Boiler & Heating Cover/Service - worth it?

ManicMum

It's a combi boiler. Thermostats are on radiators so am I basically needing boiler cover? This usually covers controls too.

Some offer £50 excess option which I am happy to pay but as long as it's per breakdown not per visit. what I mean is if they replace a part but then that doesn't fix it and I call them back 2 days later, does that incur another £50 charge? Tried to ask someone on the phone but they couldn't give me straight answer.

any help appreciated.

thanks

Money_Meiser

If it's a newish Combi Boiler... maybe it is still under the manufacturers warranty.... worth checking that first, if all you want is boiler cover.

mattmk6

if the call out is related to the original fault not repaired then you are not expected to pay £50 again.

if its a newish system i would recommend boiler and controls cover.

BUT be aware that most companies offer a wear and tear breakdown cover that doesnt include sludge related failure. the company you use will have to tell you on a previous visit that you have an issue with water quality and future visits may be chargeable. they cannot just walk in and say...sorry sludge its gonna cost you. they must issue you with a quote offering ADVICE.

Sludge is not just a radiator problem. it can block the cold feed into the system and stop valves from closing etc. if its a combi boiler on an old system the sludge will build up in the boiler as its the most restrictive place.

Lady_K

My system was put in 22 years ago but I had a new vaillant ecotec plus 824 fitted 4 years ago. I have just had to pay out £216.50 for replacing the diverter valve which took local plumber 1 hour labour as I didnt have cover and had to wait 10 days for them to get the part so I thought it might be a better idea for me to get cover although I have been warned off homeserve

Which cover should I get?

Boiler
Boiler and service
Boiler service and whole system

macman

Then you have been overcharged. What was the price of the part and the price of the labour?
I had a diverter valve done a couple of years back and was charged about £40 labour plus £30 for the part.
You don't need a boiler insurance, you need a better independent RGI.
Edit: the diverter valve costs around £57 incl VAT online. So £160 for a call out and labour is excessive.

Lady_K

macman wrote: »

Then you have been overcharged. What was the price of the part and the price of the labour?
I had a diverter valve done a couple of years back and was charged about £40 labour plus £30 for the part.
You don't need a boiler insurance, you need a better independent RGI.
Edit: the diverter valve costs around £57 incl VAT online. So £160 for a call out and labour is excessive.

Yes I thought I had been overcharged but they don't give out bills to state how much is labour and how much is parts. The owner who is from a local long standing firm has always just telephoned with the cost a couple of weeks after the work has been done, they are quite stuck in thier ways he's 75. They just give you a reciept saying recieved with thanks £216.50, on an unheaded reciept book you'd get from wilkos, it doesnt say who the money went to or what is was for and no signature. Its hard to find a heating engineer that knows my boiler so I used them this time hoping it would get fixed quickly.

I looked up the part myself and found it that price and cheaper, the lowest was £48 for trade which they probably got it for.

I think I know what happened, they messed up. The plumber first came round at the end of the day on his way home just to check what part was needed, he was in my house for 5 mins and pointed to what looked like a flat silvery gold thing in the middle of the boiler and said it was leaking and it needed new o rings but he asked to take my service book to get the right part. 10 days later they came back, he bought another man with him which he never does but I guessed it was because he wasnt familiar with my boiler. They were here for 1 hour then the other man came and told me that vaillant had sent the wrong parts, he held the o rings out to me and said you see there are so many sizes of o rings and they have sent the wrong ones. He said they ring when the new o rings came.

After they went it was leaking much faster than before so I rang and told them it was and I could not wait another 10 days for the part to be sent out as it was more urgent now and the boss said he had spoke to the men that came round and they were waiting for a diverter valve as vaillant had sent the wrong part out.

4 days later they came and fitted the diverter valve with 1 hour labour.

I don't think vaillant sent out the wrong part because they don't make o rings for the diverter valve it comes in one complete part so if they had tried to order o rings for it they would have been told they didnt make them. I think they ordered the o rings incorrectly, charged me for the labour time it took them to try and fit them and maybe even the o rings. They must have realized they had made a mistake and ordered the right part.

In a situation like that who is supposed to pay the extra for the labour or parts, I didn't know if it was me or them even though it wasn't my fault.

I don't know if they even called the 5 min visit a call out either. I've not mentioned it to them mainly because I will not use them again but also because my brother in law worked with them for almost all his working life as a builder and the family have used them for years. Although they have old fashioned ways with reciepts etc I think if there was a problem with any work they would fix it. I have used them before for fixing other plumbing things without a problem but this was a first for this boiler.

Last year they mended my mira gas shower, the part for that was about £50 and he nipped in to check it for 5 mins at the end of the day to check what part, he came back a few days later to fit it and it took him an hour and they charged me £100

ManicMum

Money_Meiser wrote: »

If it's a newish Combi Boiler... maybe it is still under the manufacturers warranty.... worth checking that first, if all you want is boiler cover.

hello. I didn't put it in as was already here when we moved in. How long are boilers generally under warranty for? Does anyone know?

It's got to be at least 5 yrs old.

cheers

macman

So why do you continue to use a firm that is consistently overcharging you?
The parts and labour should be properly itemised out. Assuming the part is about £60, ask them how they calculate call out and 1 hours labour (since you said that this is what they actually billed you for) at £160?
It should not be hard to find a competent Vaillant RGI who will charge rather less than that.

Lady_K

macman wrote: »

So why do you continue to use a firm that is consistently overcharging you?
The parts and labour should be properly itemised out. Assuming the part is about £60, ask them how they calculate call out and 1 hours labour (since you said that this is what they actually billed you for) at £160?
It should not be hard to find a competent Vaillant RGI who will charge rather less than that.

They have not overcharged me until now, this is the first time. As I said this time last year they fitted a new part to my shower which cost roughly £50 and took 1 hour labour and charged me £100. The part and labour cost for this job is around same yet its £216.50.

As it seems they have charged me for the extra labour and parts involved because they say vaillant sent the wrong parts which I'm sure they didnt and the fault was thiers I do not know who is supposed to cover that expense wether it was vaillants fault or not, me because its my boiler? me because they are putting the blame on vaillant? or them because the boiler neeeded a diverter valve and thats all but they attempted to put o rings on and didn't know the part came as one whole part.

I will ring them to ask how the bill was worked out but what if they say they are justifed in charging me for the part they ordered wrong and not only that they attempted to fit it and should have known it wasnt right then charged me for thier mistakes, I don't know if its me that should pay that or not

macman

Are you saying they charged you £50 parts and £50 labour, or £50 parts and £100 labour? Former OK, latter definitely not.
If they or Vaillant ordered/supplied the wrong parts, they how can that be charegable to you? It's between the two parties concerned.