British gas homecare price hike

Gerrard_8_lfc

Cardew wrote: »

Well if it is fairer, then as there have been huge rises on some policies(insurance term!!!) then shouldn't there be huge cuts for small properties with new CH systems?

how much for instance is Homecare 200 for a new 1 bed flat?

Sorry I didnt know if you were being sarcastic but.

Hc 200 is costing £17 per month right now fixed for the first year so going by the new risk based pricing im sure you would agree with me it should reduce on the second year assuming the new boiler system did not have any call outs.

Sounds good but one thing I have noticed is

They bring in to consideration the manufacturer and the size of the property so a 1 bedroom house the price should reduce again but what I feel BG may do and this is my own opinion is they may put up the price depending again what the manufacturer charges which may balance the payments so the discount may not be as generous as they are making out. ( but I stress this is only my view) The may be generous only time will tell.

In reference to your last point in that statement Cardew, New CH systems do not mean cheap parts if anything im sure you will agree it all depends on what the manufacturer is charging.

Ps I also agree with you that older boiler seem to be less of a problem that some of the new combi's which a large amount of our call outs are to go and fix.

the_root_of_all_evil

even when i claimed twice ina year for 3 years straight i still never really got my moneys worth due to the high monhly costs.

so i left, might rejoin when the severe weather kkicks in again.

notbritishgas

Gerrard_8_lfc wrote: »

Sorry I didnt know if you were being sarcastic but.

Hc 200 is costing £17 per month right now fixed for the first year so going by the new risk based pricing im sure you would agree with me it should reduce on the second year assuming the new boiler system did not have any call outs.

Sounds good but one thing I have noticed is

They bring in to consideration the manufacturer and the size of the property so a 1 bedroom house the price should reduce again but what I feel BG may do and this is my own opinion is they may put up the price depending again what the manufacturer charges which may balance the payments so the discount may not be as generous as they are making out. ( but I stress this is only my view) The may be generous only time will tell.

In reference to your last point in that statement Cardew, New CH systems do not mean cheap parts if anything im sure you will agree it all depends on what the manufacturer is charging.

Ps I also agree with you that older boiler seem to be less of a problem that some of the new combi's which a large amount of our call outs are to go and fix.

This ilustrates the "unfairness" of BG's pricing. I presume the £17 per month or £204 per year is for new customers only (where have I heard that before!). I have HC200 and have had for a number of years even when it was called the 3 star scheme, and this year my renewal was £226.16 and that included the discount for no call outs in the previous year. It is about time that BG started treating loyal customers differently.

amtrakuk

I feel conned by BG. I had been paying for boiler maintenance for about 5 years. Over the years I had a new clock fitted and which was completed the next day (Sunday). I was very impressed with the service and happy with paying £20 a month knowing anything that went wrong with my 7 year old boiler would be covered - So I thought...

Problems started one autumn when I drew hot water off for a bath or shower everything went well until I turned the hot tap off then the pilot light went out. Couldn't relight the boiler so called BG. As I soon learnt the 24 hour service was just for the call centre. 3 days later the engineer came round, had a poke around and relit the boiler, drew off a kitchen sink full of hot water and signed off the job. The shower that evening same thing happened. Waiting another 3 days another engineer came round and diagnosed the heat exchanger had gone saying it was filled with muck and overheating.

I asked how long until it was fixed but was told the heat exchanger wasn't covered and suggested until I replaced the boiler I ran the central heating when I wanted to draw hot water! He said he could do a power flush at my cost but it could burst the heat exchanger.

The gripe I have is, I was lead to believe every part of boiler was covered for parts and labour and I could sleep easy, after all thats why I was paying the insurance. I appreciate this situation would occur if my boiler was 15 years old but not one a 7 year old one. If the system needs to be power flushed to keep the heat exchanger from failing, why wasn't it suggested? Im only an end user and not a boiler technician.

It might be worth checking with you're servicing company what parts are covered and what parts aren't, checking the small print of the maintenance contract to avoid this happening to you so you can make an informed decision.

