British Gas HomeCare cover
Discussion
I'm also wondering about this. Got an old boiler and dont want to pay out loads if/when it goes wrong.
We've used the one off fee service before and we were very happy with it. Only problem with ours is its over 7 years old. They have a clause which states if it is over 7 years old and its deemed unfixable, they dont need to fix it. Makes me think they will just use that as an excuse to keep my money and not fix it!
We've used the one off fee service before and we were very happy with it. Only problem with ours is its over 7 years old. They have a clause which states if it is over 7 years old and its deemed unfixable, they dont need to fix it. Makes me think they will just use that as an excuse to keep my money and not fix it!
Worth it for peace of mind 'cos boilers can be expensive to repair if it all goes the way of the pear, but don't expect any great service in the middle of the night.
All they're obliged to do is make the system 'safe'. Which basically means disabling it entirely. Which meant my Wife was left in an unheated house for three days while she was pregnant because thew grunt had forgotten to action the call. And that was just because of a split diaphragm.
(The broken boiler that is, not the pregnancy!!)
All they're obliged to do is make the system 'safe'. Which basically means disabling it entirely. Which meant my Wife was left in an unheated house for three days while she was pregnant because thew grunt had forgotten to action the call. And that was just because of a split diaphragm.
(The broken boiler that is, not the pregnancy!!)
HRG said:
It's an insurance policy, in the long run you'll pay more in than you get out. Personally I wouldn't bother.
Doesn't that depend on what goes wrong with your boiler?Like other posters, I've certainly had more than I've put in over the years.
Edited by el stovey on Monday 17th November 09:44
el stovey said:
HRG said:
It's an insurance policy, in the long run you'll pay more in than you get out. Personally I wouldn't bother.
Doesn't that depend on what goes wrong with your boiler?Like other posters, I've certainly had more than I've put in over the years.
Edited by el stovey on Monday 17th November 09:44
it's down to personal preferences but I prefer money in the bank as I never refuse myself a payout.
giw12 said:
My plumber's opinion is that for a combi it's definitely worth it but for anything else not worth the money. Combis are complex and can be very costly to fix.
Oh yes indeed. I've had BG cover since they installed the boiler (its a monster size combi). 18 months after they fitted it some minor part failed and spewed water all over the electronics. £400 of replacement parts plus a few hours of labour later its all working again. Same part is leaking again now (12 months after last repair) so I will be having them out again shortly. Looks like this part is a weak link in the system and will be costing them a lot over the next few years.
HRG said:
It's an insurance policy, in the long run you'll pay more in than you get out. Personally I wouldn't bother.
Yes, we've had it for seven years, and now pay some £25 a month, and we've called them out three or four times, maybe £800 worth of service. One such incident was a blocked sewerage downpipe, and the poor bugger who fixed it, on a bank holiday afternoon, got sprayed with our liquid effluent when he cut a pipe open. 
BUT, I work overseas for half the year, so I don't want to leave the family in the poo if something goes tits up while I'm away.
I have it for peace of mind, not to save money.
illmonkey said:
When is the free service done? Beginning of the term? Half way? etc
I think calling it a service is stretching a point. In our case bloke comes round in van and sticks a meter in the exhaust flu. Yep thats ok he says. Looks at the boiler without actually touching anything. Yep thats ok. And thats it. Leaves a report stating that we are missing a CO detector and should buy one from them (this was logged as a fault and the only one he found).Funny that, as:
1. The only gas appliance we have is the boiler. Its in the garage. There is no gas feed or appliance anywhere else in the house. The garage is very well ventilated
2. We DO have a CO detector fitted, supplied FOC by British Gas when they fitted the boiler. He just never looked to see.
bigdods said:
giw12 said:
My plumber's opinion is that for a combi it's definitely worth it but for anything else not worth the money. Combis are complex and can be very costly to fix.
Oh yes indeed. I've had BG cover since they installed the boiler (its a monster size combi). 18 months after they fitted it some minor part failed and spewed water all over the electronics. £400 of replacement parts plus a few hours of labour later its all working again. Same part is leaking again now (12 months after last repair) so I will be having them out again shortly. Looks like this part is a weak link in the system and will be costing them a lot over the next few years.
barney123 said:
bigdods said:
giw12 said:
My plumber's opinion is that for a combi it's definitely worth it but for anything else not worth the money. Combis are complex and can be very costly to fix.
Oh yes indeed. I've had BG cover since they installed the boiler (its a monster size combi). 18 months after they fitted it some minor part failed and spewed water all over the electronics. £400 of replacement parts plus a few hours of labour later its all working again. Same part is leaking again now (12 months after last repair) so I will be having them out again shortly. Looks like this part is a weak link in the system and will be costing them a lot over the next few years.
bigdods said:
barney123 said:
bigdods said:
giw12 said:
My plumber's opinion is that for a combi it's definitely worth it but for anything else not worth the money. Combis are complex and can be very costly to fix.
Oh yes indeed. I've had BG cover since they installed the boiler (its a monster size combi). 18 months after they fitted it some minor part failed and spewed water all over the electronics. £400 of replacement parts plus a few hours of labour later its all working again. Same part is leaking again now (12 months after last repair) so I will be having them out again shortly. Looks like this part is a weak link in the system and will be costing them a lot over the next few years.
Its in our garage but not noticed any drips, not had any other problems with it- apparently its a known issue that when turned off the fan seizes a bit after a while, then when turned back on the circuit board overloads and blows.
Had a problem with mine which cost £200 to fix heating engineer recon I will get another 2 years out of it max before I have to buy a new one. My initial thoughts was this homecare cover heating guy said they wouldn't cover it so it looks like the £17 a month will be saved up and hopefully when it eventually dies I will have the money to replace it.
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