BG HomeCare boiler service plans

yorksrabbit

Quick query.

Mrs Rabbit is considering signing up to an annual "Homecare" contract with British Gas for boiler service and maintenance.

But the 'Net is pretty full of consumer complaints about BG's 'odious' business practises and assertions from qualified, independent engineers that BG's 'HomeCare' is anything but value for money.

Our boiler was installed in our new-build home in October 2005. It works fine. It has never been serviced.

Mrs R thinks that's too long to go without a service, hence the BG idea.

My query is: does anyone here recommend BG's service?

Are there any other outfits offering something similar?

Would we be better to simply get a reputable, local gas engineer (CORGI -- I know the name's changed) registered to do the job as a one-off?

Thanks.

allan673

hi, what make is your boiler?

for instance mines a worcester and they have there own maintenance/repair package like bg.
but ive got 2 years warranty left and i know the guy who fitted it would come out the same day to fix it should anything go wrong.
have it serviced by a reputable/recomended local engineer and ask their opinion too.

personally i wouldnt go with bg, ive heard lots of horror stories from friends and relatives, try and avoid them imo.

Pssst

I am led to believe that a BG service now consists of a visual inspection and a flue gas analysis...others may confirm or otherwise?

Many boiler manufacturers have their own service networks.

yorksrabbit

It's a Glow Worm boiler, model name 30 SI.

We've had no problems with it (apart from the occasional pressure issue when the rating has dropped and the boiler won't function: we've turned the valve to take the pressure back up above 1.0 BAR) but before we learned how to do this ourselves, we were looking after a neighbour's property where the problem first surfaced and Glow Worm's customer service was, frankly, horrendous: I wouldn't put 'em in charge of a market hall barrow.

As for British Gas: we had experience of its contemptible business standards when we had the misfortune of being gas supply customers so I really would prefer to steer clear of 'em.

Seemore_2

allan673 wrote: »

hi, what make is your boiler?

for instance mines a worcester and they have there own maintenance/repair package like bg.
but ive got 2 years warranty left and i know the guy who fitted it would come out the same day to fix it should anything go wrong.
have it serviced by a reputable/recomended local engineer and ask their opinion too.

personally i wouldnt go with bg, ive heard lots of horror stories from friends and relatives, try and avoid them imo.

Hi could you give an indication of how much WB charge for their service contract? I couldnt find anything on the website just the application forms. Or does it possibly depend on the age/condition of your boiler?

I currently have a homecare200 agreement with BG for which I pay £17 per month. This includes an annual service and immediate callout if anything goes wrong, but I have a worcester boiler and would certainly consider WB if they are any cheaper.

kmmr

To give another perspective - I have BG 200 on my old flat (which I rent out now, but used to live there) and have just added it to my new place. Plus OH has it on his rental flat, and another friend has it. All have had generally good experiences.

BG have some annoying features (such as the 6 hour callout window) and some less than brilliant engineers, but for the most part I have found it to be a good insurance policy. So long as you remember it is insurance, so there is a chance you won't use it.

For my old flat, there is a very dodgy boiler, but they covered it, and over the last few years have spent thousands keeping it going, including a complete new heat exchanger. Which was about 1month after I had signed up for it (about 3 weeks after they signed it off as ok, so they had to really do the work). I estimate they have been out about 10 times in 2 years, replaced the heat exchanger, the fan, and lots of other small parts that I can happily not care about. It's great as a person with zero boiler knowledge, as I have even called them out to re-pressurise it, or restart the pilot light with no charge.

Now the place is tenanted it's just as good, as I can just tell the tenant to call BG. You just have to ignore the first comment 'ideally you should replace the boiler, but...' I have told my tenants to use my old approach of looking a bit sad and desperate and they will give up the attempt to sell a new one and see what they can do.

On the flip side, in my new place, with a new boiler, I had a small fault (microswitch), which involved two callouts (£160), a cheap part (£13), plus a £50 collection fee. Which comes to more than the annual BG fee. So I have decided to sign up this boiler to BG also.

