Air vent -British Gas

Liloly

I have been a British Gas Homecare customer for 23 years and am now on the 400 plan to include electrics and plumbing.

My back boiler is behind my gas fire in the living room and was installed in 2001 (not by B Gas) and I have had annual service visits. Last year the air vent in the front room was marked as 90%. This year I am told this is no longer acceptable and is classed as "at risk" and as such they are not allowed to service the boiler until I have had this remedied. He also inspected the flue in the loft and told me it is not clipped and I am at risk of death from toxic fumes should it slip down. "Frightening isnt it" were the words used. (Not sure why its taken 23 years to notice that)

I am therefore faced with a bill of £300 to insert three flue clips and have a new hole bored in my outer wall (1cm bigger than the current one) which he intends should go in the base of the wall as opposed to the top where the current one is which he intends to seal off. That will really help with the drafts when the air blows into the bottom of the room.

Now I know that if anything is a danger especially with gas it needs to be remedied but this seems like a very high handed way to act. I was then presented with a form to sign to say I understood that if I continued to use my fire and boiler (I have no other form of heating) I am in breach of the Gas Safety Regulations. He also said that if I did not sign the £300 quote there and then he would cancel my Homecare contract with immediate effect. I feel that I have not been given the chance to obtain a quote elsewhere.

I have decided not to renew my Homecare in the new year and to take my chance in finding a local engineer on recommenation of others. I was made to feel like I had done something wrong and the stress and worry of this far outweighs any benefit in having the cover for me. I am a middle aged lady but I can imagine what this kind of treatment would do to an elderly person.

Bottom line is £300 excessive for the work quoted?

ormus

if BG quote is 300 quid then a normal quote will be a third of that price.

BG are acting like the Waffen-SS of the plumbing world.