British Gas quote extortionate?

Savannah02K

Hiya

sorry for possible 'denseness' of this post but I don't understand central heating stuff. Anyway, decided to replace 30 year old boiler, got British Gas out for quote and they've come back with £3200 for a Worcester Bosch 12RI condensing boiler, new thermostat, power flush, something called a Magetite (I think) new thermo valves on rads and some updating on the earth switch out at the front of the house, plus a few other bits and pieces. No new rads though, am keeping old ones.

They were the first people I called in as I guessed they'd be more expensive than anyone else and I wanted to get the shock value over quickly but even so, that seems HUGELY expensive to me. The guy hinted that if I got other cheaper quotes I should go back to him and they might be able to come down which makes me even more angry as if they could drop the prices, why do they try and rip you off in the first place. Anyway, am I right, is that hugely expensive and what kind of prices could I reasonably expect to pay? And I am a very reasonable kind of person ..........

KimYeovil

Tell them where to go. They are crooks. Ask friends, neighbours to recommend an independent Corgi plumber.

Magentasue

Try to get at least three quotations and get boiler brochures from them all, or at least the model of the proposed boiler. Ask why they're recommending that one and compare the spec and prices of them (online). Ask loads of questions and make notes. If necessary, get some from the yellow pages so that you get a few prices and the info you need. Always best to go for personal recommendations if you can get them, though.

Premier_2

Savannah02K wrote: »

...Anyway, decided to replace 30 year old boiler, got British Gas out for quote and they've come back with £3200 for a Worcester Bosch 12RI condensing boiler, new thermostat, power flush, something called a Magetite (I think) new thermo valves on rads and some updating on the earth switch out at the front of the house, plus a few other bits and pieces. No new rads though, am keeping old ones...

Not a bad little earner for the chap.

The boiler costs £623.29 inc VAT
http://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/worcester-greenstar-12-ri-regular-boiler-natural-gas/

The rest of the materials won't cost too much - I'd presume total material cost would be less than £1000 including above mentioned boiler.

How long does it take you to earn £2200? :eek:

Pssst

Its the open market place and people are free to buy from whom they like. People go to BG for a quote because there is an element of brand recognition and trust.

There are plenty of independents who will do a great job but then how do you find them?

BG equals brand,trust and safety to many people.

I will admit to an interest as i have experience of BG.

I'd say your best advice would be to get some more quotes for4 the SAME job i,e same boiler and controls equipment.

Remember that cheapest isnt always best.

Then revisit the BG salesman and see what he can do ?

By the way,did you know you can become a plumber, gas engineer and electrician in 26 weeks now?

make sure one of your independents isnt one of them !

http://www.met-uk.com/courses/gas-training-courses/213-multi-skilled-gas-engineer-level-2-and-3

Pssst

Premier wrote: »

Not a bad little earner for the chap.

The boiler costs £623.29 inc VAT
http://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/worcester-greenstar-12-ri-regular-boiler-natural-gas/

The rest of the materials won't cost too much - I'd presume total material cost would be less than £1000 including above mentioned boiler.

How long does it take you to earn £2200? :eek:

Are you quoting there Prem? I'm up for a boiler change here at chez Pssst but cant be bothered getting my tools out

1carminestocky

I *think* canucklehead (sp?) is the specialist here and should be along shortly to give his view, a very helpful poster when it comes to old boilers (ooerr).

My (un-expert) view? Avoid BG and boilers like you would a rabid dog baring its teeth at you. Total rip-off merchants.

jimexbox

I paid £4200 for a complete GCH system 2 years ago! I had BG round for a quote, one of six quotes I had, and their price for installation was very good. Their rad price, £250 a rad no matter what size and £360 for a bathroom rad were a joke. They sell on 'piece of mind' security which invariably will cost you money.

I would of thought 2 grand would be nearer the mark. A little more work is required such as running a drain pipework for excess water, and electrical work that meets current building regulations.

Premier_2

1carminestocky wrote: »

I *think* canucklehead (sp?) is the specialist here and should be along shortly to give his view, a very helpful poster when it comes to old boilers (ooerr). ...

Ah, that was the poster who tried to upsell a similar price request from a poster who wanted to know the price of replacement boiler; he tried to include radiators and a new hot water cylinder too as well as a Magetite (magnetic filter) that the OP here seems to have been talked into. If a system has worked perfectly for 20 or 30 years, why does it need one now? They alone probably cost £100-£200 (which I included in the above £1000 material cost as per the OP's quote)
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1546559

Jake'sGran

I got quotes from three engineers including BG but their rep was horrible. All the prices were about the same as the one you have but we needed more than a boiler. I looked on the Internet to find local Corgi registered gas engineers and the one I liked also quoted around £3000. There was some disagreement between the different companies about which type of boiler we would be allowed to have (all new builds must have condensing boilers) but there is a lot on the web about the rules and regs. It turned out that I was entitled to the Warm Front FOC system. We got a new boiler, two new rads, new cistern and lagging and the engineer was brilliant.

This is no consolation to you but even if you bought the boiler yourself you MUST be sure the person who fits really knows what they are doing and is Corgi registered.

dawn27

i had my boiler replaced three years ago to a combi boiler, kept the old radiators. The plumber flushed out the whole system and repaired a few radiators and it all came to around £1000.