British Gas Boiler Replacement Extortion

elz7173

My mum who is in her 80's mentioned today she would need to cut down on her food shopping.
Asking why she said the "Gas Service Man" said her boiler needed replaced and the cost....£3800 and that was with discount!!!!
I priced the new combi, (worcester greenstar 18ri), as low as £593 online so assuming Bitish Gas pay less than retail they are charging well over £3200 for fitting !
This is pure robbery and I am making sure she cancels it and have arranged for an independent fitter to supply a quote which I know from experience will be much, much less.
She did not think she could cancel as she "had" to sign the contract at the time and pay a deposit to get the discount.....rubbish.
British Gas say they will refund her deposit.
No wonder they make such huge profits.
Has anyone else had this experience and what did they save going with a small independent firm.

macman

BG are usually around 40% higher than an independent GSR RGI.
Have you established that the boiler actually needs replacement, and if so on what grounds? I wouldn't go solely on the word of a service engineer looking for his referral fee.

ihateyes

elz7173 wrote: »

My mum who is in her 80's mentioned today she would need to cut down on her food shopping.
Asking why she said the "Gas Service Man" said her boiler needed replaced and the cost....£3800 and that was with discount!!!!
I priced the new combi, (worcester greenstar 18ri), as low as £593 online so assuming Bitish Gas pay less than retail they are charging well over £3200 for fitting !
This is pure robbery and I am making sure she cancels it and have arranged for an independent fitter to supply a quote which I know from experience will be much, much less.
She did not think she could cancel as she "had" to sign the contract at the time and pay a deposit to get the discount.....rubbish.
British Gas say they will refund her deposit.
No wonder they make such huge profits.
Has anyone else had this experience and what did they save going with a small independent firm.

British Gas dont claim to be the cheapest in boiler replacement.

ollski

Bit of assumption and absolutely no extortion in the original post!. I'm guessing thats 3100 without the VAT?. Get a couple of quotes and go with the best....all large companies will have higher overheads.

gas4you

The Ri isn't a combi. What has she now?

elz7173

gas4you wrote: »

The Ri isn't a combi. What has she now?

Currently a back boiler.........
The first quote I have is around £1700 cheaper.
There is a bit more work than I first thought but less than two days work for two men so it will still save her a bit!

elz7173

ollski wrote: »

Bit of assumption and absolutely no extortion in the original post!. I'm guessing thats 3100 without the VAT?. Get a couple of quotes and go with the best....all large companies will have higher overheads.

Perhaps extortion was a bit over the top but high overheads is no justification for such a high price...............
"Everest...fit the best" and the most expensive springs to mind.

macman

But does it actually need replacing?

fran-o

Our boiler was 13 years old and British Gas told us every service that we should replace it - it would be smaller, work better, more efficient, lower bills etc. i expect they tell everyone with a boiler over ten years old the same thing. But really its your decision if its not going wrong all the time.
We have replaced ours now, as we are planning a new kitchen. And we went with British Gas for peace of mind and cos they were doing a good offer earlier in the summer (when trade is quiet on boilers!). We did not pay as much as you've been quoted.
If you have any doubts about a boiler working properly please get a carbon monoxide alarm which saves lives.
Fran

lizzyb1812

I must have been lucky with my British Gas engineers. My system is old and the boiler is now on the reduced parts list - ie really specialist/specific parts won't be replaced but standard items will. I had a repair to my hot water system done today and the annual service at the same time. Very nice chap - as has been the case in the past - no trying to sell me anything, told me that provided none of the non-supported parts were required the boiler should be good for a few more years and sorted out a problem I had with a couple of radiators. Plus he showed me how to sort out the same problem myself in future.

So I'll stay with BG for my service contract although I don't get any gas/electric from them and I will definitely shop around when my boiler eventually does need to be replaced.

Sorry, OP, that your mum had to consider cutting down her food costs because of what the engineer said to her. Pretty despicable of the engineer to go for a "soft target" like that. Glad she's got you looking out for her and I would definitely pursue whether the replacement was "advised" or "necessary" and if the former take it up with British Gas as mis-selling.

macman

fran-o wrote: »

Our boiler was 13 years old and British Gas told us every service that we should replace it - it would be smaller, work better, more efficient, lower bills etc. i expect they tell everyone with a boiler over ten years old the same thing. But really its your decision if its not going wrong all the time.
We have replaced ours now, as we are planning a new kitchen. And we went with British Gas for peace of mind and cos they were doing a good offer earlier in the summer (when trade is quiet on boilers!). We did not pay as much as you've been quoted.
If you have any doubts about a boiler working properly please get a carbon monoxide alarm which saves lives.
Fran

Why does BG give any more 'peace of mind' than any other GSR installer? Their summer offer (£400 off?) just reduced a bit off the cost of an already overpriced boiler and install.