Best Boiler Breakdown Cover

mrp21

Hi,
I've been looking at getting boiler and central heating breakdown cover. I'm an E-On customer but their prices look steep. HomeServes prices look a bit more appealing but has anyone had any experience of using either or is there a better provider? My boiler is only 3-4 years old but I've already had to replace the PCB once.

Ken68

Hi MRP....Put some money aside each year, finance it yourself.
I've never had boiler cover, just a service. Doubt if a policy would cover pre-existing problems anyway.

cing0

As soon as you call out BG on a job that needs parts, they will claim your boiler is obsolete - how your supposed to know that when there is no opportunity to select make and model on their websites Homecare signup page.
Npower require you to select make from a pull down list box. Sorry I can't make any recommendations but it seems the newer boilers are, the more unreliable they are (can't say they are more efficient).

daveyjp

£20 a month into a "broken boiler" account and the name of a reliable plumber written on the boiler.

mrp21

Lol it sounds like nobody has breakdown cover

ollski

cing0 wrote: »

As soon as you call out BG on a job that needs parts, they will claim your boiler is obsolete - how your supposed to know that when there is no opportunity to select make and model on their websites Homecare signup page.

Most customers struggle to even find the make of their boiler let alone the specific model, also lots of models only reveal that data once lots of parts have been removed including safety panels. That is why they try to get a first visit in within 28 days of taking out the cover to find out if it is suitable for contract, if it isn't you get the chance of cancelling with a refund of the premiums you have paid.
Boilers being obsolete is nothing to do with bg, they just pass on information provided by the manufacturer although obviously make further attempts to obtain materials needed from other sources.
Bg offer the most comprehensive breakdown cover by a longshot, though you do pay for it!

*onlyme*

We have Homeserve cover with BG...and we have had to call them out a few times for a part on the tank (don't ask me what it is called exactly)...they have always come out same day or next day. They also service the boiler and never had any problems with it. Our boiler is well over 20 years old but it works 100% fine and every engineer is amazed at it. They have never tried to push to get it replaced.

We have our gas and electric with Eon.

I wouldn't be without the cover.

Landlord-Certificates

I recommend this to my customers

£7.95 per month

aviva.co.uk/home-emergency-cover

Home emergency cover means peace of mind

• Great value at just £7.95 per month - no excess and no maximum on claims.
• Emergency cover for the loss of essential services to your home - and our home emergency cover claims line is open 24 hours a day, all year round.
• Access to our network of approved tradesmen 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Up to £500 cover per incident for repairs and labour.
• Up to £100 for temporary accommodation if you have to move out overnight.
• You can claim any time from 29 days after your policy starts.

and protects you against:

• Blocked drains and other water problems in your property like burst pipes or blocked toilets.
• Loss or failure of main source of hot water, heating, gas or electricity.
• Loss of all keys needed to get into your home (excluding garages and outbuildings).
• Broken or damaged windows and doors that are a security risk.

Also, British Gas also provide one off fixed priced repairs for just £69 depending on where you live. This is amazingly cheap if you need a new fan, PCB, diverter valve etc which can cost over £200 to buy... then you need to add on a diagnostic fee and labour to fix. BG is an all in one price and its fixed.

Ken68

How often do you have an emergency, that could be classified as an emergency.
It's all down to interpretation. All you need do is build up a reserve yourself. Enjoy the interest.

rissott

Homeserve = Avoid, Avoid, Avoid, Avoid and Avoid

Not HomeServe - have their 24/7 response emegency cover
Heating went - 4 days quote for them to comeout - this is after spending close to 5 hours in total on their phone line

24/7 response according to their call centre person is their phone number not the response to the fault. - You have to laugh

They did give me another option, organise an engineer yourself, get them to call Homeserve with the details of the fault and a quote, they would then authorise it ; if you pay them you will be re-imbursed. On the face of it sounds reasonable compromise (though whats the exact point of this policy if you have to do the work yourself) and in reallity is totally unworkable, getting an engineer out for a quote, possibly not to do the work if the go ahead is not given, especially in the current weather, is not possible - I have tried. Then having to phone homeserve to get authorisation, current waiting time is about 50 minutes, which engineer in their right mind would spend their valuable time doing this?

You also get comments from their own staff that they do not have enough engineers for the demand -which is surely their issue not the customers?

Homeserve = Avoid, Avoid, Avoid, Avoid and Avoid

SallySunshine

Our boiler has just broken down, we are with HomeServe and they have said an engineer will ring on Thursday, the call centre asks what is wrong when you ring them, but it would be better if they could give you some simple troubleshooting tips over the phone there and then.

I'm not impressed.