warm front dilemma

seneca

Hi everyone,
I’ve just joined this form and here’s my story, well actually it’s my Mum’s, but I thought I’d get your views on it. She applied for a warm front grant back in February because here boiler was playing up and was rather old. Her old boiler is in a utility room downstairs and she has a hot water tank in an airing cupboard upstairs in the spare bedroom. It’s quite a big cupboard and there is only room for a single bed in the room. A constant complaint when her sons/daughters come to stay with her is that the tank is always making noises in the night and when it come on in the morning it makes an almighty racket. Added to which if the room was a bit bigger, ie. the airing cupboard was removed, she could use the space for her hobby (sowing- which is currently all over the house.) I thought that if she got a new boiler put in into the utility (in place of the old boiler) she could get rid of the airing cupboard and make the room into a hobby/guest room. Then she got a visit from an engineer sent by Warm front from a company named Harland Rise. He told her the only place a new combi condenser boiler could go was in the airing cupboard upstairs, in place of the hot water tank. He said the utility room would mean the flue was too close to a window and the neighbours boundary, so that was out. The garage was a non starter because the flue would have to go through the flat roof, something his company refuses to do. He told my Mum, and her friend who was there for support, that the airing cupboard was the only place. She reluctantly said ok and signed for it. Now she has changed her mind and is thinking she would prefer not to take the grant and to pay for a boiler herself, and have it in the garage with the flue coming out of its roof. Or maybe find someone who could re-route the flue so it is not near a boundary or window. I thought the saving of £2700 was a lot to give up, but she was adamant. Now she got a letter saying the cost of the new boiler is £800 and the work is £1900. The grant would cover everything. This seems a bit cheap for a boiler, and a bit expensive for the work of fitting it in. Has anyone any experience of Harland Rise? There refusal to site the boiler somewhere else and excessive costs has made me suspicious. Are they trying a scam whereby they fit a cheap boiler and inflate their fitting fee. I know they are approved by Warm Front, but I am not impressed. Also, as she has signed for the boiler and the company says they have ordered the parts, does this mean she cannot cancel. If she could do you think Warm front would still consider her for a another grant ie. Loft insulation?
We’re in a bit of a tricky situation at the moment and don’t know what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.