Boiler brakedown cover

The_Pixi

Hi hoping some people on here could advise,

My Mum lives in a Housing Association property and they are, to say the least, unhelpfull when it comes to repairs and such like.

This morning her boiler broke down and they say they cant send anyone until Monday morning, she says she is as work on Monday & Tuesday and they say they can only do next Friday.

I tried explaining to hr that it is a bit of give and take and maybe she should just let work know she will have to stay at home on Monday but that's not going down well with her.

That got me thinking about boiler cover like British Gas does - however they say not suitable for tenanted properties. Is there any kind of insurance I could buy for my mum that would cover repairs to the boiler - but leave the annual service down to the Housing Association.

I don't think it seems fair that my mum has to wait so long for the repair when I'm sure with insurance we could have some one out a bit more sharpish and convenient .

I'm at work myself at the moment and just got off the phone to her and I'd like to help out if I can.

Thanks in advance.

AMO

The problem you have is that even with cover, if no-one's at home, how's the boiler going to get repaired.

I assume that British Gas cover etc doesn't work well because the boiler is owned by the Housing Association? Hence why they come out and fix it?

The_Pixi

AMO wrote: »

The problem you have is that even with cover, if no-one's at home, how's the boiler going to get repaired.

Well exactly, but I think the problem my mum has (and I agree to a certain extent) is that she needs a bit of flexibility - and after looking up on British Gas website they do aim to be there within 24hrs so I thought that with cover they'd be more helpful aranging a time to come and fix it.

AMO wrote: »

I assume that British Gas cover etc doesn't work well because the boiler is owned by the Housing Association? Hence why they come out and fix it?

Yes I guess that's the case, Id have assumed they would have insurance out on all the boilers to get them fixed asap - but it seems they do that in-house which is why it is poorly run (one of his reasons why they couldn't do the same day or Saturday is that they have people off sick at the moment and they don't work Saturday or Sunday.

Interestingly my mum could pay a very large bill to call out a boiler engineer privately but she isn't able to insure against that cost.

Hoof_Hearted

Perhaps think about this. The main thing we can't do without is hot water. What about getting an immersion installed and buying a couple of cheap fan heaters for winter emergencies until the repair team comes. It may work out cheaper.

AMO

The_Pixi wrote: »

Yes I guess that's the case, Id have assumed they would have insurance out on all the boilers to get them fixed asap - but it seems they do that in-house which is why it is poorly run (one of his reasons why they couldn't do the same day or Saturday is that they have people off sick at the moment and they don't work Saturday or Sunday.

What I was trying to get at is that the boiler doesn't belong to you as you're not the house owner and therefore you can't get it fixed without the landlord's permission.

I know that councils and housing associations, for practical reasons are asking tenants to get it fixed and then pass them the bill, but as far as I can tell, that's a new thing.

But the other aspect of this is that most people in housing tend to think that they shouldn't shell out for anything. I am not sure how you think, but I would assume you'd not be able to claim this insurance cost back.

The cost of this kind of thing is about £10 / month and you need to pay for a service every year which could also be split into the monthly payment. I suppose you can use the housing association's servicing of the boiler each year except that you wouldn't be able to obtain the documentation to prove it and it might not be (likely won't be) under your name such that you wouldn't have a valid claim.

The_Pixi

AMO wrote: »

I know that councils and housing associations, for practical reasons are asking tenants to get it fixed and then pass them the bill, but as far as I can tell, that's a new thing.

Never heard about that, and not really relevant.

AMO wrote: »

But the other aspect of this is that most people in housing tend to think that they shouldn't shell out for anything. I am not sure how you think, but I would assume you'd not be able to claim this insurance cost back.

Not sure what your trying to say here, but perhaps it was unclear when I said I wanted to get the insurance for my Mum, I couldn't give a hoot about claiming it back, I was hoping to prevent her having to wait a long time to get something fixed, that broken, can cause all kids of inconvenience.

AMO wrote: »

The cost of this kind of thing is about £10 / month and you need to pay for a service every year which could also be split into the monthly payment. I suppose you can use the housing association's servicing of the boiler each year except that you wouldn't be able to obtain the documentation to prove it and it might not be (likely won't be) under your name such that you wouldn't have a valid claim.

And I gess this may be where my hope to get the insurance has been scuppered.

Anyway the good news was that, by acting like a ranting loon in thier office, someone came round today, this evening, and fixed it.

Such a shame that she has to behave like that to get something done. I accept these housing groups have to deal with some unsavoury types and it's can be hard for them to care, but they're not helping themselves have an easier life.