British Gas do I have to buy a new boiler from them?

buzzy_bee_3

I have a British Gas Homecare 200 policy to cover the boiler and central heating system, which does give peace of mind, but to be honest I am getting rather annoyed by British Gas who seem intent on pressurising me into buying a new boiler.

The prices quoted are exorbitant anything upwards from £1000!

Last time I changed my boiler, again after pressure from British Gas, they fitted the new one and made a hash of taking up floorboards.

I would much prefer to use a local firm to install any new boiler as it gives me greater choice of what is installed, their prices are more reasonable than British Gas and I feel the engineers deliver a better standard of workmanship.

The problem is the Homecare agreement. To keep this running do I have to have the work done by British Gas?

Or are there other options for cover of boiler and central heating emergency breakdown / repair, which offer better value and service than British Gas?

dogshome

Hi buzzy_bee Who supplies & installs a new boiler makes no difference to your BG Homecare 200 policy, though if a new boiler is fitted it would be as well to advise the BG Homecare service as they wish to inspect it

As you haven't mentioned the boiler being declared unsafe or unavailibilty of spare parts, more to the point is why BG are pushing a boiler change?.
Your best bet is to spend some money by getting in a local Independant contractor to look at the boiler money and act on his advice - And if he does concur with BG's opinion, get quotes from 3 local Independants to compare with BG's price

broxis11

I would assume that the new system would be covered by a warranty so you may not need the HC200 but you may wish to keep it running for peace of mind in the event of a breakdown. The guaranteed same day call out is worth it for me. In the event of a breakdown, it`d probably be easier to get it repaired through bg.

buzzy_bee_3

Thank you for your thoughts and advice. Great relief that I don't have to go with British Gas for installing a new boiler :jMy present boiler is working perfectly and passed its annual service with flying colours despite being over 10 years old. I did press the engineer when he mentioned spare parts would be a problem and it seems its only the ignition switch which is presently impossible to replace. I appreciate this is a vital component, but do object to the way in which BG engineers run down the appliances you have.

They did the same with an old radiant gas fire in the living room. It worked perfectly, passed all saftey checks, was a simple design that I liked then an bumbling engineer broke one of the radiant segments by dropping it onto the hearth. The fire still worked and was passed as "safe" so I continued to use it until I found a suitable replacement which I had installed by a local firm who now maintain it for me with an annual service seeing the same engineer each year. Again this is nice.With British Gas you never know who is going to turn up and must admit some engineers have been really nice and instill confidence in their work, others are not.

The HC 200 does give peace of mind so will keep it running despite the cost.

dogshome

From previous threads it appears that BG have their own list of what Spare Parts are, or are not available.
However time after time customers or their local Independant Gas fitter have found these 'Unavailable' parts on the shelf in the local heating merchants. - perhaps it's woth a phone call to your Boiler's manufacturer to see what the supply position is for this Ignition Switch

gas4you

If you posted the make and model of your boiler, we may be able to tell you if that part is still available.

bengasman

Two important points.
1. You are under no obligation to get BG to install your boiler if you want to keep your homecare.
2. Why would you want to keep your homecare? A good boiler comes with 5 year full warranty ( parts and labour ) which means you can keep an extra £1000-£1500 in your pocket.

ihateyes

bengasman wrote: »

Two important points.
1. You are under no obligation to get BG to install your boiler if you want to keep your homecare.
2. Why would you want to keep your homecare? A good boiler comes with 5 year full warranty ( parts and labour ) which means you can keep an extra £1000-£1500 in your pocket.

depends on the manufacturer bengas man....
im sire its wocester doin the 5yr warrranty.

some 5 yrs warrantys will be parts only

bengasman

ihateyes wrote: »

depends on the manufacturer bengas man....
some 5 yrs warrantys will be parts only

Exactly why I said: "GOOD" boilers come with 5 years full warranty.
When a householder has an install/swap of a good boiler and the work is done as it should, the customer won't loose a penny in repairs for at least 5 years.
Provided of course that they used a trustworthy installer.

Canucklehead

The OH fits Viessmann... 5 year parts and labour warranty but conditions apply...more here.

HTH

Canucklehead

bengasman

broxis11 wrote: »

you may not need the HC200 but you may wish to keep it running for peace of mind in the event of a breakdown.

Why would you pay around 200 quid a year ( if not more ) for a BG insurance if the boiler is already under warranty?

broxis11 wrote: »

The guaranteed same day call out is worth it for me

BG do NOT guarantee same day call out, and most certainly not a same day repair.
In fact, thousands of people that had been paying BG lots of money were told their boiler could not be repaired and had to be replaced at a cost of £3000 or £4000.