Over this time we've had a yearly service (on a previous back boiler we were constantly told to change it as it was awful - more recently we're being told that the earth strap on the outside meter needs updating!!!)and various leaks and failed thermostats changed.
But more recently we've had 15 visits to fix a faulty 4 year old Worcester 30si boiler (tripping out when running bath and heating and washing machine are on), and they've now literally re-placed every part they can.
So, I think we've had out moneys worth.
Busa mav said:
I assume BG fitted the faulty boiler in the first place. At their cost or with a contribution from you ?
No, fitted by a local company £1300 cheaper than BG (we had a full new system including rads and pipes).They were fully aware of the change of system and carried on with the maintenance contract.
As I say, it's 4 years old and has been working fine save for the last 6-7 months.
We had a magnetic filter fitted as per their recommendation (they did hint that any further repairs may not be done if one wasn't fitted), as their first diagnostic was sludge in the system - (a 4 year system with new pipe work and fernox from new????!!!!!).
The last few visits have been marathon 6-7 hours jobs with complete strip downs being done and parts replaced, plus many phone calls to Worcester themselves, we now have BG's tech service managers mobile so we can contact him direct should any further problems occur.
But we have also stated that they've no had plenty of opportunity to sort it and we will not waste any more time on any further repairs and only a full replacement will do - he agreed with this.
We also must surely be way past the point of economics where it would, taking into account the cost of labour and parts, it would have been cheaper to replace it 3 months go.
dave_s13 said:
I've noticed our boiler has been a bit ropey in the recent cold weather. It takes too long to get hot and upstairs requires the sink cold tap to be on to get proper hot water for the bath/shower.
Is it just that hot water is flowing too fast to get warm, and turning on the cold tap drops the flow rate?Did it used to work OK? It could just be that the incoming mains pressure is higher and it's more noticeable as the mains water will be very cold at this time of the year.
Alternatively it may be a partially blocked hot water heat exchanger, but normally the boiler would be cycling on and off. If it is that, it could be caused by hard water or by crap in the system so get ready for them to talk about power-flushing etc.
If you call, I'd be more definite about the fault - say the hot water isn't working.
I've called and they're sending someone out but I think the previous post covered it. I've had this before when cold but never did anything about it.
Looks like the boiler is rated for 9litres per minute to get 35deg rise. My flow rate is nearly 14litres per minute! That'll explain it then. I've just partially closed the mains cold water inlet to the boiler and it's slowed the rate a fair bit and now piping hot, very quickly.
So anyway, yes, I've got insurance, going to ring them back and cancel the appointment.
Looks like the boiler is rated for 9litres per minute to get 35deg rise. My flow rate is nearly 14litres per minute! That'll explain it then. I've just partially closed the mains cold water inlet to the boiler and it's slowed the rate a fair bit and now piping hot, very quickly.
So anyway, yes, I've got insurance, going to ring them back and cancel the appointment.
Sheepshanks said:
I think it depends on the boiler - what have you got?
BG came to an old person we help look after who had an old floor standing boiler did and extremely through job, but apparently on modern combi's they've decided taking them apart was causing a lot of problems so all they do is a safety check on emissions etc.
Boilers used to get full of dust when they were taking air from with the house but that doesn't happen with room sealed boilers.
Its a very leaky (O rings grrr) Worcester Bosch - room sealed floor mount combi Hi Flow. Given these b o rings I'm not surprised they dont want to take it apart. BG came to an old person we help look after who had an old floor standing boiler did and extremely through job, but apparently on modern combi's they've decided taking them apart was causing a lot of problems so all they do is a safety check on emissions etc.
Boilers used to get full of dust when they were taking air from with the house but that doesn't happen with room sealed boilers.
Does that also my MOT test is effectively a 'service' too!?
dazwalsh said:
Take what you were paying per month before and bung it into an ISA, call that your boiler repair fund and as long as you don't have a real lemon of a boiler you will soon have a lump sum if you need to replace the thing, and you won't be lining the pockets of some company in the process.
It's one of the few insurances that the premiums don't actually reflect the price of the insured items and in my eyes is a rip off.
I think there really is something in that Daz given a catastrophic boiler repair might cost only' '£600 - I do it with the dog VET 'insurance' and my second car 'warranty' after all and so far so good with a nice pot building in both.It's one of the few insurances that the premiums don't actually reflect the price of the insured items and in my eyes is a rip off.
Defcon5 said:
Not got any cover, nor have I ever had it serviced (house is 6 years old)
Figured I could replace it for 2k, so all it's got to do is last 10 years without exploding and I'm quids in. It it breaks BG and others do fixed price call outs for about 60 quid inc parts and labour
{the wifes paranoia mode ON} Have you got a carbon monoxide detector?Figured I could replace it for 2k, so all it's got to do is last 10 years without exploding and I'm quids in. It it breaks BG and others do fixed price call outs for about 60 quid inc parts and labour
Sheepshanks said:
BG did have some really low pricing but I don't think it was ever that low. They have a range of charges now and it goes up to about £400, I think.
My brother had them out to fix his a few years ago - turned out it was a loose connection and took about 5 secs ha - I'm sure it was about 60 quid. Unless they did it half price because it was such a quick fix or something.And no I don't have a CO detector - hell I don't even have contents insurance for my house ha
Defcon5 said:
My brother had them out to fix his a few years ago - turned out it was a loose connection and took about 5 secs ha - I'm sure it was about 60 quid. Unless they did it half price because it was such a quick fix or something.
I looked it up now and it depends how long it takes. They'll also do it for less if you sign up for a years' breakdown cover: http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/...I'm sure there was a period though were they were doing all repairs for a low fixed fee.
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