BG gave a quote for £4,500 to get my boiler replaced, the cheapest was just under £2,000. I have gone all electric now and believe it or not works out cheaper than the gas+servicing+depreciation.

Gerrard_8_lfc

notbritishgas wrote: »

This ilustrates the "unfairness" of BG's pricing. I presume the £17 per month or £204 per year is for new customers only (where have I heard that before!). . It is about time that BG started treating loyal customers differently.

Read up Ive already mentioned that.

the pricing is changing to risk based pricing to prevent loyal customers who never claim and just pay it year after year.

No usage bonus has been scrapped and an insurance like pricing structure has now been implemented.

Please read all comments for more info.

Gerrard_8_lfc

amtrakuk wrote: »

I was lead to believe every part of boiler was covered for parts and labour .

Sludge is not caused by how old the boiler it is due to hard water.

Sludge, Limescale and corrision is not covered under the agreement as stated in your T&Cs.

amtrakuk

Gerrard_8_lfc wrote: »

Sludge is not caused by how old the boiler it is due to hard water.

Sludge, Limescale and corrision is not covered under the agreement as stated in your T&Cs.

I wasn't and still not aware of how sludge is caused, Im just an end user. Living in West Yorkshire I hear were not blessed with limescale. Who reads the small print (until stung)? I and prob many many other paying their maintenance contract assume BG (poss blinded) will make their boiler last for years and years without having to lift a finger until their boiler goes wrong.

If I pay for a maintenance contract against my boiler breaking down I expect it to be repaired no matter what. Where in the ads on TV does it say you have to maintain the boiler yourself? When does it say they don't cover against sludge, hard water? Sounds like a get out clause to me.

If you have a car accident you don't get a list of things not covered (bumpers, front panels etc). It should be a total cover not a selective one! :mad:

Still think its a con.

Gerrard_8_lfc

Again everything is covered as long as it not damaged by a 3rd party sludge limescale or corrosion.

I see you arguement I really do if I was in charge I would change a lot of things but to beat the clause you fell down which a lot of people do not realise is BG maybe would cover your heat exchanger even when it is sludge if they had never told you about sludge in the system be it at any other breakdowns or annual safety inspections. Again they dont have to but it has been done in the past trust me.

Sludge is small metalic particles which are formed inside the piping of your central heating pipes which can cause blockages and is the 9/10 reason for faulty heat exchangers.

Cardew

Gerrard_8_lfc wrote: »

Again everything is covered as long as it not damaged by a 3rd party sludge limescale or corrosion.

I see you arguement I really do if I was in charge I would change a lot of things but to beat the clause you fell down which a lot of people do not realise is BG maybe would cover your heat exchanger even when it is sludge if they had never told you about sludge in the system be it at any other breakdowns or annual safety inspections. Again they dont have to but it has been done in the past trust me.

Sludge is small metalic particles which are formed inside the piping of your central heating pipes which can cause blockages and is the 9/10 reason for faulty heat exchangers.

Nobody is blaming you for your employer's tactics.

Apart from sludge, I believe that heat exchangers are also not covered?? - as they corrode, and that really is the only thing that goes wrong with an exchanger.

There is plenty of apocryphal evidence that "the system needs a pwer flush costing several hundred pounds" is BG's standard 'get out of Jail card'. i.e. unless you pay that - tough!

For many years BG's servicing contract was expensive but people paid it because it gave them peace of mind and BG were trusted.

I am afraid these days BG have largely lost that trust. The fitters seem to be placed in a position where they have to maximise revenue at all costs.

Letters are sent saying parts are hard to obtain(when they ain't!) and this letter is followed up by contact from BG trying to get you to buy a new boiler - which is fitted at about double the price others charge.

I can't see me ever using BG again unless they change their philosophy.

amtrakuk

Cardew..

i think you summed it and BG's money making plan up n one. They are having a go at my mum as she has a forced air system, thankfully warning her BG have problems getting parts for her system.

Being wise and advising her, she phoned up the manufacturer who say parts are still freely available as they have very little for her system to go wrong - they still keep parts for models 25 years back.