Gas maintenance contract - worth it?

Cardew

Catbells wrote: »

I think I'm missing something here Cardew. How can £3 a month be justified to BG. And for such a service. Its pretty much identical to the Homeserve deal I have apart from the extra £50 boiler service which if paid annually still wouldn't exceed the annual total paid to Homeserve. I don't understand this.

Not sure what you mean. Homeserve only provide emergency cover as I understand it. What do you understand they provide, and what is covered.

Look at at like this(in motor insurance terms)

£36 per year for the policy(£24 this year) gets me repair cover for boiler, CH system, electrics and drains. There is a £99 excess for any repair.

The £50 boiler service is optional

Are you missing that each repair will cost £99?

Catbells

Cardew wrote: »

Not sure what you mean. Homeserve only provide emergency cover as I understand it. What do you understand they provide, and what is covered.

Look at at like this(in motor insurance terms)

£36 per year for the policy(£24 this year) gets me repair cover for boiler, CH system, electrics and drains. There is a £99 excess for any repair.

The £50 boiler service is optional

Are you missing that each repair will cost £99?

Homeserve, in my mind, is not an emergency service. I get an annual inspection and service and cover if anything goes wrong with boiler and radiators. For this I pay £42 a month - £480 a year. Going on the past 8 years I have only had to call them out a couple of times - usually in the Autumn when I turn the heating back on again. Am thinking I could save a couple of hundred by joining your scheme.

Yes I noticed the £99 for repair after I posted last time. So if you had 2 repairs a year it would still be cheaper don't you think? Does this price include cost of parts, labour and all.? Also do you do any basic repairs, maintenance yourself as this would be significant for me as I don't touch it apart from to relight it!

Pincher

I haven't had a service contract for 15 years.
My Gas Safe (CORGI) plumber services the boiler and checks the gas hob and oven, plus an instant boiler for about £120 a year. Extras were a gas valve, a couple of circulation pumps (in 15 years). Most of the time, the service is just a cleaning, and soap water test for leaks. I think he changes the pilot jet once in a while. I get a gas safety certificate too.

If he ever retires, I'm xxxxed.

smjxm09

Catbells wrote: »

Thanks smj. Your suggestion is attractive but please tell me what a dedicated savings account is. Also when you say they do a fixed price boiler repair are you referring to British Gas? If so I'd have to check as I live in London. Thanks.

Just open up a new savings account with your bank and call it your gas insurance policy or what ever you like. Now set up a direct debit from your bank account for £42 a month to feed it or say £30 if you want to save over a longer period. Every year your account will grow by £502 if you save £42 a month.. Now go to the British Gas site at http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/maintenance-and-repair/boilers-and-heating.html?WT.seg_3=i100267 and look up the cost of a fixed price repair for your post code. After 6 months of paying into your account there is a good chance that this would cover your repair subject to their terms and conditions. I would keep saving for at least a year or keep on saving if you want a big wedge of cash for the future for more faults if they appear. Remember that this is your money and you are not donating it monthly to BG so if you move home you get all your money back if you had no faults

Cardew

Catbells wrote: »

Homeserve, in my mind, is not an emergency service. I get an annual inspection and service and cover if anything goes wrong with boiler and radiators. For this I pay £42 a month - £480 a year. Going on the past 8 years I have only had to call them out a couple of times - usually in the Autumn when I turn the heating back on again. Am thinking I could save a couple of hundred by joining your scheme.

Yes I noticed the £99 for repair after I posted last time. So if you had 2 repairs a year it would still be cheaper don't you think? Does this price include cost of parts, labour and all.? Also do you do any basic repairs, maintenance yourself as this would be significant for me as I don't touch it apart from to relight it!

We are at cross-purposes!

I believe the service you have is called BG HomeCare (was it ever called Homeserve?)

There is an emergency scheme - not run by BG - called Homeserve and I was referring to that service.(I hadn't re-read your first post where you said BG Homeserve)

Your reasoning is exactly the same as mine. I could get both boilers serviced and have 2 repairs and still pay less than the annual premium -and get electrical and drains thrown in.

I left BG's HomeCare scheme over 2 years ago when the premium reached £460 and so have saved over £1,000.

There was one fault on my annex boiler - an electrical connection - which I fixed.

Catbells

Cardew wrote: »

We are at cross-purposes!

I believe the service you have is called BG HomeCare (was it ever called Homeserve?)

There is an emergency scheme - not run by BG - called Homeserve and I was referring to that service.(I hadn't re-read your first post where you said BG Homeserve)

Your reasoning is exactly the same as mine. I could get both boilers serviced and have 2 repairs and still pay less than the annual premium -and get electrical and drains thrown in.

I left BG's HomeCare scheme over 2 years ago when the premium reached £460 and so have saved over £1,000.

There was one fault on my annex boiler - an electrical connection - which I fixed.

You're right - was getting the name mixed up with another scheme which I used to have for some other part of the house. Its Homecare and on Monday I'm gonna finish with it and save the money in an account assuggested by SMJ (think it was ) and then it'll either get used or if not I'll have a holiday with it or some other purpose.
I don't think I'll be able to fix an electrical connection like you but will try and find someone (have someone in mind who fitted the combi boiler a few years ago) to call on. One thing I HAVE noticed is that independent CH engineers can do jobs far cheaper than BGas. Thanks for your input.

Catbells

smjxm09 wrote: »

Just open up a new savings account with your bank and call it your gas insurance policy or what ever you like. Now set up a direct debit from your bank account for £42 a month to feed it or say £30 if you want to save over a longer period. Every year your account will grow by £502 if you save £42 a month.. Now go to the British Gas site at http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/maintenance-and-repair/boilers-and-heating.html?WT.seg_3=i100267 and look up the cost of a fixed price repair for your post code. After 6 months of paying into your account there is a good chance that this would cover your repair subject to their terms and conditions. I would keep saving for at least a year or keep on saving if you want a big wedge of cash for the future for more faults if they appear. Remember that this is your money and you are not donating it monthly to BG so if you move home you get all your money back if you had no faults

I think this is a great idea SMJ. I had thought about it but its reassuring hearing the idea coming from others. Sometimes there's a catch with these things.

Thanks for your input.

Cardew

Catbells wrote: »

You're right - was getting the name mixed up with another scheme which I used to have for some other part of the house. Its Homecare and on Monday I'm gonna finish with it and save the money in an account assuggested by SMJ (think it was ) and then it'll either get used or if not I'll have a holiday with it or some other purpose.
I don't think I'll be able to fix an electrical connection like you but will try and find someone (have someone in mind who fitted the combi boiler a few years ago) to call on. One thing I HAVE noticed is that independent CH engineers can do jobs far cheaper than BGas. Thanks for your input.

Just ensure that if you do cancel before the end of the term you get a rebate(I have heard they don't give rebates)

My other reason for leaving was that I started to get letters telling me 'they were having difficulty sourcing parts' followed by a call from their sales staff trying to sell me a new boiler.

Actually £99 a repair including parts is pretty good in my opinion, and the guaranteed same or next day attendance is also worth having.

jackieglasgow

They do give refund for part years if you've paid in full, in advance, and if you pay monthly direct debit, they cancel it immediately, although there's usually no refund due because of the way the payments are set up. Unless you're in the first year of the contract, in which case, there's a cancellation fee. HTH

[Deleted User]

we have a heateam contract at £15 pm for our baxi boiler. For this we get an annual service, parts replaced before they break down and peace of mind, knowing that we have 24/7 cover. Best of all we know that our boiler is SAFE