British Gas Homecare Agreement, Free Boiler?

EliteHeat

saints1fan wrote: »

I have just called my legal proteciton insurer for advice and they were great. They said that I should inform BG that I am giving then 3 days to sort this, then I will buy my own boiler and commence legal priceedings. What do you think?

I think you will end up paying for your own new boiler plus continuing to pay BG their monthly premium.

I would have thought it more realistic that you pay for you own repair and then try and reclaim the cost.

Since you have proof that the part is available, on what grounds are you now claiming for a new boiler?

P.S. I am probably completely wrong on this as it appears that BG are happy to replace hot water cylinders for £99, thus undercutting the opposition by about £500 and losing about £200 per job into the bargain.

Lorian

Ask the MANUFACTURER if it is repairable. If they say it is then forward that on to BG telling them you want it repaired. Do this by phone for expediency but also send a cooy by recorded delivery to them. and keep the proof of delivery. IANAL but you might need to take legal advice before long.

Paying for the repair and then trying to reclaim the cost might not be prudent without reading the detailed T&C's of the contract.

gasbag1602

Hi there i am a bg engineer and can confirm that if your boiler is deemed to be un-economical to repair(by bg, not the customer) and it is less than 7 years old it shall be replaced free of charge. The only reason i can think of the engineer refusing to do the repair is if your heat exchanger is scaled up or blocked by poor water quality, both these reasons are excluded from any agreement. If this is the case he should of said you need to pay for the parts but as your boiler is a feroli may of said you should replace insted!
I have been with BG about 11 years and have known only 3-4 free boiler changes in that time, its almost unheard of! Alan:money:


Some people on here seem to be awful bitter towards BG! Tut tut tut

saints1fan

Thanks for all of the comments.

I have decided that we are just going to get the boiler replaced and if I can claim the cost back later, great and if not, at least we will have a nice new boiler. The old one was never very good anyway.

For the record, the service we have had from BG on this matter could not have been worse. I, my wife and my 2 children have been forced to shower at friends houses and at the local public swimming pool and BG could not care less. I have made 32 phone calls and not once have they reponded to my begging for assistance. They have refused to confirm or deny if the boiler can be fixed and have also failed to confirm or deny if we are entitled to a new boiler.

AVOID BG HOMECARE LIKE THE PLAGUE! I WILL SELF INSURE FROM NOW ON.

Canucklehead

Hi

When you get the quotes in, post them and we can all 'vet' them;).


Corgi Guy.

gasbag1602

Hi saints1fan, where are you based? People have different oppinions of Bg, they are like marmite! The area i work things like that dont happen, we would always give you all the info even if you have to put your hand in your pocket. In your own words "The old one was never very good anyway" we probably give you the best advice. I think some wires have been crossed, i honestly cant see this happening, we have a strict complaints proceedure in place and every one gets delt with, i suspect you set your stall out to get a new boiler free of charge?????

I just noticed on your first post the engineer said the heat exchanger is scaled up, read the terms and conditions and you will find that removing scale or hard water matter or problems that arise from scale or hard water are not covered! Argument over.

saints1fan

Hi gasbag1602. I take your point that we obviously would prefer a free boller if possible, but we are not unreasonable and have purely asked for information. We asked if we are entitled to one and if not, please can someone show us the specific exclusion which aplies. The guy we spoke to had no idea and we aksed for him to get someone to call us with the information and he said nobody there knew anything about the T&C's. If they had literally said, section 4.a.1 states, etc, I would be happy, but they have not. In addition, about 3 or 4 years ago a BG engineer sold us a device to 'stop the boiler scaling up in the future', we were obviously ripped of and also this them make BG hiding behind an exclusion for scale a bit harsh. I am about to call BG now to see if they can find their backside with both hands.

mike_the_bike_2

From the British Gas Terms and Conditions 4.5 Exclusions

"Repairs (such as to your heat exchanger) that are required due to the build up of sludge or other debris where we have previously advised you that your system requires a PowerFlush™ or similar cleaning procedure and you did not have the procedure conducted in a timely manner."

Its their get out of jail clause on replacing expensive items...Did they advise you in writing?

gasbag1602

mike_the_bike wrote: »

From the British Gas Terms and Conditions 4.5 Exclusions

"Repairs (such as to your heat exchanger) that are required due to the build up of sludge or other debris where we have previously advised you that your system requires a PowerFlush™ or similar cleaning procedure and you did not have the procedure conducted in a timely manner."

Its their get out of jail clause on replacing expensive items...Did they advise you in writing?

Every customer gets sent out a copy of terms and conditions every 12months, that clause has been in the terms and conditions for years!
We should offer to fix your appliance and charge for parts only though.

mike_the_bike_2

gasbag1602 wrote: »

Every customer gets sent out a copy of terms and conditions every 12months, that clause has been in the terms and conditions for years!
We should offer to fix your appliance and charge for parts only though.

No I fully understand that the T&C's are sent out to the customer..my question to the original poster related to whether in writing they were informed they need a Power Flush or other treatment to prevent the exchanger scaling up and was it done in a "timely" manner