I am being offered a free boiler. Why do I smell a rat?

Rookie

Just had someone call at the door from "Brand Extension"
he tells me that as I am over 70 I can have a free new boiler providing my old one is over 15 years old, which it is,

I told him I am not on pension credit or any of the other benefits and he said as I am over 70 that is sufficient.

Apparently I would need a survey. Hmm is this the catch? Will there be a fee for this? Only to be told that I will not qualify.

Does any one know if such a scheme exists, he claimed that it only came in a couple of days ago?

GlynD

Sounds like a con to get their sales agent into your home. I'd tell them to f&^^ off.

Johnandabby

Never heard of any schemes that offer this. Sounds too good to be true, avoid it like the plague and warn your neighbours as well

TiredGeek

Maybe give the police and trading standards a ring, they may know if it's legit or not....

southcoastrgi

sounds like a green deal salesman to me, but the others are right tell him to F off

Silent_Dancer

I think the boiler will be part of the ECO scheme which has replaced Warmfront. They'll need to assess the energy efficiency of your property before they can proceed.

There are eligibility conditions. Criteria below from EDF website.

ilikecookies

Could indeed be Green Deal but I'd still tell him to jog on.

Folks never come unsolicited to your door to offer you a great deal - why would they unless there is something very good in it for them?

If you need a new boiler better to makes some calls and get a good few quotes and you can still get Green Deal this way.

G_M

I suspect it may be both legit ... and not legit (and yes, I'm a sceptic).

Of course this salesman hopes to get something out of the sale, but that does not mean it is not part of a legit deal.

There are deals (ECO, Green Deal etc) and if you are eligible you may get a free boiler.

And the salesman gets his commission.

And the company he works for gets the government funding to pay for the boiler and their time, overheads, profit etc.

But as others have said, on principal I would never respond to unelicited knocks on the door.

If you want a new boiler, free or subsidised, then do some research on the deals available, find out which legitimate businesses are offering them, and then YOU approach THEM.

Start by calling the Energy Saving Advice Service and see what they think you may be eligible for.

0300 123 1234

Johnandabby

G_M wrote: »

There are deals (ECO, Green Deal etc) and if you are eligible you may get a free boiler.

The OP said they weren't on any pension credits or benefits, so isn't eligible for ECO.

The Green Deal isn't free, it's a long term loan.

There are some local authority schemes that provide grants, like Islington Council in London, but only if your boiler is F or G rated. Worth investigating options but no point changing a boiler unless it's broken or really, really inefficient.

Rookie

Thanks to all that replied. He assured me it was not part of the long term loan deal. I had told him that I did not receive pension credit and did not meet any of the criteria mentioned above by Silent Dancer and he said the scheme was totally new and did not hinge upon that.

Finally, yes, I will be avoiding this company like a plague.

G_M

Rookie wrote: »

Thanks to all that replied. He assured me it was not part of the long term loan deal. I had told him that I did not receive pension credit and did not meet any of the criteria mentioned above by Silent Dancer and he said the scheme was totally new and did not hinge upon that.

So your discussion covered all this, but you didn't ask what the scheme was called or who was running, financing, overseeing it.....?