Official Free Boilers and Insulation guide discussion
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I applied for a "free" boiler through SSE last April. I had 2 assesors come out as the first one lost some paperwork. After lots of time and phonecalls I had two technical people come out the first one said they may be asbestos in the cupboard where the boiler was going to be but that removal of it would probably be included in the grant and if not they would add on the cost to my contribution towards the boiler. Carrillion who SSE employ to oversee the whole procedure weren't happy with that and sent another assesor out who said we would either have to have the artex ceiling tested (where the suspected asbestos is) and then have it removed or the boiler could be put in a bedroom cupboard. I looked into the cost of testing and removal and it was going to be in excess of £700. Carriliion agreed to the boiler being in the bedroom cupboard but we have now been told we have to contribute £462 towards the cost. This is after being told by the instalation company it would be in the region of £320 plus VAT. I emailed Carrillion to ask what brand of boiler would be fitted as although I don't mind paying towards the cost we are on a low income so it is a lot of money for us and I wanted to know we were getting a reliable boiler. They replied to say it would be a Ideal Logic HE Combi 24KW,and I would have a 2 year warrantee on what has been installed, and this is for all parts and labour that the engineers have fitted. I have looked online and this boiler has very bad reviews so as I have had so many problems with getting to this stage and now they are offering an unreliable boiler I am unsure whether to cancel altogether. Our current boiler although old is reliable and I am reluctant to pay to change it for a new but potentially unreliable boiler. Any advice appreciated!
If I were you, I would stick with the old, reliable one. "If it 'aint broke, why fix it?"
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iwant2savemoney wrote: »Thought I would share my experience......
Live in the Staffordshire area and the local radio (Signal 1) keeps playing a advert for Phoenix gas services for the free boiler scheme, filled the online form in about 2nd week of Jan 2014, 1 week later had a phone call to get a boiler inspection, this was done one week later and also photos of our paper work, 2 weeks after that someone else came to do a house survey, 2 weeks and 1 day after that and brand new Vaillant boiler fitted, also fitted a new magnetic cleaner and remote control panel. so from start to end 6 weeks.
Just wanted to say thanks for this post.
I applied through scottish power for the scheme in first week of January and heard nothing back, and after reading many posts on people's bad experiences i'd put the idea of using the scheme on "the back burner" (no pun intended)
After reading your post i contacted Pheonix on tuesday (4th) by filling in the online form and received a call back last night. They're coming out on wednesday to inspect and see paper work.
So far they've been really efficient, pleasant and helpful, so fingers crossed this continues."A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist." Franklin Jones0 -
Hi all we have a 44 year old Gloworm boiler which all in all has been a damn good one with few problems in the time we have been at this property about 30 or so years.
After contacting a few companies without any real success I contacted Northern Gas a Birmingham based company and I seemed to get a positive response and within a week on the 18th February a guy came out to carryout the initial checks.
He seemed extremely helpful and efficient and filled in heaps of documentation.He wrote down what type of boiler we would receive a Vaillent pro 28 boiler and all the subsequent bits and bobs.
Approx a week later we get a visit from a guy who carried out the relevant energy survey and again very efficient and said on leaving we would get a call when boiler would be fitted.
Ok we thought and set about awaiting a call and as of today still not had one.
Yesterday rang Northern Gas and asked where we were up to.
His reply was vague and I asked him to check.He came back on and said oh it has not been approved yet.
Its now approx. 4 weeks since I made the initial call and was just wondering if anyone was using this company and if so how long from survey to approval.0 -
HI. Has anyone used a company called Northern Gas from Wolverhampton to have a free boiler installed
Thanks Peter0 -
My daughter applied for a new boiler under this scheme. It seemed like an answer to her prayers as her boiler was on its last legs - old and inefficient - and she had just lost all her income.
They did the home energy efficiency assessment and got the facts wrong - eg 3 bedrooms when it should be 4 etc. The boiler they fitted is too small to heat the house, and smaller than the one they replaced. The fitter was dreadful - seemed not to know what he was doing sometimes - forgot to put in the inhibitor, did not fill holes he made in the outside wall....
It is now - 2 months after installation - not working properly.....
In all a total disaster.0 -
So sorry things have gone wrong for your daughter. Unfortunately, she is only one of many, and she needs to contact the energy company she first approached and keep on complaining. A letter to her MP might help, as the scheme is a shambles. I also contacted Citizens Advice who advised me to send a recorded delivery letter to the MD of the installing firm quoting the Sale of Goods and Services Act 1982. They have made a !!!! up and they must put it right. It takes ages to sort out, but well worth the effort. Good Luck. I got there in the end.:jmagicgranny wrote: »My daughter applied for a new boiler under this scheme. It seemed like an answer to her prayers as her boiler was on its last legs - old and inefficient - and she had just lost all her income.
