Condemned Boiler & No £ for repairs

Bach_Off

I'm writing on behalf of a friend who is going through a tough time at the moment. A house sale fell through which would have solved a few of her financial worries and to cap it all her boiler was condemned by British Gas so she has no heat or hot water which with two boys under 8 isn't good.

She will complete her studies in July so she can get back into paid work but meanwhile money is extremely tight so she can't afford to repair the boiler.

Can anyone throw me some ideas of how to get it repaired cheaply? Are there any grants available for low income? Any deals going on anywhere?

All help most gratefully received.

Many thanks.

DUTR

It is not only BG that have corgi engineers, perhaps the boiler may need a service. Did they not leave a report? It could be just condemmed as it is not an A rated efficiency boiler.

Bach_Off

Hi DUTR

Thanks for your quick reply. No, I think it was more serious than that as the fumes were leaking into the roof?

DUTR

CurleyGirlie wrote: »

Hi DUTR

Thanks for your quick reply. No, I think it was more serious than that as the fumes were leaking into the roof?

I'm no corgi engineer, but the exhaust has to follow a flue, some were made of cement fibre board which can crack or perish after a time, as said though, call in an independant registered gas person as a fix maybe possible.

macman

CORGI no longer runs the gas register, you want a GSR (Gas Safe Register) installer. Get an local independent recommended one out, he may be prepared to do it for a fixed rate if the flue is fixable.

Pincher

"low income", "two boys under 8", "grant"
Qualifying for benefits, aka credits, opens the door for grants.

Scrape together proof of receiving credits.
Check with Citizen Advice Bureau for local grants.

christabell

Check Warm Front to see if you are eligable for a new boiler. If that fails, try www.turn2us.org.uk .

Good luck

molerat

BG + old boiler not working properly = condemned. As others have said get an independant in to have a look.

Bach_Off

Thank you everyone, that is really helpful - I've put her in touch with Warmfront as I wonder if she'll qualify for a grant and have suggested she visit the CAB for advice. (no joy with Turn2Us sadly). She can't afford to have an independent corgi engineer give a second opinion as that will cost. Fingers crossed something will come up - I hate the thought of her spending Christmas with no heat.

macman

Warmfront could take for ever, reports of people waiting a year or more, so she really needs to have another plan.
NB: forget CORGI, it's GSR. Anyone now claiming to be a CORGI registered RGI is a cowboy!

dogshome

Hi CurlieGirl - Going on the information in your post, which may not give the full story of BG's condemnation of the boiler, it appears that the problem is not with the Boiler but the flue.

Again it's only a surmise on the information given, but it would seem that this boiler is situated within the house away from an outside wall and it's flue passes up thro' a ceiling into the loft space, and then on through the roof - If this flue is leaking anywhere between the boiler and it's exit thro' the roof BG were right to condemn it as these flue gases kill people, but re- sealing the joints on flue tubing is not a major job