British Gas Homecare

Vicky1983

Hey everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone on here had the British Gas Homecare cover? We're looking at getting some kind of boiler and central heating cover and the British Gas one seems quite good. They're quoting about £13pm which I think is pretty reasonable.

What do people think of British Gas and their cover? Our first baby is due in November and we want to go with a company that don't leave you with no heating or hot water for days on end. We just can't take that chance.

Any help, advice or suggestions much appreciated.
Thanks.

macman

Complete waste of money, put your £13pm in a saving account. Should you need a call-out, use that to get a local independent RGI who will do a much better job, and probably faster . And if the boiler doesn't break down you save £156pa, which will more than cover the annual service.
And if what you are looking at is Homecare 100, that covers only the boiler and controls, no other part of your central heating or plumbing system. And even then study the small print for a long list of exclusions...

notbritishgas

I would double check what the £13 is covering. The full Homecare 200 which covers the boiler and complete system is normally over £200 per year.
They do cheaper versions, like Homecare 100 which just covers the boiler & controls, or one where you pay a flat fee (£50 I think) for every fault visit.
Like Macman states, an insurance is only worthwile if you need to use it, but if you want constant peace of mind then the price may be worth paying.
I have the 200 version (£223) and have found the BG service to be quite good, although you do have to be wary of their tricks to try to get you to buy a new boiler or to have one of their expensive power flushes.

Vicky1983

Thanks for the replies. Its the Homecare 200 that I'm looking at and I've been quoted £14.37pm. I know the chances of us having trouble with the boiler are minimal (fingers crossed) but we definitely want something as peace of mind in case it does break. And besides, an annual service can cost about £60 so I think it'd be worth it just for that.

Like I say, I don't want to take the chance that come this winter when our babys here, the heating system breaks or we get a big leak on a radiator or something.

Thanks again for the replies.

Cardew

Vicky1983 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Its the Homecare 200 that I'm looking at and I've been quoted £14.37pm. I know the chances of us having trouble with the boiler are minimal (fingers crossed) but we definitely want something as peace of mind in case it does break. And besides, an annual service can cost about £60 so I think it'd be worth it just for that.

Like I say, I don't want to take the chance that come this winter when our babys here, the heating system breaks or we get a big leak on a radiator or something.

Thanks again for the replies.

I would be pretty certain that the Homecare 200 for £14.37 a month has a £50 call out charge.i.e.it is Homecare 200 Flexi They advertise that FROM £12.50 a month and an additional £3 a month if you want same day service(calling before 10am)

From reports on here, BG Homecare is patchy depending on the area it seems - I had it for many years and it was always excellent - but just got too expensive as my system got older.

I can certainly understand the need for the 'insurance' side of their service with a young baby, but in a year or two I would reconsider your options!

Vicky1983

I've just been looking at the maintenance and repair part of the BG website and the Homecare flexi is where you pay £50 per call out. The one I'm looking at definitely has no call out charge/excess to pay.

macman

Perhaps you could post a link to that offer?
And don't forget that the first time BG visit they'll mysteriously find that you need a powerflush, which will be quoted at £600-700 (approx twice what an independent RGI would charge).
But don't believe me, plenty of other posts on this board concerning HomeCare's shortcomings.

Gerrard_8_lfc

Its the summber sale BG are doing. The policies have no excess

10% off Homecare 100
15% off Homecare 200 to 400

www.britishgas.co.uk/summersale

Cheers

macman

The price on that link is from £14.37. When I tried it and entered my postcode the price quoted was £16.07. If you are outside London you may well get a lower quote.
But do read the T&C's, which include the key exclusions and run to 14 pages...

Cardew

The 15% discount only applies for the first year.

So £172.44 pa with the discount.

Next year it will be £198 plus whatever annual increase BG apply across the board, plus any 'age weighted' increase as your system ages.

WhiteHorse

notbritishgas wrote: »

... you do have to be wary of their tricks to try to get you to buy a new boiler or to have one of their expensive power flushes.

No kidding!

I have found BG staff to be appallingly dishonest and would never, under any circumstances, ever have anything to do with them again.