They did the home energy efficiency assessment and got the facts wrong - eg 3 bedrooms when it should be 4 etc. The boiler they fitted is too small to heat the house, and smaller than the one they replaced. The fitter was dreadful - seemed not to know what he was doing sometimes - forgot to put in the inhibitor, did not fill holes he made in the outside wall....
It is now - 2 months after installation - not working properly.....
In all a total disaster.0 -
I've just been through the approval process for a grant with E.on. They then passed me on to a national company called Dyson to do the assessment. Apart from a few foul ups with communication which slowed things down all went well and I was approved. Another assessor came back to plan the work and I finally got a letter stating that they would fit my free boiler for £660!
After a bit of investigation it seems that the reason for this is that the boiler flu goes up through the ceiling before it goes out the side of the bungalow and as a result there is extra cost in a bit of extra flu, but mainly the extra cost of a second person to hold the ladder. I also found that because this boiler is for the scheme the warranty is reduced from 5 years to 2.
As luck would have it I found that my local installer also offered free installations so I got them round for a quote. First the good news, they wouldn't need to charge for the extra person, just the extra pipe, so that would only be around £200 tops (about the cost of the repair we need). They would also be fitting a boiler with a full 5 year warranty. The bad news is that before they could do the work their access to the grant was cut.
Apparently this is the third time this has happened. The first time was when the deadline for the grants was extended and British Gas (who they were working with) pulled everything in house meaning they had to apologise to customers because they could no longer do the work planned. The latest problem was the grant being pulled by the manufacturer they were working with.
It seems that the deadline extension is causing the smaller more flexible installers problems. In my case it means that I don't have access to an installer that is flexible enough to do the work at a sensible price and care about potential return business, just an installer that wants to churn the most profitable installs through as fast as possible and charge a significant amount extra for any slight deviations to a standard job (not to mention skimping on the warranties).
Does anyone know of any grants my local installer could access, or installers with grant access that will do a decent job at a decent price?0 -
I've just been through the approval process for a grant with E.on. They then passed me on to a national company called Dyson to do the assessment. Apart from a few foul ups with communication which slowed things down all went well and I was approved. Another assessor came back to plan the work and I finally got a letter stating that they would fit my free boiler for £660!
After a bit of investigation it seems that the reason for this is that the boiler flu goes up through the ceiling before it goes out the side of the bungalow and as a result there is extra cost in a bit of extra flu, but mainly the extra cost of a second person to hold the ladder. I also found that because this boiler is for the scheme the warranty is reduced from 5 years to 2.
As luck would have it I found that my local installer also offered free installations so I got them round for a quote. First the good news, they wouldn't need to charge for the extra person, just the extra pipe, so that would only be around £200 tops (about the cost of the repair we need). They would also be fitting a boiler with a full 5 year warranty. The bad news is that before they could do the work their access to the grant was cut.
Apparently this is the third time this has happened. The first time was when the deadline for the grants was extended and British Gas (who they were working with) pulled everything in house meaning they had to apologise to customers because they could no longer do the work planned. The latest problem was the grant being pulled by the manufacturer they were working with.
It seems that the deadline extension is causing the smaller more flexible installers problems. In my case it means that I don't have access to an installer that is flexible enough to do the work at a sensible price and care about potential return business, just an installer that wants to churn the most profitable installs through as fast as possible and charge a significant amount extra for any slight deviations to a standard job (not to mention skimping on the warranties).
Does anyone know of any grants my local installer could access, or installers with grant access that will do a decent job at a decent price?
Who told you that you needed to pay extra, the installer or E.On? I was told to pay extra but after contacting the CEO of E.On they told me I was mistaken after speaking to the installer and waived the charge. Worth an email isn't it?0 -
wishicouldaffordit wrote: »Who told you that you needed to pay extra, the installer or E.On? I was told to pay extra but after contacting the CEO of E.On they told me I was mistaken after speaking to the installer and waived the charge. Worth an email isn't it?
The installer did, but when I contacted E.On they checked with the installer (which I also did directly) and said that if there were extra elements of work beyond the basic install funding then the installer would detail what they were an charge extra for them.0 -
Hello Everyone,
A few months ago I applied for a free boiler being as I have an original 1980 Glow Worm 38 space saver boiler in my place, the woman who called me back stated that I have to be claiming one of several government available schemes including tax credits etc etc, when I told her I do not claim anything at all I started to make enquiries about what I can and cannot claim for, I was 59 at the time (now 60) and told by DWP that my private pension (only income) equivalent to £88.40p / week is over the present limit of £70.60p therefore I am not entitled to any help at all but according to age concern the minimum everyone should be getting to live on is £145.60p / week, I own my own place and the only help I get is a reduction in council tax.
All this information I took along to Citizen Advice Bureau who confirmed the DWP findings I do NOT qualify for any help. may I ask you all for help please.0
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