Bristish Gas 3* Service Contract

Grumpy_Old_Duffer

We pay over £130 per year for the 3* Service Contract with British Gas. Does anyone know of a Service Contract that is cheaper and will cover our Gas Central Heating & Hot Water systems to the same standard?

millie

I have just had my renewal for the same British Gas Contract, and it is for £172 less £18 no call out discount. Perhaps its because we have a different Boiler ours is a Combi, but the only cheaper ones I could find were small independant companies, and you probably dont get 365 day cover, or same day call outs

Robert5988

If you do a search you will find a load of threads on this - some quite heated. BG is not liked as a company(by many of us ) and there was some criticism aimed at them by someone who has never used their 3* service.

I think I can sum it up as saying there is nothing much cheaper and those that are a little cheaper, don't have as comprehensive a cover as BG - as Millie said 365 days cover and same day callout.

Some think BG are always trying to get you to buy a new boiler while others haven't had that happen. One school of thought is to not bother with an annual service and pay for repairs as required.

Personally, although I agree it is expensive, I am very happy with the BG service I have had and treat it as important insurance. Quite a few other posters shared that view and rather less didn't.

djohn2002uk

I followed the other threads too and have to agree 100% with what Robert says. My Ideal Concord boiler is almost 25 yrs old and I put some of the credit for its longevity down to the BG 3* contract I've had almost as long as the boiler. Some of the cheaper options touted in the other threads only gave you 1hrs labour free, any more time and parts you pay for.

gazza007

I've always had 3* cover on 3 houses during the last 18 years.
I've not had many problems & have not had any faults on current boiler which was fitted by BG for previous owners about 11 years ago, so been reasonably pleased. That was until last week, when it decided to pack up.
When the engineer arrived he said it needed replacing as the the main casing had cracked. They disconnected the supply.
Well after all that money I've spent over the years your left in the cold with young children. They basically want to sell you a new one but can't do anything till a week Friday!!! & by the way, you will need to have it in a diff place as you can't have vertical flue etc etc. ££££££'s
I wouldn't have minded if they let us have some portable heaters for the sake of the children. luckily we have an emmersion heater & electric shower.
Anyway we're moving in 2 weeks so have offered the new owners £750 towards new system which I think is fair. I wouldn't use BG as too expensive & won't bother with 3* again!!!

John_Gray

Maybe it's just us, but every year when the heating goes on we find that the valves on one or more radiators have stuck, and require the attention of the engineer to get them working again. They come the next day, "free".

Also, we have had the motorised valve near the immersion heater replaced, "free", at least three times.

I have no idea whether the annual boiler check and the other attention described above justifies the £172 per year that the Three Star Homecare contact costs, but it's much the same argument as for any insurance policy...

gazza007

They have been handy in the past, I guess it's their attitude that is wrong. Especially when it hits the fan!!

ADAM001

ive just switched to Powergens CH cover after a pricing issue,dont know what the service is like as i aint called them out yet. its £13.00 per month. i personally lost faith with British Gas, the first time i called them out they didint even bother to turn up!!

captain_insano

Adam , why are you paying £13 when it quotes £14.99 on their website? Is the product called 'heatcover'?

Beano

Check these sites out for heating cover & service contracts:

http://www.energyhelpline.com/index.aspx?goto=bc&aid=&cid=45
http://www.domgen.co.uk/products/heatguard/introduction.html

When I looked around last month the most comprehensive was Powergen's Heatcover (annual limit of £1500). Now appears to be £14.99/month (was £13).

Xbigman

I had the view that servicing a new boiler, especially as I am a low user, was a waste of time. So as my boiler is now 4 years old and had about £350 of gas put through it I would get it serviced. However, looking at the various websites they all have a condition that any service contract is subject to the boiler having been serviced already. OK, if it was broken down I can understand it, but its not. What a con.

My current view is this. Servicing is a waste of time unless you have a breakdown in the warranty period or you otherwise have reason to think you have a troublesome boiler. Or if you are a very high user. IE £400+ bills per year. Otherwise its simply too dear to have gas of any description. You think gas is cheap? Not when there is a 180% extra service charge.

Now I've had a replacement quote of £980. I can afford a new boiler every 6 years at that price. But then I visited the local trade plumbing supplier. They will sell me a new circulating pump for 29.99 + VAT, which includes fitting instructions. A new Ignitor for 34.99 and a new extraction fan motor for 15.99. Apart from that I keep it vacuumed out and give it a test run each august. The £170 I would have paid in servicing charges this year is now sitting in my savings.
Regards



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