I am sure i will post in anger when it goes wrong, and probably have in the past when I was annoyed waiting and/or cold and miserable but overall I am happy to pay for the peace of mind. So far it's been worth it, but I am sure there are times when it wouldn't be.

AppleMonkey

You can always pick parts of the Homecare that you like and disregard bits that you don't.

There is more to Homecare then just Boiler Cover although not many people actually realise it.

Check your agreement as you may find your covered for things like Home Electrics and Plumbing (think you can pay for the electric cover for something like £4 a month, although its all on there website).

If your on the Homecare 200 then people like E.on, Npower and obviously local Gas fitters will be also be able to offer you cover as well.

The only major benefit to British Gas over rivals is that in most instances its same day or next day visit if your boiler breaks down in winter is invaluable.

I have used the boiler cover many times and you always get the 'Your boiler is old blah blah' but end of the day its still repaired and they have always repaired it quickly longest i was off was 2 days when they were waiting for a part and they left a couple of fan heaters as well.

mcclurey

yorksrabbit wrote: »

Quick query.

Mrs Rabbit is considering signing up to an annual "Homecare" contract with British Gas for boiler service and maintenance.

But the 'Net is pretty full of consumer complaints about BG's 'odious' business practises and assertions from qualified, independent engineers that BG's 'HomeCare' is anything but value for money.

Our boiler was installed in our new-build home in October 2005. It works fine. It has never been serviced.

Mrs R thinks that's too long to go without a service, hence the BG idea.

My query is: does anyone here recommend BG's service?

Are there any other outfits offering something similar?

Would we be better to simply get a reputable, local gas engineer (CORGI -- I know the name's changed) registered to do the job as a one-off?

Thanks.

I would not recomend BG i am with the home care 200 have been for five years, my boiler broke down on 18th October, i called out engineer who came out and told me my fan had gone, he could order this and fit it on the 21st October, but he could not get the boiler cover off, he said he would have to break the cover, when i ask what would happen if he could not get the cover back on he said we would need a new boiler, when i said who will pay for this new boiler he told me he didn't know, he then proceeded to say that he might still beable to put the cover on but wouldn't know till he put the new part in and fired it up.

He came back on the 21st fitted the new part, but could not get the cover to seal, he then told me my boiler is now broken completely and could not be used again, as the boiler was older they could not purchase replacement covers and i would have to pay for a new boiler, i phone my home care line who told me they would have a quote done, but i would not have to pay as this was covered by there property damage, i received the quote of £3000 which i was then told i would have to pay, i was not happy with this so the lowered the price to £2000 i contacted consumer direct who advised me to write a letter of complaint and give them 28 days to respond, we then received a call from BG mangers who said this was there last offer, i contacted a solicitor who told me that if the boiler was older and they could not supply the parts then they should not have excepted my cover, my boiler was only serviced in May 2009 i have now had no heating or hot water since the 18th October.

I have since been told again by the home care line that my boiler is covered by there insurance and i should not be paying any money to replace the boiler, and they didn't know what managment was up to, i had my last contact with them on Friday 6th Npveber when i was told that an urgent email would be sent to the manger to sort things out, and they would phone me staright back, but nothing happened no phone call, why should i pay for a boiler there engineers broke. I am now going through the small courts to see how far i can go.

If any one has any suggestions, or help advice i would appreciate it, in my five years of having this cover i have called them out twice, I would never recommend them to any one, if my boiler was serviced in May, the cover must of come of then, my dispute continues.

Gerrard_8_lfc

when the service was done the engineer must have taken off the cover so what is different ?.

BG would have terminated the contract if something was not right at this point.

Agents telling you the price would be covered is wrong unless your boiler is less than 7 years ????

kippen_noedel

The best BG cover is called EnergyExtra50

Cardew

kippen_noedel wrote: »

The best BG cover is called EnergyExtra50

However I believe that is only for BG Dual fuel customers.

(You pay £2 a month and any repair to CH, drains or electric costs £99)