British Gas Homecare - Boiler Replacement?

[Blown2CV]

I've got a BG contract for heating, plumbing, electrics (homecare 400), and the combi boiler was installed before I bought the house. I reckon it is about 12 years old. It has never worked that well, and fails regularly. BG have been out maybe 20 times over the 7 years since I moved in. Faults centre around pump jamming and switch failure (the bit that sends the water either to the taps or the radiators). At what point do they just give in and replace the boiler or do they not do that anymore?

I had a new bathroom put in maybe 4 years ago, and the plumber did a system flush as part of that, but the last couple of times BG has been out they reckon that sludge is causing the issues now. Surely sludge wouldn't accumulate to the point of jamming the pump in just that short period of time? Anyway I have a proper BG powerflush booked for Wednesday. I know there is an argument that it is a bit of a rip-off, but they do guarantee it, and I'd rather not pay half the cost to some idiot plumber who doesn't do it right (as with last time).

[surfymark]

I had a lot of issues with BG's Homecare thingy a few years back. I had 20 callouts in about 3 weeks.

The BG guys were absolutely useless!

I asked at the time at what point they just replaced the boiler and was told that they would not replace the boiler over a certain age. I forget the age but mine was only about 5 years old at the time I think.

They offered to fit a new one if I paid for it but they would not replace it under the agreement.

I ended up dumping them and getting a local plumber in who fixed the issue on the spot, first time for very little money!

HTH
M

[Blown2CV]

they wouldn't replace a boiler over 5 years old?! Sounds like a con as their Ts&Cs say that they only replace if not economically viable or no parts availability. Under 5 years surely that's very unlikely. I have kicked off to them anyway.

[moles]

12 year old boiler no chance it will be replaced!, and yes if a system is full of sludge it will block in a short space of time. A water sample from the system will confirm if sludge is present or not.

[Blown2CV]

there is definitely sludge in there! The most recent pump jam was because it was full of sludge according to the BG engineer. How long does it take for that amount of sludge to accumulate? Most of the rads are less than 5 years old, and i supposedly had a flush done about 4 years ago. Is that to be expected?!

[bigandclever]

I wonder if you'd get more replies in Homes, Gardens and DIY

[Blown2CV]

bigandclever said:

I wonder if you'd get more replies in Homes, Gardens and DIY

haha oops, i did mean to put it there. mods??

[TX1]

I think BG guarantee the power flush for a lifetime if not mistaken, the length of time you live in that house.
Around £700, not cheap but the guarantee probably would sway me.

[Blown2CV]

TX1 said:

I think BG guarantee the power flush for a lifetime if not mistaken, the length of time you live in that house.
Around £700, not cheap but the guarantee probably would sway me.

that was my thinking. £599 for my house.

[moles]

If it is sludged up then yes its worth it, sludge is the worst thing you can have in a system and causes more breakdowns than anything else.